Lt. General David Furness, the new superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, vowed to steer the school through the political center while making an effort to “stay off of the front page of The Washington Post,” during a presentation to a state Senate committee on Monday.
His presentation and comments came after a whirlwind of controversy surrounding the ouster of his predecessor, (Ret.) Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, and a fight between Virginia Senate Democrats and outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin regarding board of visitors appointees at a number of institutions.
Furness gained favor with Senate President pro tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, after he pointed out that the governor’s appointees to each institution’s board of visitors are subject to confirmation by the General Assembly during his presentation.
“As superintendent, I recognize the need to navigate multiple constituencies and stakeholders: the governor who serves as our commander-in-chief, the General Assembly who provides our appropriations and resources, the board of visitors who are my direct supervisory body and who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the General Assembly,” Furness said. “VMI strives to operate from the center. Nonpartisan, steady, balanced and leading along the center line as I often say. That is where VMI belongs and where it will remain under my leadership.”
“I really appreciate the center line approach and the fact that he acknowledged the General Assembly confirms the board appointments — that was really refreshing to hear,” Lucas offered during questions directed at Furness by the subcommittee members, after he had completed his presentation.
Democrats on the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee had rejected eight of Youngkin’s appointees to the governing bodies of VMI, the University of Virginia and George Mason University in June.
The eight appointees began serving on their respective boards after Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares told the universities that the appointees should remain in their positions. Miyares’ argued that the appointees’ confirmation vote had not gone before the full General Assembly. Nine state Senators then filed a lawsuit against the three university rectors.
A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge suspended the eight appointments while the case made its way through the court, and that decision was appealed up to the Virginia Supreme Court by Miyares. The commonwealth’s high court declined to take the case.
Furness, a retired U.S. Marine Corps three-star general and VMI alumnus, was announced in August as the institute’s 16th superintendent, the top leadership role at the public military college in Lexington. He succeeded (Ret.) Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, whose contract expired at the end of June after months of controversy surrounding the school’s efforts to increase diversity.
The institute’s board of visitors opted in February not to renew Wins’ contract. Some have blamed the ouster on perceived political overreach at VMI, where most board members have been appointed by Youngkin. The board of visitors has maintained that Wins’ ouster was solely due to performance issues, though it has not detailed specific qualms with Wins’ four-year tenure.
Furness noted that threading a center line between federal guidelines driven by the Trump Administration and the desires of VMI alumni regarding the direction of the institute may be difficult. Alumni support contributes to between 30% to 40% of VMI’s annual operating budget.
“I have federal guidelines that I have to adhere to — federal regulations coming out of the Department of Defense,” he said. “If I’m going to do something that’s going to get me cross with the federal government I’ve got to be very, very careful about that, because they can impact me in a very negative way.”
“On the other side of the aisle there’s issues that can bring my alumni into a rage that will then impact the 40% of my budget that comes from their philanthropy every year. So I’ve got to navigate these poles very carefully,” he added. “I’m looking to stay right in the middle of all of those issues that tend to polarize the American body politic, and I want to do my best to keep myself off of the front page of The Washington Post.”