Virginia Military Institute Superintendent J.H. Binford Peay III resigned Monday, a week after Gov. Ralph Northam announced an investigation into racism at the school.
In a letter to VMI President John Boland, Gen. Peay said he decided to resign after Mr. Northam’s chief of staff on Friday “conveyed that the Governor and certain legislative leaders had lost confidence in my leadership.”
The retired Army general has served as superintendent of the nation’s oldest state-funded military college for 17 years.
His decision comes one week after Mr. Northam, who graduated from VMI, co-wrote a letter to Mr. Boland about plans to use state funds to hire a “non-partisan national organization” to review the “clear and appalling culture of ongoing structural racism.”
The letter was signed by 10 other Democratic leaders, including Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Attorney General Mark Herring and eight state delegates.
The investigation was announced after a Washington Post article detailed interviews with several current and former cadets about racism they encountered on campus.
DOCUMENT: Peay resignation letter
The VMI Board of Visitors “regretfully” accepted Gen. Peay’s resignation in a letter and said it “must immediately turn its attention to the search for our new superintendent.”
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
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