Lane Toomey ’74: “VMI is a National Treasure”

C. Lane Toomey ’74 ended his 7 years of service as a VMI Foundation trustee June 30, 2024. To some, Toomey’s background might seem anomalous to the trustee position. He isn’t involved in banking or investments. He isn’t a senior executive with an established company or a successful entrepreneur. Instead, he is a retired Corps of Engineers officer who served 26 years and now serves as a civil servant with the XVIII Airborne Corps. What Toomey shares with all his fellow trustees and other volunteer leaders is a deep commitment to VMI.

He served on the VMI Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2005–11 and was one of the Association’s liaisons to the VMI Board of Visitors. He has assisted with cadet recruiting, too.

Asked what he learned as a trustee, Toomey replied, “I gained an appreciation for what it takes to run a college along the special lines of VMI. Many alumni have a vague idea of what goes into keeping VMI going. I now know what a complicated and demanding job it is.”

Toomey immediately saw how seriously the Foundation’s trustees and staff take their fiduciary responsibilities, stewarding the gifts and commitments and managing the endowments and funds these gifts create. “One of the lessons I took from VMI was the importance of integrity—the idea I can trust you to do what you tell me you’ll do and vice versa. It’s the most important thing you can take into any situation,” he said.

His time on the board provided him a window through which to observe what he calls “the financial side of the Institute.” The Call to Duty Scholarship program, which he is proud to have been a part of creating, provides an illustration of this. “The scholarships cost the Institute roughly $4 million a year. To meet that cost, the Institute turned to the VMI Foundation, and we committed to supporting it. That means we need to engage potential donors, asking them to make the immediate gifts required to provide adequate immediate funding to the program while fundraising to create the $100 million endowment needed to put the scholarships on a permanent basis.”

He also learned quickly that the Institute doesn’t have the flexibility a private college has. “The Commonwealth’s often-shifting expectations for public higher education—which are influenced by public attitudes—change the environment, as do its spending priorities. VMI has no choice but to adjust to these changes.”

Toomey also values the experience of engaging his fellow trustees. “These men and women brought many different experiences to the board. There was, for example, Carl Strock ’70, who was the Army’s chief of engineers, and Dorcas G. Wilkinson, whose amazing perspective is based on her career in higher education advancement. Just being with them was special; working with them was extraordinary.”

This experience prompted Toomey to volunteer to be the chairman of the Class of 1974 50th Reunion Campaign Committee. “It made sense,” he said, “to apply all I learned to this important task. I knew the process—from fundraising to stewardship and management—and so could help guide people toward the right decision for them. The message we took to the class was simple: VMI is a national treasure because America needs what it produces—well-educated, disciplined, selfless, and, above all, honorable graduates. It, therefore, is worth supporting financially.”

Toomey continued, “Overall, it was received well. We also made sure to show the class all the ways to give to VMI—in support of a specific program, for example.”

He laughs at one memory. “Some flatly refused to participate. So, we asked them to consider that they had been receiving the Alumni Review free of charge for 50 years and that it costs $40 a year to print and mail it to them. So, perhaps, we suggested, they could pay for at least some of their ‘subscription.’”

The Class of 1974 presented the initial proceeds of its campaign to VMI at the reunion parade April 27: $8.9 million in gifts and commitments. An early indicator of this success, Toomey points out, was the Class of 1974 Athletic Scholarship. Immediately before the reunion weekend, brother rats had directed more than $311,000 in gifts and pledges to it. “Six months before, it didn’t exist.”

Toomey’s experience as a volunteer leader has been positive, and he recommends it highly. “It is,” he asserts, “an opportunity to support the Corps of Cadets by helping maintain the high quality of all that comprises a VMI education. If you want to make a difference at VMI and for the country, serve! It also lets you see VMI across all generations. You get a feeling for the differences and the similarities among alumni and see how we share many values.”

His advice to anyone who might serve on a board is simple—and encouraging. “No one will expect you to know everything when you show up. So, in the first few meetings, sit back and listen. Prepare for the meetings by devoting yourself to understanding the committee and subcommittee reports. If you have questions, write them down—and then ask. As soon as you feel comfortable—and you will—then put yourself and your ideas out there.”

While his time in formal positions might be over, Toomey and his wife, Karin, will continue to serve, albeit indirectly, by donating to the Karin and Lane Toomey ’74 Engineering Scholarship, which supports a civil engineering major from North Carolina (they also support one at Ohio University for women pursuing science majors). Established in 2020, the scholarship was first awarded in the 2023–24 academic year. As the endowment continues to build toward the Toomeys’ goal of a “full ride,” they will continue to serve and “make a difference” well into the future.