The Peay Endowment
The Institute, long known for its pursuit of excellence, currently enjoys a national reputation for an academic and leadership program that best prepares leaders of character. This success is due to the dedication of Institute leaders, faculty and staff as well as the vision and generosity of VMI alumni and friends.
Excellence comes with a cost. Prestigious colleges and universities like VMI compete for the most qualified professors, the very best students, and the private funding necessary to maintain distinguished academic programs. The financial investment by families for college degrees across our nation is significant. The need to enhance our current program – even from a position of strength – remains constant.
We pride ourselves on providing a personalized education for all cadets. VMI maintains a student teacher ratio of 10:1. This is a core-strength of the academic program that contributes to the unique success of the VMI graduate. The faculty student bonds forged in this environment result in a commitment to life-long learning and confidence in their careers of choice. To this end, VMI has not allowed financial pressures to increase class sizes and therefore has continued to build momentum for our long-standing tradition of success.
There is a plan to build an endowment that secures the very best individuals our nation has to offer while not shifting from our winning formula. There is a well-thought, long-term plan to ensure that VMI is able to maintain academic excellence, through private support, as we compete for faculty and students in an innovative way.
Working from a concept put forth by alumni volunteers, supported by the Institute and the VMI Alumni Agencies staff members, the General J.H. Binford Peay III 1962 Endowment for Academic Excellence was established. This bold program consists of four elements, each of which is important to VMI’s academic future: merit scholars, chairs, fellowships and operational resources.
This opportunity will transform the Institute’s academic program and therefore the contribution that VMI graduates make to our nation for many years to come. Please consider your role in ensuring the endowment’s success.
Recognizing Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62
On Oct. 26, 2020, Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62, completed almost six decades of honorable and distinguished service to the country and the Commonwealth. This article was originally published in November 2020 as a full-page advertisement in several publications, to include The Washington Post, the Roanoke Times, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and the Virginian-Pilot.
