press release

Marshall Hall, Home of Leadership Center, Dedicated

Virginia Military Institute holds official ceremony for its new Center for Leadership & Ethics, designed by VMDO Architects

By Sherri Tombarge

Published: June 2009

VMI Superintendent Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62 and Brig. Gen. Charles F. Brower addressed an audience of cadets, alumni, community residents, and benefactors, as well as many involved in planning and construction,
Friday, May 1, during a ceremony dedicating the newest building on the VMI Post, Marshall Hall.

Named for alumnus Gen. George C. Marshall ’01, the building houses VMI’s new Center for Leadership and Ethics, of which Brower is acting director. Marshall was U.S. Army chief of staff during World War II and architect of the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Europe after the war.

“For us, there is no finer example of … a leader than our own alumnus, General George C. Marshall,” noted Peay. “It is our hope that the work that will be done in this center … will inspire and guide generations to come.”

Marshall Hall features the Leslie Gillis Jr. ’29 Theater, with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment including two dressing rooms, light-sound lock areas, and a rehearsal / storage room; the Hall of Valor, where a banquet
celebrating the dedication was held after the May 1 dedication; offices for the Center for Leadership and Development; and breakout rooms for conferences.

Peay thanked those involved in funding, planning, and constructing the center, adding that the ceremony not only dedicated a new building but celebrated the attributes of leadership whose development it is the center’s
goal to nurture.

Brower described the programs the center is expected to offer, including symposia such as the recent Environment Virginia symposium, conferences, addresses from visiting professors, and films and discussions.

“Adding this center and its staff enhances our ability to integrate and synchronize the various programs’ contributions to leadership and character development across the four-year VMI experience and to identify
opportunities for synergies and improved effectiveness,” he said.

The center’s “flagship” conference, he said, a “top-tier” VMI leadership conference, is scheduled for September 2010 and will be offered biannually.

“We aspire to establish a national reputation for this conference within the next decade,” he said.

Other planned programs include the Cadet Character Education Program, a four-year program of honor and respect education; a leader-in-residence program; faculty attendance at other national leadership and ethics conferences; and the expanded use of military staff rides which offer opportunities for cadet leader development through on-the-battlefield analysis and discussion.

The ceremony concluded as Thomas G. Slater Jr. ’66, president of the VMI Board of Visitors, Bruce C. Gottwald Sr. ’54, and Cadet John M. Saunders ’09, regimental commander, unveiled the cornerstone.

Former Nebraska U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel spoke and the VMI Glee Club performed during the reception and dinner following the dedication.

VMDO Architects was founded in 1976 and is the youngest firm to receive the T. David Fitz-Gibbon Virginia Architecture Award, the most prestigious honor given by the Virginia Society of American Institute of Architects.

For further information, interview, and photography opportunities in reference to this project and VMDO Architects, please contact William Bishop at 434.296.5684, email at bishop@vmdo.com.