
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 14, 1994                   TAG: 9407140105
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OUTLINES VMI APPEAL

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a 50-page brief Wednesday outlining its appeal of a U.S. District Court judge's approval of the proposed leadership institute for women that would allow Virginia Military Institute to remain all-male.

There was little new information in the brief, which was filed in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.

The federal government claims that the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership, which would be housed at Mary Baldwin College, would not provide women with the same education that VMI provides men.

"This separate program carries the same stigmatizing message as VMI's original exclusion of women - that women simply are not up to the challenge's of VMI's demanding program," the appeal says.

This is the Justice Department's second appeal in its case against VMI.

The United State filed suit against VMI in 1990, but U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser upheld the school's right to admit only males. The 4th Circuit reversed Kiser's decision, sent the case back to him and told VMI to develop a plan that would admit women or to establish a parallel program for women.

VMI and Mary Baldwin teamed up to develop the Virginia Women's Institute, and Kiser approved it in April.

The women's institute has the backing of the General Assembly and Gov. George Allen. The private VMI Foundation is willing to spend more that $5 million to get the program running, and the state will pay stipends to offset the difference in tuition between Mary Baldwin and VMI.

The appeal brief said the Mary Baldwin plan needlessly prolonged the suit against VMI.

"After many months spent developing a program and conducting a remedial hearing, we are no closer to vindicating the rights of women than when the suit was filed," it says.

by CNB