ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605060062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LEXINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
A pre-med student at Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership has been chosen the top-ranked first-year cadet in the Air Force ROTC program at Virginia Military Institute.
Trimble Bailey competed for the Air Force Superior Cadet Award with 127 men at VMI and 17 classmates at the state's alternative program for women at nearby Mary Baldwin College.
While the regular academic programs at VMI and Mary Baldwin are single-sex, the ROTC programs are co-educational. Cadets at VWIL and VMI take ROTC classes and associated military and physical training activities together at VMI.
VMI and The Citadel in South Carolina are the nation's only state-supported, all-male colleges. VMI's admissions policy is being challenged by the U.S. Justice Department. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in January and is expected to rule by July 1.
In the meantime, the state is following an appeals court ruling that allowed the state to establish a parallel program for women. The institute accepted its first class of 42 students last fall.
Bailey, 18, of Roanoke, was given the ROTC award during a ceremony Thursday night at VMI. She was chosen on the basis of her demonstrated leadership potential, academics, attitude and participation in Air Force activities.
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