THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 13, 1996 TAG: 9607130195
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LEXINGTON, VA. LENGTH: 47 lines
The Virginia Military Institute's governing board huddled privately with attorneys Friday to discuss a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ordered the college to admit women or stop receiving state funds.
The board of visitors took no action after the seven-hour session and said it would not issue an official statement until the two-day special meeting ends today.
The 17-member board is considering a range of responses and might put off a decision until September. The options include:
Raising millions of dollars and going private.
Admitting women and making only slight changes such as installing separate showers in the barracks.
Going co-ed and doing away with the intense physical and mental conditioning for incoming freshmen.
VMI and The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., are the nation's only all-male state-supported military colleges. Unlike The Citadel's governing board, which voted the day after the Supreme Court ruling to open their doors to women, the VMI board's response has been deliberate.
``We're taking our time on everything,'' said James Roberts, one of four board members who did not graduate from VMI. ``I'm sure everybody in the room is wishing we didn't have to do what we're having to do.''
William Berry, the board president, said members likely will appoint committees to examine the changes necessary for admitting women and the challenges the school would face in going private. The board then would make its decision in September after hearing reports from the committees.
``There's just so much to digest,'' said Charles Lindsey, who was appointed to the board in May, six years after the Justice Department began trying to force VMI to change its male-only admissions policy.
On Monday, VMI's admissions office will begin sending applications and publications to women who are interested in attending the 157-year-old institution, spokesman Mike Strickler said. Six women have inquired about attending since the Supreme Court decision June 26, he said.
However, the VMI alumni board, a private group, has agreed to undertake a fund-raising campaign to take the school private if the board of visitors endorses the effort.
VMI would have to raise a minimum endowment of $100 million to generate the $10 million annual operating funds needed to replace state funding, VMI Superintendent Josiah Bunting has said. by CNB