Virginia Military Institute  Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public military college in Lexington, Virginia. It was founded in 1839 and is the first public Senior Military College in the United States. In keeping with its founding principles and unlike any other Senior Military College in the United States, VMI enrolls cadets (uniformed members of the Corps of Cadets) only and awards baccalaureate degrees exclusively. VMI offers its students, all of whom are cadets, strict military discipline combined with a physically and academically demanding environment. The Institute grants degrees in 14 disciplines in engineering, science, and the liberal arts, and all VMI students are required to participate in ROTC. While VMI has been called "The West Point of the South", it differs from the federal military service academies. As of 2019, VMI had a total enrollment of 1,722 cadets. All cadets must participate in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) of the United States Armed Forces programs, but are afforded the flexibility of pursuing civilian endeavors or accepting an officer's commission in any of the active or reserve components of any of the U.S. military branches upon graduation. VMI's alumni include a Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, the current Secretary of the Army, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, 7 Medal of Honor recipients, 13 Rhodes Scholars, Pulitzer Prize winners, an Academy Award winner, an Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner, a martyr recognized by the Episcopal Church, Senators and Representatives, Governors, including the current Governor of Virginia, Lieutenant Governors, a Supreme Court Justice, numerous college and university presidents, many business leaders (presidents and CEOs) and over 290 general and flag officers across all US service branches and several other countries. The Board of Visitors is the supervisory board of the Virginia Military Institute. Although the Governor is "ex officio" the commander-in-chief of the institute, and no one may be declared a graduate without his signature, he delegates to the board the responsibility for developing the institute's policy. The board appoints the superintendent and approves appointment of members of the faculty and staff on the recommendation of the superintendent. The board may make bylaws and regulations for their own government and the management of the affairs of the institute, and while the institute is exempt from the Administrative Process Act in accordance with Va. Code (which exempts educational institutions operated by the Commonwealth), some of its regulations are codified at 8VAC 100. The Executive Committee conducts the business of the board during recesses.