Support and Enrichment

Capt. Kristi Brown, a tutor in the Open Mathematics Lab, assists a cadet. – VMI File Photo by John Robertson IV.

The VMI academic program educates cadets in a rigorous environment that encourages life-long learning and develops citizens of character who anticipate, respond, and lead in a complex and changing world. Support of specific programming to further VMI’s mission has been provided by the Jackson-Hope Fund.

An excellent example is the Math Education Resource Center, which assesses cadet preparation for math courses as well as the needs for math skills of the military and business communities that cadets will enter upon graduation. The most important resource the MERC offers cadets is its Open Mathematics Laboratory, where tutors assist cadets with VMI’s mathematics core curriculum, pre-calculus, differential equations, matrix algebra, and multi-variable calculus courses.

One of the hallmarks of VMI’s academic program is the VMI Center for Undergraduate Research an outgrowth of the original Undergraduate Research Initiative funded by Jackson-Hope. The center provides the support cadets need to compete and be nationally recognized for their research, analysis, and inventions. It was a grant from the Jackson-Hope Fund that launched the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute, which provides funding for cadet research projects that often continue past the summer or become honors thesis topics.

Another initiative supported by Jackson-Hope funding that spans all disciplines is the Center for Leadership and Ethics, which advances the understanding, practice, and integration of leadership and character development at the Institute. The Center’s interdisciplinary programs offer cadets a base of knowledge about leadership and its effective application.

Jackson-Hope funds are crucial to VMI’s academic support and enrichment programs across the disciplines.