As part of their academic work, cadets utilize Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Archive's collections to conduct research on the Institute's history. These Field Work projects allow cadets to apply their classroom learning in a professional or service-learning environment and showcase their skills in research, analysis, and communication.

We welcome and encourage teaching with our collections and can provide engaging hands-on experiences for cadets. For more information or to schedule a session at the archives, please email archives@vmi.edu.

Past Projects

For the ERH 411 Field Work course, cadets researched the history of the Institute with a focus on cadet life and the changing face of post. This course was taught by Lieutenant Colonel Pennie Ticen in partnership with archives staff Major Jeff Kozak, and Mary Laura Kludy.

Each pair of cadets organized their research into a web page, including:

• Early years
  • Research conducted by Joshua Farr (VMI Class of 2023) and Michael Lawrence (VMI Class of 2023).
• Post-Civil War
  • Research conducted by Emma Faust (VMI Class of 2023) and Jonathan Ballesteros (VMI Class of 2024)
• Turn of the Century
  • Research conducted by Kolton Dobson (VMI Class of 2023) and Keenan Orr (VMI Class of 2023).
• World-War-I, Thomas D. Amory
  • Research conducted by Michael Tempesta (VMI Class of 2022) and Lancelot Wiemann (VMI Class of 2022).
• Great Depression
  • Research conducted by Justine Curcio (VMI Class of 2022) and Francis Ripley (VMI Class of 2023).
• World War II
  • Research conducted by James Mills (VMI Class of 2023) and Thomas Owen (VMI Class of 2023).