Col. Jeffrey S. Smith, professor and head of the Department of Economics and Business at Virginia Military Institute clearly understands wind direction and sail adjustment thanks to his experiences in sailing and participating in sailing yacht races.

Col. Ryan R. Holston, professor of political theory in the Department of International Studies and Political Science, was recently featured on the “Hermitix” podcast and “The Sower,” a podcast of The Ciceronian Society, in which he discusses his recently published book.

Col. Jeffrey S. Smith, professor and head of the Department of Economics and Business at Virginia Military Institute, is featured on the personal finance website, WalletHub.

Lt. Col. Stephanie Hodde, professor in the Department of English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies at Virginia Military Institute, will be featured on the public radio program, With Good Reason starting Saturday, Aug. 26 through Friday, Sept. 1. 

Col. Atin Basuchoudhary will be featured on the public radio program With Good Reason Aug. 19-25. On the episode, entitled “The Many Indias,” Basuchoudhary discusses the third largest religion in the world – Hinduism – and its staying power while other religions have died off.

Maj. Molly Kent, assistant professor of biology at Virginia Military Institute, will be featured on the public radio program, With Good Reason starting Saturday, Aug. 5 through Friday, Aug. 11.

Capt. John E. “Ned” Riester Jr. ’78, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Virginia Military Institute, is retiring after 29 years.

Col. Ryan R. Holston, professor in the Department of International Studies and Political Science and the Jonathan M. Daniels ’61 Chair for Academic Excellence recently published his first book titled, “Tradition and the Deliberative Turn: A Critique of Contemporary Democratic Theory.”

Virginia Military Institute welcomes Dr. Melissa S. Krawiec (née Williams) ’01, as the new Institute physician, 25 years after she signed the matriculation book August 19, 1997, as a member of the first coeducational class.

Col. Robert “Bob” Phillips ’87, chaplain at Virginia Military Institute, is retiring after seven years of encouraging the development of interpersonal faith, and providing spiritual and emotional guidance to the Corps of Cadets.