Richard “Richie” O’Connell III ’22 was ready, willing, and able to represent the entire Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets when his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. at the 60th presidential inauguration.

Ace Atkins, who started his writing career as a crime beat reporter, read a few excerpts to the audience from his popular Quinn Colson series, which consists of 11 novels. He addressed cadets, staff, and the community with conversation and readings from his fictional literary works.

Col. Glenn Sullivan, associate professor, and Maj. Michael LaRocca, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, are concerned with those statistics, and have received a $150,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Veterans Services to conduct research on veteran suicide prevention.

Mattie Queensberry Smith, Ph.D., instructor in the Department of English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies and Col. Shannon Eskam, assistant superintendent for strategic enrollment management/director of financial aid, were recognized during the Feb. 8 home basketball game against The Citadel.

Robert G. Parkinson, Ph.D., award winning historian of the American Revolution and author, will address the bewilderment, chaos, disorder and complexities during the American Revolution, and highlight individual stories of the nation’s founding.

Benjamin Anthony, co-founder and chief executive officer of the New York-based MirYam Institute, will speak at VMI part of the VMI Center for Leadership and Ethics’ Courageous Leadership Speaker series.

The Corps of Cadets was scheduled to make their 16th appearance in a presidential inaugural parade Jan. 20, but word reached VMI the Friday evening before that because of the extraordinarily cold weather forecast all events would be moved indoors, precluding VMI from participating.

Virginia Military Institute welcomes New York Times bestselling author, Ace Atkins, for a reading of his 30th novel, “Don’t Let the Devil Ride,” Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. in Gillis Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

Col. Jeff Kendrick, professor of French in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, has been named director of the Office of Global Education. Since his arrival at VMI in 2013, Kendrick has served in a variety of roles, including special assistant to the dean for permit and calendar.

Virginia Military Institute welcomes Oleksandra Matviichuk, Ukrainian lawyer and global human rights defender, Monday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. in Gillis Theater. The event is free and open to the public.