UR to no longer host ROTC program, after 70 years

Editor's Note: The views expressed by military officials and cadets do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of War, the United States Army, the United States Cadet Command or the Fourth Army ROTC Brigade.

The University of Richmond will no longer serve as a host institution for the U.S. Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) beginning fall 2026, ending more than 70 years of hosting the program on campus. 

The change is part of the U.S. Army’s goal is to consolidate ROTC programming, with many colleges losing their status as host campuses. “[The University of] Richmond fell into that category,” said Lt. Col. William “Jake” Turner, UR professor of Military Science and Chair of the Department of Military Science & Leadership. 

He said that the change is part of a larger process developed by the U.S. Army chief of staff called the Army Transformation Initiative or ATI. 

Turner said that as the Army reevaluated its staffing and resources, that review ultimately prompted the rebalance and optimization plan. 

According to an email this summer sent to students by the Dean of Arts and Sciences, Jennifer Cavenaugh, the Department of the Army sent a letter to UR stating that Virginia State University will assume the role of host institution. UR ROTC operates as an extension of VSU following the implemented changes in the summer of 2026. 

This shift reflects broader Army-wide developments under the ATI, announced in June 2025 by Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and U.S. General and Army Chief of Staff Randy A. George. According to their Letter to the Force, the ATI aims to create a “leaner, more lethal force by adapting how we fight, train, organize, and buy equipment.”

The initiative comes amid the Department of Defense's recent rebranding to the Department of War  and a period of strategic reassessment across military programs, like ROTC, nationwide. 

Civilian workforce reductions this summer originally prompted plans to close multiple ROTC programs and consolidate others under host institutions. In September, the DoW adjusted its approach: nine of the programs originally slated for closure will continue operating as extension units instead. 

Aidan Derby, a UR ROTC alumnus, is in the Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Benning, Ga. He learned of the change only when it was publicly announced this summer.

“My experience of being at Richmond and it being a host school was awesome because you had, you know, all the resources right at your fingertips,” Derby said. “So I’m sure there’ll be some growing pains…but it’s not like the program is going away.”

James Reynolds, a sophomore cadet, said he was not “the most enthusiastic” about the change, but that it wouldn’t fundamentally impact the program. 

“I have nothing to control the outcome or how it is implemented, so I just follow orders,” Reynolds said. 

He added that he anticipates few major logistical challenges for cadets. 

Sophomore Libby Jonas used to be a part of the ROTC program. From her conversations with Staff Sergeant Kendra Love-Perez, a military science instructor, Jonas heard that the change will not fundamentally impact the way ROTC is run at UR.

 “It doesn’t really affect, from what I understand, how classes are going to be working here,” Jonas said. “We still are going to have cadre. We’re still going to have leaders here in classes. So it’s not like the program, as a whole, is being taken away.” 

Jonas described the change as “a sad fact,” reflecting on Richmond’s long history as a host institution.

“I just wish it wasn’t our program,” Jonas said. “Because we have produced some very talented officers and leaders.”

Officers and leaders such as U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark T. Simerly and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Robert T. Dail. Even this year, three senior cadets of the class of 2026 are designated with the competitive title of Distinguished Military Graduates.

“All three years that I've been here, we've had cadets from Richmond in the top 5% [of Army ROTC graduates],” Turner said, noting that each year the Army ranks thousands of new officers and that Richmond cadets consistently place among the top performers.

 One of those cadets, Nick Lewis, said that the liberal arts education at UR helps cadets become better future leaders. 

“...being at a school like this where you have to communicate, where you have to exchange ideas and where you have to analyze ideas and situations, I think, in the army, that's going to be really beneficial in a very practical sense.” Lewis said. 

Elsie Hacker, the academic administrative coordinator for Military Science, and others in the ROTC department are working to continue the legacy of the Spider Battalion despite the transition to an extension school. 

“We're still going to see if we can support the 9/11 event that has been a huge success. We're still going to be having, you know, cadets around in Spider Dash. 
We are going to still have a presence here on campus.” Hacker said, referring to the 9/11 memorial event started by UR ROTC two years ago and the Spider Dash 5K race through the UR campus. 

Another way the Spider Battalion is preserving its legacy is through its efforts to establish a military science minor at UR, something Turner has been working towards for the past two years. 

“We're working through the draft. 
We have a faculty mentor. You know, it's going to go to academic council. I'll be prepared to talk [about] it amongst the other department chairs. 
But the minor effort is not going away,” Turner said. 

According to Turner, the Army “will continue to staff and fund” the ROTC program operations at UR despite the changes. The current memorandum of agreement between the Army and UR will be drafted to reflect UR’s new extension status. 

“From a Richmond perspective, based on these changes, there’s a memorandum of agreement between the Army and the University of Richmond, right? So previously our agreement was for a host school agreement status. Now it’s going to shift to an extension,” Turner said. 

Turner insisted that the transition will be “largely transparent to students.” 

“You know, sometimes change can be a little unsettling, but I'll tell you, [it’s] still a Spider Battalion, still have opportunities for all the cadets, largely transparent, it's just part of the army's kind of operations to reallocate resources and make things a little bit more streamlined.” 

Hacker said that ROTC students have an "incredible sense of service" that is instilled by the cadre at Richmond. 

“So while this is a change, we are still going to produce cadets who have that ingrained in their being, you know, like, from the bottom up and have pride in their school and have pride in what they're going to go out and do in the world with, again, that underlying sense of we are here to serve our school, our team, our nation,” Hacker said. She added: “I mean, just the approach is always from that point of view. And what a great thing for them to be under VSU and to contribute their amazing leadership.” 

Derby echoed a similar sentiment: “I really hope people, incoming freshmen, continue to decide to do ROTC at Richmond even though we are no longer [a] host school, because it has opened numerous doors for me; given me so many opportunities. I’m extremely thankful that I did it.”

Contact lifestyle editor Sophie Dulog at sophie.dulog@richmond.edu