"Forward, Not Backward": New VMI BOV Member José J. Suárez '82 Charts a Course for Unity and Strength

The Cadet recently caught up with new VMI Board of Visitors Member José J. Suárez, M.Eng., P.E '82, who granted the staff an exclusive interview. During his interview with The Cadet, Mr. Suárez, as a new member of the BOV, deferred comment or offered only preliminary responses on a number of key issues, citing his recent appointment and desire to become more informed before taking definitive positions. These included questions on VMI's continued participation in Division I athletics, the planned installation of electronic keycard locks on cadet barracks doors, the use and transparency of unrestricted funds, the growing size of the administrative staff, and the shifting balance between Corps leadership and administrative control. He also chose not to comment on matters related to the evolving state of the Corps and the ratline, BOV public comment policies, live streaming meetings, and editorial independence and freedom of speech for cadets, but expressed great interest in learning more about them, particularly from cadets and alumni/ae writ large to make the best decisions for VMI. Mr. Suárez additionally declined to weigh in on political controversies surrounding recent BOV appointments, calls for third-party investigations into internal conflicts, and allegations regarding the administration's relationship with media outlets until he has more detailed information. In response to these and other politically charged or divisive topics, Mr. Suárez consistently emphasized a forward-looking approach, stating that his focus is on strengthening VMI. He expressed appreciation for the service of Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins but refrained from commenting on the superintendent's recent allegations of bias. The Cadet: Can you provide some background on your upbringing, family, education, and time before VMI? Mr. Suárez: I was born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico. I attended Academia Santa Maria, a Catholic School in Puerto Rico, before coming to VMI. I have a younger sister, Rosario, who attended Randolph-Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, after I graduated from VMI. My Mother was a flight attendant for Pan American Airlines before she married my Father. My Father was the first person from Puerto Rico to graduate with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in the 1950s. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy before working for Puerto Rican Cement for his entire career. Both of my parents loved VMI. My wife, Fran, was raised in Chesapeake, Virginia, and she graduated from the University of Virginia. She also graduated with a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is my rock and a great support of my career; a career that has had me working and living throughout the United States and internationally. She has been instrumental in our sponsorship of seven (7) young ladies around the World that we have funded since their infant years through after high school graduation. Fran also loves VMI. We have very strong ties to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Fran and I live in Saint Augustine, Florida. The Cadet: What brought you to VMI? How did you hear about it, and what drew you here? Mr. Suárez: Collectively, my family has served in the United States military for a combined 150 years. Following tradition, I wanted to pursue a degree in Engineering and a commission in the U.S. military. I received an appointment to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and I was also accepted at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, where I was going to pursue a commission through their Air Force ROTC program. Unfortunately, their ROTC program was cancelled shortly after my acceptance. After discussions with my Father, I decided to look for a more stringent military college that also had a good engineering program. My Father had received an article about VMI and its engineering program. He thought that VMI was the best choice for me. This is when I chose to come to VMI. The Cadet: What are some of your favorite memories from your time at VMI? Mr. Suárez: First of all, the interactions with my Brother Rats (BR) were wonderful. We still stay in touch. They are my Brothers. Secondly, my Professors. They were very supportive. Lastly, I loved every aspect of the military at VMI. The Cadet: How has your VMI experience impacted your life and career? Mr. Suárez: After leaving the U.S. Navy, I advanced in my career from working as an engineer, to Vice President of Project Services for a major International Company, to Project Director of multiple "Mega Projects" around the world, to Vice President of Major Projects for a major Global Engineering and Construction Company, to being President/CEO of a multi billion dollar Engineering and Construction Division for a large International Company; where I had direct and indirect responsibility for over 5,000 personnel worldwide. I can attribute my success to the superior engineering education that I received at VMI, the time management that I learned at VMI, the never say die attitude that I learned at VMI, the leadership skills that I learned at VMI, and the ethical behavior that was ingrained in me at VMI. My experience in the U.S. military was also a big influence on my success. The Cadet: As someone classified as from a minority and who attended VMI, did you find the Institute or the Corps to be systemically racist while you attended? Mr. Suárez: I was interviewed by B&T [Barnes & Thornburg], but sadly, my comments were not included in the final report. I'll summarize my comments to B&T for you this way: I came to VMI with a limited command of the English language. My BR's, my professors, and the administration helped me to ensure that I could keep up with my studies. Between 1978 - 1982, we lived in a period of racial strife in the United States. For me, VMI and its community never discriminated against me. VMI then was not systematically racist, nor do I believe that it is today. Based on how VMI embraced me and allowed me to succeed, I do not believe that I would have done as well by going to another University. It is significant that in his interview with Barnes & Thornburg (B&T) as part of their investigation into allegations of systemic racism at VMI, Mr. Suárez, a minority alumnus who attended VMI from 1978 to 1982, expressed strong disagreement with the report's conclusion that VMI harbored systemic and institutional racism. Despite providing detailed personal testimony, Mr. Suárez's statements were notably excluded from the final B&T report—a significant omission given the report's sweeping conclusions. He emphasized that during a time of national racial tension, VMI stood out as a place where he was not discriminated against and was given the tools to succeed. He explicitly stated that he did not experience systemic racism at VMI during his time as a cadet and does not believe it exists there today. His unwavering defense of the Institute and rejection of the report's findings, especially as someone from a minority background, highlights the critical importance of including diverse perspectives like his in any assessment of institutional culture. The failure to incorporate his testimony into the B&T report undermines its comprehensiveness and raises questions about the balance and fairness of its conclusions. The Cadet: What were your experiences at VMI as a minority? Did you experience any bias or racism? Mr. Suárez: To me, the Rat Line is the biggest equalizer. From the first day when they get you in JM Hall, I will call it JM Hall. You have people here that are rich, you have people here that are poor. You have people here that are 4.0's in high school, honor society. You're nothing. You're a Rat. That makes you equal. Andwith this whole thing about the Barnes and Thornburg report came out and said... the Ratline makes you equal. Doesn't matter what color you are, it doesn't matter what accent you have, it doesn't matter anything. And again, as part of my experiences that I saw in the four years I was here, I never felt racially attacked; I was embraced by my Brother Rats. I was embraced by the faculty. And I tell you, the first semester here was tough. My English command wasn't that great…I probably have taken more liberal arts courses than anybody else because number one is I had to take an English class and lab to be able to improve my English. And then I made sure that I took the hardest liberal arts courses in history so I could write and make presentations so I can write better and I can speak. But I was supported by the professors, I was supported by my Brother Rats. And I was very, very hurt when the reports came out of what was going on. I volunteered to be interviewed by B&T. And during that interview, I think they already had their mind made up. They were not going to do anything. But I gave them some points. My class had the first African American First Captain. And what's interesting, you might want to read this because it's something that people need to know. VMI accepted African Americans a lot later than West Point but we had our first African American, first captain before West Point. But did they [B&T] find what they were looking for? … They painted a picture… People need to speak up. I spoke up because I was very angry about it after my experience… My class had Daryl Horn, who became the owner of a successful engineering company, actually a member of the Board of Visitors, very successful. So...how can you say there is systemic racism?" The Cadet: I wanted to ask you just about your experiences with racism after graduating from VMI, how the Honor Code and living an honorable life after VMI have served you in your career, your success, and your treatment towards people. Being English isn't your first language. Strong accent after graduating from VMI. You're a hard worker. People disregard you because they see your skin color and your heritage first, and your accent. Could you tell me about your experiences with racism following VMI? Mr. Suarez: Like I said before, the Ratline was a big equalizer here. So for the four years to get my experience, I never felt any racism or saw any, what I call systematic racism. The Honor Code, to me, made the place ideal because you can be here relatively free of people stealing from you or cheating or doing all those things. And you're kind of isolated when you come out of VMI, when you go to the real world. And you start seeing that things are not the same. To me, after my four years here, it was a little bit of a shock. For example, straight out of the Navy, as a Navy officer, because I was commissioned as a Navy officer, other Navy officers will say to me, speak English, because I had an accent. That was one. The other one is, as I progressed through the ranks in the Navy, I got to be responsible for contracting. And by the way, I'm from Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. I've been a U.S. citizen since I was born. So I had a situation in the Navy where we had a very strict rule of buying American. And this contractor came into my office and said, you need to buy my equipment. " I said, "Sir, we cannot buy your equipment. We have a Buying American Act." And he looked at me and said, "How can you even make those decisions? You're not even a citizen of this country." Because I had a Spanish name. I had to educate the person to say I would not be an officer in the US Navy without being a citizen. And the second part is get out of my office and never come back. In the US military in all the branches. My father was a US Navy officer. I... have a cousin that went to the... Naval Academy and was a commodore in the Navy. He commanded multiple combatants in the Navy. So... it's in us to really be patriotic and serve in the military. And one of the things that I wanted to do was to serve in Camp David, because I said, that's the pinnacle. I want to serve for the President. And... there was an opportunity to be assigned to Camp David. And my detailer, who was a senior officer that's responsible for moving officers, said, you qualify for it, but you cannot get it because you're from Puerto Rico. And I said, Puerto Ricans are second-class citizens. So that's in the Navy. Again, one of the things you learn in VMI is not to be a victim. So I did not let that victimize me. But again, it's a big difference from my experience at VMI to coming out, serving and how people treated people. Then I went to civilian life and... my God, I can sit here and talk for hours about this. And I was working with this person, which was very difficult. One of my first civilian engineering jobs. And one day I asked him, why are you so difficult to deal with when it comes to me? He said, I just don't like Hispanics. And I said, what have I done for you not to like me? He's like, you do a great job, but I'm from California, and most of the Hispanics that I grew up with were always falling asleep in the classroom. And I laughed. I said, were these migrants that were picking up your vegetables in the fields? Oh, yes, they were. Do you realize they were working at night with their parents, picking up vegetables for you to eat, and they cannot stay awake? Again, first civilian encounter. As I progressed through my career, first time I got promoted to vice president I had to go to Mexico to look at some projects in a cement plant. And I took a young draftsman to take notes of measurements for people. We're measuring this equipment to see what solution we're going to have. And again, structural racism is not an Anglo or a white person against another. It exists in any culture. So we get to Mexico and the person in charge started addressing my young draftsman as he was the boss because there's no way a Hispanic guy is gonna be the boss. This is the boss, the guy with the English name. And again, understandably, they were not expecting to see a Hispanic guy being a vice president. Later on, I went to another company when I was number two in charge, a big construction company. And people also need to understand not all Hispanic people are the same. And sometimes people look at everybody as Mexican. We all have different cultures. Even our language is different in many ways. It may be the same Spanish, but we have nuances and colloquialisms. They're different. So, during Cinco de Mayo, this guy came to my office dressed with a sombrero and whatever: "I'm celebrating you today." The guy was not a very nice guy. And again, this is the typical stuff you see --- just poor taste. So I had another situation on a very difficult project in Arizona in a copper smelter where we're working seven days a week for two weeks, trying to get the smelter up on its feet. And the client did some things on their side and safety-wise that… really harmed our people. And we did not complete the project on time. We actually missed the deadline, which I understand is not a good thing, but not totally our fault. But this guy from the client called my company and basically said, "it's his fault". You know how the Hispanics are. So I mean, and again, don't become a victim. You overcome those things. But I put that in contrast to my experience at VMI. And you come out, and you may be a little naive because you think everybody's going to be honorable, you think everybody's going to treat you equally. And I think there's, there's a magic, a magic potion in VMI on the Ratline to make everybody equal. And if we can take that to the world, the world will be a better place. The Cadet: I'm sure that you're going to touch on it, but something I am curious about is that disconnect, especially with honor and how you dealt with and managed living an honorable lifestyle and making honor a lifestyle in a world where the same cannot be said for a lot of people and being taken advantage of? Mr. Suarez: I always said this to my wife, and it was ingrained in me at VMI. Every day that I wake up and I look at myself in the mirror when I shave, do I feel good about the actions that I've taken for the day? Do I feel good about the actions that I've done in my life? And the answer is always yes. I'm going to give you an example. I was managing the construction of a brand new power plant in Colombia. And this is between 1999 and 2001. And it's in the middle of guerrilla territory, and we were getting people kidnapped. There were a lot of bad things happening with the drug trade in that area. So we had about a thousand people working on the job. So you have about 10,000 to 15,000 in a town of 25,000 people that are supporting that project. So we lived under some incredible security conditions. We had a Colombian army company protecting us, three Colombian army battalions ... protecting us, and about 25 to 30 expatriates doing very detailed work on the project. So the president of Colombia decided to do a peace agreement with the guerrillas, which meant that the paramilitaries that were in the region had to stand down and let them come in. And they would not do that because when the guerrillas came in, they brought a lot of drug trade to the area. So they blockaded all the roads to the project. They blockaded the river. So my project pretty much was coming to a standstill. So my company called from the US, my boss and said, "you need to pack up, come back home." And I said, "I'm not gonna do that. I have 25,000 people in this town that depend on us. Give me two days and we're gonna have a solution." And again, caring about people, the things that I always found about VMI, you always care about people. So I was blessed that a lot of the people that worked for me were ex-military. I had Army Rangers, I had Navy logistics people. So I started making phone calls and I said, "can we build an airstrip to get a C130 to come in and bring the equipment in?" Because the paramilitaries allowed us to do that. He said, "I cannot let you use the roads, I cannot let you use the rivers, but I can let you fly stuff in." So in Colombia, they're used to all this stuff. So, the Colombian air force rents C-130s. Then I found out that the old patch will rent Russian heavy-lift helicopters. In two days, we had an airstrip. We had C-130s. We had the choppers. The project never stopped. Brought all the equipment in. We finished the project six months ahead of schedule. The client paid for all of this. My company called me and said, "Who's paying for all this?" - Client is, don't worry about it. When we inaugurated the project the government people came and said, "you know, you cared about us, and for that we're thankful." Again, doing the right thing, thinking out of the box. In VMI, that's another thing too. VMI shows you to never take the easy path. I've never taken the easy path in my career. I've always done the hardest things…Let's talk about honesty. I had another project with a government entity, it happens to be a cement plant in South America. And when this client came in, they sent a minister to negotiate with us. And during the negotiations, he said, "we're gonna give you a contract, but on the side I want you to give me a gift. Either $25,000 or to give me computers." And I said, "What you're going to get is a limo to the airport and get the heck out of my face. Because it's illegal for a United States company to bribe a foreign entity. Get out of my face." ... I was working in Ukraine. Very interesting topic today, 1997, we were providing air pollution control to a coal-fired power plant in Donetsk, which is one of the regions now that it's under fire. We had six boilers that we had to work in. Each boiler needed about $2 million worth of equipment to modify them to decrease the emissions. The clients will send us a million dollars; we'll send the parts. So the first tranche of money came in and then we're excited to get going. But in those days, 1997 Ukraine was still the wild days. And it's still wild. Ukraine did not have any cash. So they had to work through the Russian mob to get cash. So, they would provide power. The Russian mob would sell that power for durable goods. The Ukrainians would get durable goods; the Ukrainians would sell them. So, my boss sent me to Ukraine to say get the other million so we can get the first project going. So I went to see the client and, uh, the client said, "Well, we have good news and bad news." What is the bad news? "Well, we don't have the cash." Well, that's really bad. What's the good news? "We're going to give you three Russian Hind-E attack helicopters that you can have right now. They're worth more than a million dollars." So I looked at the guy, I said, "What am I gonna do with three Russian attack helicopters?" he said, "You don't even have to see them, Jose." What do you mean? "We have people in Chechnya that are going to take them from you." Which means I was selling arms. Yeah, again, another one of those things to say, we're not going to do this. Get out of my face. Come back home. Again, it's doing the right thing. Things don't smell good. You don't. The Cadet: So, do you find that in a larger world, in a larger society, where honor, honesty, and integrity are not as prevalent? Did you ever find that you were actually at a disadvantage because you stayed true to those things and maybe ran into people, entities, or organizations that took advantage of it or used the lack of it to get ahead? Mr. Suarez: Good question. And I would say when you first encounter those things, you really think you're at a disadvantage. I used to have colleagues that said, you cannot do work in this country, in the Middle East, without being corrupt. And I said, I cannot accept that. And as a matter of fact, you think you can, or Asia. It doesn't have to be the Middle East. If you really think that the only way you're going to do business is by being corrupt, then I will be out of the establishment. I will not do that. It's just not right. And with time, you find that you have to select the right client. And when you behave ethically, they understand and they behave ethically. I had one project in Russia because I spent a lot of time also working in Russia and Siberia. This particular company, the CEO and I became very good friends. He actually was a general in the Russian army. He's a paratrooper, Special Forces. Great guy. He's about 6ft 7ft tall. Just an incredible specimen of a human being. We became very good friends. But he said, you always say the truth. That's why I do business with you. You know, you bring bad news when you have to bring bad news. You don't sugarcoat it. When you screw up, you fix it. Again, I would say that the things you learn in this great Institute will last you a lifetime, and they have served me well. And I live with myself. I can look at myself in the mirror and say, you know, it's okay. The Cadet: How has honor served you after VMI? A lot of young people here are either on your side about how it serves them, or believe that honor is just like a four-year thing at VMI, and then you leave. Mr. Suarez: If you don't believe that there's something you're gonna carry for you for the rest of your life, perhaps you shouldn't be here. Honor will serve you well for the rest of your life. I am happy that VMI is doing more cultural exchanges, because in my days, there was not a lot of exposure to things outside of the United States, so that's positive because you start seeing other places. You know, I have visited, worked in pretty much every country in the world. It's easy for me to tell you where I have not worked. The one thing I can tell you, the beautiful places and great places, but there's nothing like the United States. I'm an American. And one of the things that I tell you is, am I proud of my Hispanic heritage? Yes, I am. But I'm very proud of being an American. And I hope one day we can all work to get all those classifications to go away. I don't want to be known as a Hispanic American. I'm an American. The Cadet: It's very unique to America, too, because we have, for example, if I were talking to you, I could be like, I'm a white American, or my grandfather from Ireland, I'm Irish. But if I were to go to my friend who's a Rat from Sweden, if you say, I'm Irish, he'll say, No, you're an American. Mr. Suárez: We all have different cultural, uh, backgrounds, and we need to celebrate those. But at the end of the day, I'm an American. The Cadet: Yes. There's a reason why our parents, grandparents, and further back ancestors came here. It's because, at least at the time, um, and you know, arguments can be made about how far we've strayed in getting it back there. But regardless, there's something that this country stands for or stood for, there's a reason why. Mr. Suárez: I'll tell you something about my family. I had two great uncles. They served in the Spanish army. Both went to the Spanish military academy in Toledo. One of them actually became the Vice Governor of the Philippines in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. My family actually fought against the United States in the Spanish-American War. But I can tell you, after the war, Spain was defeated. My family said, America's our country. That's the flag that we're gonna follow. The Cadet: You joined the BOV at a time of great controversy, including your appointment. How did your time at VMI prepare you for such challenges? Mr. Suárez: I am a forward looking person. I will concentrate on the future, and how I can make VMI stronger. The Cadet: In his March 6, 2025, statement and his comments during the April 16, 2025, BOV Special Meeting, the superintendent made serious accusations of bias and others against the BOV and individuals. As a corporate leader and now member of the BOV, what are your reactions to these comments? Mr. Suárez: I will not comment on this matter. My focus is forward looking to make VMI stronger. I do thank Maj. Gen. Wins for his service to our country. The Cadet: What are your personal goals to accomplish during your term on the BOV? Mr. Suárez: Strengthen VMI's position as a producer of Citizen-Soldiers, increase the number of STEM graduates, and motivate Cadets to pursue a commission in the U.S. Military. The Cadet: As the Corps of Cadets has grown over time, the number of VMI alumni on the faculty and staff has dropped significantly. What is your view of this practice of putting more and more non-VMI alumni in key positions and the majority of the faculty? Does it help or hurt VMI? Mr. Suárez: I had some very good non-VMI alumni professors at VMI. They embraced VMI's mission. Professors from outside VMI are needed, to offer a different perspective on the educational process. Having said this, I was fortunate to have many professors that graduated from VMI. They added a great dimension to helping Cadets to succeed. We need more VMI alumni professors to restore a balance in experiences. The Cadet: Colleges and universities are approaching what is referred to as "the enrollment cliff." VMI is steadily increasing to the point where more and more good cadets are leaving, not because of grades but because they cannot afford tuition. What challenges do you see in this area, and do you favor a detailed review of cost savings and avoidance across VMI, including NCAA sports, to lower tuition? What other approaches do you recommend? Mr. Suárez: This is an important area that both the BOV, and the administration has to review further. The Cadet: What should VMI do to avoid the enrollment cliff, and what do you see as the greatest challenges facing VMI going forward to mitigate the impact of the enrollment cliff? Mr. Suárez: We have to sell the VMI story better! VMI is good, and many young people would benefit from a VMI education. The Commonwealth and the United States need VMI more than ever. The Cadet: Although the Honor Code remains unchanged, what are your views or concerns on the current state of the Honor System and the changes in the past several years? Mr. Suárez: The VMI experience is anchored in the Honor Code. I am happy to see that we have not experienced the problems that the service academies have had with their Honor Code systems. We need to be fierce in ensuring that the Honor Code remains strong! The Cadet: What is your position on allowing cadets of legal age to responsibly consume alcoholic beverages (beer) at events such as home football games, in a cadet pub, or a similar location on Post? Mr. Suárez: This should not be allowed. The Spartan way of VMI needs to continue. The Cadet: During your cadetship, what was your experience with The Cadet? Mr. Suárez: It was a very good experience, and a balance of humor, and news. My parents loved reading The Cadet. The Cadet: In your various capacities, you've seen a lot of change at VMI over the years. What do you see as good changes at the Institute? Mr. Suárez: Yes, I have! Women entering VMI has been very good. I am impressed by the quality of the women Cadets, and alumni. International exchange programs are excellent. We live in a world that needs exposure to other countries, and nationalities. The Cadet: What changes at VMI concern you? Mr. Suárez: We need more people enrolled in STEM programs. Cadets must accept a commission in the U.S. Military, if offered. The Cadet: As a new Board of Visitors member, what message do you want to give to Cadets? Mr. Suárez: My goal is to support them and make their VMI experience better. The Cadet: As a new Board of Visitors member, what message do you want to give to the administration? Mr. Suárez: The BOV has a Governance function over the administration. Both entities must work together to make VMI stronger The Cadet: As a new Board of Visitors member, what message do you want to give to faculty and staff? Mr. Suárez: We must focus on the mission to make Citizen-Soldiers. The Cadet: As a new Board of Visitors member, what message do you want to give to alumni? Mr. Suárez: We must work together to make VMI stronger. Mr. José J. Suárez '82 stands as a principled and thoughtful leader who brings decades of experience in engineering, executive, and military fields to the Board of Visitors. His humility, candor, and steady emphasis on unity and forward momentum offer reassurance during a time of institutional uncertainty. With deep pride in VMI's traditions and a firm commitment to ethical leadership, Mr. Suárez represents a promising voice for the Corps, the Board, and the entire VMI community. SUPPORT US: True to its founding, The Cadet remains independent, cadet-run, and relies on donations to operate. Please help us preserve the voice of the Corps and alumni by making a tax-deductible donation at: https://thecadetfoundation.org/participate-and-support/