Alumni News

Roscoe F. “Rebel” Good ’69 of Elkin, North Carolina, was elected to the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame. Good began his officiating career in 1985. He has officiated at virtually every major tournament in the United States, as well as in Spain, Canada, Bermuda, and New Zealand. Good worked his first U.S. Open in 1989 and first U.S. Open final in 1991. He has worked multiple U.S. Open finals as a line umpire and chair umpire. He was the first to chair a U.S. Open final using electronic line calling. His most recent final work was in 2019. Good retired from professional officiating in 2020 but continues to work at the highest ITA levels as a referee and chair umpire. He has many other officiating accomplishments, including being the executive director of the North Carolina Professional Umpires Association, the largest tennis officials’ association in the country. NCPTUA assigns officials to more than 500 collegiate matches in the southeast. Good also currently serves on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Officials and Rules Committees.

He has served USTA North Carolina as a longtime member and chair of the Officials committee. Additionally, Good is the longtime author of “Court of Appeals,” Tennis Magazine’s column on the rules of tennis.

Good matriculated from Quantico, Virginia, and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and business from VMI.

Col. Tappey H. Jones ’70, Ph.D., chemistry professor at VMI, was recently published in the leading, peer-reviewed science journal Nature: Communications Biology. His paper, “Male Fire Ant Neurotransmitter Precursors Trigger Reproductive Development in Females after Mating,” was the product of more than 20 years of research by Jones with the aid of his students at VMI.

Jones’ research is a groundbreaking contribution to chemical ecology and entomology for his discoveries regarding ant reproduction, specifically the inhibition and disinhibition of reproductive development in female ants. Jones first began this research in 1995 with then-Cadet Jeffrey S.T. Gorman ’98 when Jones discovered a class of compounds called tyramides in male ants on post. Jones’ paper studies the conversion of tyramide compounds in male ants to tyramine in female ants during reproduction. Jones matriculated from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from VMI and his doctorate from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Before coming to VMI, Jones taught at Old Dominion University, Furman University, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the College of William & Mary. He served as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Georgia and a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University. He spent six years as a staff fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Jones is an accomplished researcher with over 130 publications to his name and over $800,000 in grants awarded.

The University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland named Lt. Cmdr. John “Jack” Keane ’80 as the newest chair-elect for its board of visitors. Keane served as vice chair before being elected chair by the board at their quarterly meeting in July. He began serving in his three-year position as chair in January.

Throughout his career as a naval officer, Keane served in many assignments around the world. In 1993, he graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, with a degree in operations research. He retired in 1995 at the rank of lieutenant commander after serving at the Naval Research Laboratory, where he flew research missions worldwide.

Since his military career, Keane has been heavily involved in research and education. He served as a member of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory’s principal professional staff, branch supervisor of the Precision Strike Systems Branch in the Force Projection Sector, and a member of the DoD’s Simulation-Based Acquisition Joint Task Force. Additionally, he was a member of the adjunct faculty of the JHU Whiting School of Engineering. He is a past president and fellow of the Military

Operations Research Society, having received the MORS Wanner Award, the society’s highest award for lifetime contributions to the field of operations research, in 2014. In 2016, he was appointed to the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center Board of Governors by Larry Hogan, governor of Maryland. In September 2019, he was appointed to the board of advisors for USMSM. Keane believes in USMSM’s mission to offer world-class education and degree programs Good ’69 in the Southern Maryland region. Keane has lived in Charleston County since 1993 and watched as neighbors often left the area after a few years or their children moved away after college and never returned. Keane hopes to demonstrate the opportunities in fields such as science, engineering, and teaching within Charleston County. His mission as chair is to reach the tri-county area to expand the reputation of USMSM and, ultimately, educational opportunities for underserved members of the community. Keane matriculated from Holyoke, Massachusetts, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering at VMI.

“Bert” Schneider III ’80 became a board member for the Veterans Gaming and Mental Health Mission team. VGMH is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention among veterans by providing mental health support through gaming. VGMH offers outreach, camaraderie, and peer-to-peer support within its veteran gaming community. During his time in the U.S. Air Force, Schneider served as an Air Force Academy aeronautics professor. He obtained three degrees and retired as a major in 1997. He then served in various leadership assignments at Raytheon Missile and Defense Systems in Tucson, Arizona, for 24 years before retiring in 2021. Upon retiring from Raytheon, Schneider became a consultant. In addition to his work with VGMH, Schneider volunteers his time at the University of Arizona’s College of Engineering and Eller College of Management business school. Schneider matriculated from Frederick, Maryland, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree Jones ’70 in electrical engineering from VMI.

For cadets who choose a college experience steeped in personal discipline and a daily expectation of honor and personal integrity, it is an extraordinary journey of self-discovery.

Founded: VMI was founded in 1839 in Lexington, Virginia, as the first state-supported military college in the nation. Student Body: About 1,512 cadets; 65.5% in-state; approximately 13% female, 87% male; 48 states and territories in addition to the District of Columbia; eight foreign countries Tuition and Fees: $30,588 in-state / $60,396 out-of-state Scholarships and Aid: Both merit and need-based aid is available. More than 88% of the Corps receives some type of financial aid, from ROTC scholarships to local VMI aid, outside awards, and/or grants.

Cadets are required to participate in one of the three (Army, Navy/Marines, or Air Force) ROTC programs during their cadetship. Roughly 50% of graduates choose to commission upon graduation, though it is not required.

VMI cadets are men and women of honor and integrity who can always be trusted. They live by a simple code, the VMI Honor Code, which states that “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do.” Cadets look for opportunities to serve others and can often be found tutoring in classrooms, helping in food kitchens, serving as EMTs, volunteering with Special Olympics, and more.

NCAA Division I (FCS in football); participates primarily in the Southern Conference. 18 teams: 11 men’s and seven women’s. Twenty-eight percent of the Corps of Cadets participates in NCAA athletics.

VMI’s education includes a broad, four-year curriculum with programs in engineering, science, liberal arts, and social sciences. VMI also offers an array of enrichment opportunities, including study abroad, undergraduate research, service learning, and the Institute Honors Program. Faculty: 100% of full-time faculty in the 14 degree-granting majors have a Ph.D. or terminal degree in their field; there is an approximate 10:1 cadet-to-faculty ratio.

Both civilian and military employers recognize the rare qualities of self-reliance, initiative, perseverance, integrity, and self-discipline instilled by VMI, and often seek out cadets even before graduation. Military: Cadets who commission from VMI routinely receive their top branch or occupational specialty selection. Civilian: Cadets who begin their careers in the civilian world step in with a kind of confidence that is rare.

VMI meets 100% of need-based financial aid requirements for all Virginia cadets, and aims to meet needs for out-of-state cadets

Payscale.com report noted that Institute alumni earn an average of almost $70,000 early in their careers and $129,000 midcareer

99% of graduates are employed or attending graduate school within five months of graduation (Source: VMI Office of Career Services)

VMI’s most recent six-year graduation rate, 74%, is 11 points higher than the 63% national average for fouryear public institutions reported in 2020 (NCES, 2020, 2014 cohort). Notably, VMI’s six-year rate has not dipped below 70% in over a decade.