Greetings from the Commandant

Welcome to the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.

Our mission is to graduate leaders of exemplary character who are instilled with the values and skills essential for leadership success in service to our nation. We’ve done this since the university’s founding in 1872, and our graduates include seven recipients of the Medal of Honor. In the military, in the public sector, and in private business, our alumni have achieved great success.

The Corps of Cadets is a 24/7 leadership laboratory and one of the most unique student experiences at Virginia Tech. That experience creates a group of lifelong friends, a network of alumni who will mentor and support you throughout your careers, and a strong set of ethical values.

Cadets study leadership, learn from experts, and — most importantly — practice what they have been taught while leading this regiment of more than 1,000 of their peers.

Our leader development program is overseen by the Major General W. Thomas Rice Center for Leader Development, which offers a minor in leadership studies. The center sponsors the Cutchins Leadership Lecture Series and has brought to campus recognized leaders and opinion-makers such as Colin Powell, Clinton Romesha, Christine Todd Whitman, Bill Bradley, Douglas Brinkley, and Tom Ridge.

Our Citizen-Leader Track offers cadets the opportunity to experience our military lifestyle and apply its skills directly to jobs in their chosen careers without a military obligation after graduation. In fact, more than 75 percent of them have career-staring jobs in the public or private sector or acceptance to graduate school before they graduate.

All cadets aim high and repeatedly achieve great success across campus.

They volunteer countless community service hours each academic year.

They travel around the globe through the Corps’ Global Scholars Program, studying the leadership lessons of World War I and II, through the Project Global Officer cultural emersion program for ROTC students, and through Olmsted Foundation Undergraduate Scholars experience.

And they remain committed to academics and boast a Corps-wide GPA of over a 3.0.

Our alumni, staff, and cadets are dedicated to the university motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). I am inspired daily by their exemplary leadership, professionalism, and enthusiasm.