VMI accepts first female cadets

The Associated Press The four women and the 94 men accepted to VMI thus far have until Feb. 15 to decide whether to enroll in the Institute. Superintendent Josiah Bunting III didn't release the women's names Saturday. But Lauren Wagner of Richmond told The Roanoke Times that she was among those accepted. Ms. Wagner is a lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol. Her mother is attorney Eileen Wagner, who in 1993 filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association arguing that the school should not be allowed to remain state-supported and all-male. In June, the Supreme Court ordered the school to admit women. After contemplating going private, the board voted in September to comply with the court's order. Lauren Wagner said she was offered an Institute Scholarship, which would cover all of her expenses -- room and board, tuition, study abroad her junior year and spending money. However, she also has been nominated for an appointment to the Air Force Academy and will go there if accepted because she plans a career as a pilot, she said. Overall applications are up 35 percent this year, VMI spokesman Col. Mike Strickler said, with 342 men and 15 women seeking admission.