Designing for Belonging
At VMI, we did not redefine the institution. We clarified who could thrive within it.
Virginia Military Institute began admitting women in 1997 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Virginia. Nearly three decades later, women represented roughly 14% of the Corps of Cadets.
Increasing women’s enrollment required more than recruitment volume, it required credibility within a tradition-bound institution navigating cultural evolution.
During this same period, Virginia Military Institute saw applications steadily rise, ultimately doubling from approximately 1,650 to over 3,300 between 2008 and 2019, with the most significant acceleration occurring in the final years of that span. Growth alone, however, did not ensure a more representative Corps. The challenge was not only to increase volume, but to expand who could see themselves within it.
My charge was to translate institutional rigor into messaging that directly addressed the questions prospective female cadets and their families were asking without diluting VMI’s identity.
I led segmented recruitment strategy focused on women, integrating print and digital into a unified narrative system. This included:
Developing a cornerstone narrative mailer
Creating the “Define Yourself” cross-channel campaign
Refining website pathways and FAQs
Curating authentic imagery
Aligning email, digital, and counselor messaging
Recruitment messaging needed specificity, candor, and strength.
The primary recruitment piece was structured around action-oriented pillars. The language reinforced agency. It positioned VMI not as an institution women had to “fit into,” but as a place where they could actively shape their own trajectory.
Earn Your Place
Seize Opportunity
Discover Your Strength
Train to Lead
Join a Team
Build Lifelong Friendships
Ensure Your Future
The “Define Yourself” Campaign
To move beyond abstraction, we built a cross-channel campaign centered on individual female cadets. Each profile paired:
A single defining noun — Strength. Endurance. Courage. Intellect. Purpose.
A bold, authentic image
A dictionary-style definition
The cadet’s name and class year
A short excerpt in her voice
Academic major and leadership roles
Future ambition
The structure did two things:
Reclaimed strength-based language within VMI’s culture.
Anchored inclusion in lived experience rather than institutional promise.
These profiles extended across print, web, digital ads, and recruitment materials — creating narrative consistency and visual cohesion.
Integrated Execution
This strategy shaped:
Long-form narrative mailers
Digital landing pages
Email campaigns
Paid media
Counselor outreach materials
Messaging, imagery, and tone were aligned across every prospect touchpoint. Inclusion was built into architecture, not appended as a campaign.
The results were measurable.
19% increase in women’s applications, contributing to a broader period of accelerated institutional growth
12% reduction in attrition, signaling stronger alignment between expectation and experience
Shift in applicant composition toward a more diverse, mission-aligned Corps
Campaign launched during a period in which total applications to Virginia Military Institute doubled over an 11-year span, with the strongest gains concentrated in the years following strategy and messaging realignment
This work did not reposition VMI’s identity. It clarified it, for an audience that had not previously seen themselves reflected within it, at a time when application growth alone was not enough to drive meaningful change.
More importantly, prospective cadets encountered clarity and evidence. They saw women leading. They saw standards articulated clearly. The messaging felt credible. Inclusive marketing is not about adjusting identity; it’s about widening access through strength, specificity, and representation.
