Virginia Military Institute (VMI), located in Lexington, Virginia, is a four-year undergraduate college founded in 1839.  It is a member of the Commonwealth of Virginia's system of higher education.  The Institute's governing body is the Board of Visitors whose members are appointed by the Governor.  The Board of Visitors has the responsibility of appointing the Superintendent (President) who is the chief executive officer of VMI.  General J.H. Binford Peay III, VMI Class of 1962, is the Institute's Superintendent.

Institute executives reporting directly to the Superintendent are the Deputy Superintendent for Academics and Dean of the Faculty; Deputy Superintendent for Finance, Administration and Support; Commandant of Cadets; Chief of Staff; Director of Intercollegiate Athletics; Director of Information Technology; and Secretary to the Board of Visitors. Special staff officers who also report directly to the Superintendent are the Inspector General and the Superintendent's Representative to the Honor Court.

It is the mission of the Virginia Military Institute to produce educated and honorable men and women, prepared for the varied work of civil life, imbued with love of learning, confident in the functions and attitudes of leadership, possessing a high sense of public service, advocates of the American Democracy and free enterprise system, and ready as citizen-soldiers to defend their country in time of national peril.