LEXINGTON, Va., Jan. 28, 2025—Col. Jeff Kendrick, professor of French in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures at Virginia Military Institute, has been named director of the Office of Global Education, assuming the position most recently held by Todd Lee Goen. Kendrick has held the job of interim director since September 2024.

Since his arrival at VMI in 2013, Kendrick has served the Institute in a variety of relevant roles. Founder and co-director of the VMI in Paris program since 2014, he chaired the International Programs Committee from 2018 to 2024, and currently coordinates the Civilizations & Cultures requirement as a member of the Core Curriculum Oversight Committee. He held resident and program director positions for Project GO from 2021 to 2024. Kendrick’s primary research interests include polemic and violence in the French Wars of Religion, gender in sixteenth century French devotional poetry, and the integration of classroom technology with language learning. He has published and presented on Marguerite de Navarre, Joachim du Bellay, polemic and politics in the French Wars of Religion, using sitcoms in the French classroom, student-centered learning, and flipping the language classroom.

Kendrick retains his academic rank as professor of French, and will continue serving as special assistant to the dean for permit and calendar issues.

VMI emphasizes global outreach in many ways: study tours, cultural exchanges with foreign military academies and civilian universities, international internships, and study abroad programs.

Over 10% of the Corps of Cadets take advantage of global education every year. VMI offers semester study abroad programs with approved third-party providers, exchange programs at military academies, and direct enrollments at universities abroad, as well as summer study abroad opportunities both through VMI faculty-led summer programs and through approved third-party providers.

Cadets are permitted to study abroad after their first year at VMI, and may study abroad one regular semester—spring or fall—and as many summers as they like.  

The Institute has several scholarship funds to aid cadets who want to go abroad. The office of global education assists cadets with applications for national scholarships, including the Fulbright, Olmsted, and Boren Scholarships and all aspects of planning study abroad programs.

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE