At risk of losing its ROTC program earlier this year, Emory & Henry University sprang into action.
Founded in 1836 as Southwest Virginia’s first institution of higher education, Emory & Henry has a long history of military involvement. The college was used as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War, and 206 soldiers are buried in the Emory & Henry Holston Conference Cemetery adjacent to the campus. During World War I, the U.S. Army ROTC thrived on the Emory & Henry campus.
In 2017, Emory & Henry President Jake Schrum and then-Provost John Wells posed the question: “Why doesn’t this school have an ROTC program?”
The ETSU Army Professor of Military Science and ROTC 7th Brigade Commander embraced the concept of a “cross-town” arrangement with Military Science academic instruction and physical fitness training to be conducted on the E&H campus for first- and second-year cadets with third- and fourth-year cadets getting their training at ETSU.
In August 2018, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed by the US Army 7th Brigade, ETSU and Emory & Henry establishing an Army Cross-Town ROTC program at Emory & Henry.
Since 2020, E&H has commissioned five cadets through the program. The university is scheduled to commission three cadets in the spring of 2028. Additionally, E&H currently has 14 first- and second-year cadets enrolled in ROTC.
Emory & Henry University has invested greatly into the program and the ROTC staff at E&H has worked diligently with faculty and administrators to establish several initiatives to support its cadets.
Between 2020 and 2026, E&H was at risk of losing the ROTC program. The ETSU and E&H presidents came to the support of maintaining the cross-town program both times, as it has been conducted since its inception. And both times, Tennessee and Virginia state and federal elected officials voiced their strong support for continuing the program as it is.
Most recently, those advocating include:
- U.S. Rep Morgan Griffith
• U.S. Rep Diana Harshbarger
• U.S. Senator Tim Kaine
• U.S. Senator Mark Warner
• U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn
• U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty
• The Adjutant General of Virginia
• Virginia Del. Israel O’Quinn and State Sen. Todd Pillion
Without their involvement, the E&H ROTC program would have been inactivated along with ETSU’s other cross-town ROTC programs.
Although the termination of the E&H ROTC program was rescinded, continuing to teach Military Science academic classes and physical fitness training for first- and second-year will now only be conducted on the ETSU campus. This will prohibit E&H cadets from fully participating in academics, varsity athletics and ROTC. Both E&H President Lou Fincher and ETSU President Brian Noland have petitioned US Army Cadet Command (USACC) for an Exception to Policy allowing first- and second-year students to attend their academic classes and conduct physical training at Emory & Henry.
“We are proud of the strong partnership between East Tennessee State University and Emory & Henry University that provides patriotic and military-oriented students across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia an opportunity to serve their country and develop a pipeline for those considering military careers,” the joint ETSU/E&H president’s letter to the Commander of USACC reads. “In doing so it allows students to further their education in an affordable manner for them and their families. It would be a shame to see that door closed for many students in our region by prohibiting ROTC instruction on the E&H campus or inactivating the Cross-Town relationship between our two great institutions.”
ROTC Veteran Services Coordinator Charlie Quillin and ROTC Veteran Support Specialist Mike Swartz lead efforts at E&H. Quillin retired from the United States Air Force in 1995 as a Colonel after a quarter-century of service. He was an instructor and fighter pilot and also served as a professor of Aerospace Studies at Duke University. Swartz served 27 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Sergeant Major. He served in various countries around the world and holds a degree in criminal justice from Pennsylvania State University.
