Virgil L. Hill Jr.
Virgil L. Hill Jr. | |
|---|---|
Hill in 1988 | |
| Born | April 2, 1938 |
| Died | September 6, 2024 (aged 86) |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Service years | 1961–1993 |
| Rank | Rear admiral |
| Commands | Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy, others below |
| Alma mater | United States Naval Academy (BS) |
Virgil Lusk Hill Jr. (April 2, 1938 – September 6, 2024) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He served as Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland from August 18, 1988 to June 15, 1991.
Hill attended Iowa State University for one year on a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship prior to his four years at the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated with distinction in 1961, receiving his diploma from President John F. Kennedy. He was a candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship. Following graduation he went directly into the Nuclear Submarine Service.[1]
After retiring from the U.S. Navy in 1993, he served as president of Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Wayne, Pennsylvania, before retiring seven years later. He was then asked to teach Leadership and Ethics in the Business School at Villanova University, where he taught for two years.[1]
Naval Academy Controversy
In May 1990, a female midshipman named Gwen Dreyer was handcuffed to a urinal and jeered by a group of male upperclassmen. The incident occurred at the Naval Academy, where Rear Adm. Hill served as superintendent from 1988 to 1991. While Hill was not personally involved in the act, his handling of this and other misconduct scandals at the academy led to criticism of his leadership.[2][3][4][5] Hill dismissed this event as "hijinks".[6] The widespread scrutiny from the Dreyer incident ultimately led to Hill's removal from the superintendent role and his early retirement from the Navy.
Death
Hill died from complications of dementia at his home in Willow Street, Pennsylvania, on September 6, 2024. He was 86.[7]
References
- ^ a b "Navy Veteran Takes Helm At Academy Rear Adm. Virgil L. Hill Is The New President Of The Valley Forge Military Academy And College". 1993-09-01. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16.
- ^ "NAVY FRIENDSHIP SURVIVES SCANDALS". The Washington Post. 1990-06-12. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
- ^ "Harassment of Woman Shakes Naval Academy (Published 1990)". 1990-05-20. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
- ^ Times, John M. Glionna John M. Glionna is a former national reporter for the Los Angeles; West, based in Las Vegas He covered a large swath of the American; desk, writing about everything from people to politics He has also served as the Seoul bureau chief on the newspaper’s foreign; earthquake, where he covered the 2011 Japanese; tsunami; Nevada, the subsequent death of North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il He has also written extensively about California He teaches a journalism course at the University of; in 2015, Las Vegas Glionna left The Times (1990-05-23). "Midshipman Recalls Her Rough Seas at Annapolis : Harassment: Resignation from the U.S. Naval Academy after male colleagues handcuffed her to a urinal has brought unwanted attention to the 19-year-old Encinitas woman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
{{cite web}}:|last3=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Stalled by a scandal, admiral is reassigned". Baltimore Sun. 1994-07-28. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
- ^ "Debating Tailhook '91 | The Navy Blues | FRONTLINE | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
- ^ Miles, Gary (October 4, 2024). "Virgil L. Hill Jr., former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and past president of Valley Forge Military Academy and College, has died at 86". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 4, 2024.