Author: Mike Finkelstein

Robert G. Parkinson, Ph.D., award winning historian of the American Revolution and author of “Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier,” captivated his audience in Moody Hall at Virginia Military Institute Feb. 19 as he shared the narrative and adventures of the real-life characters in his book.

Parkinson, who is a professor of history at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, energetically narrated the story of Capt. Michael Cresap, a frontiersman who was born in 1742 and died in 1775 at the young age of 33. Members of the Cresap family were directly and indirectly involved in multiple historic events in the 18^th century including the establishment of the Mason-Dixon line, the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania; the Seven Years’ War, a global conflict involving Europe, North America, India, and the Caribbean; Pontiac’s Rebellion, a conflict between Native American tribes and the British; and an internationally famous speech known as Logan’s Lament, written by Chief Logan, a Mingo tribe leader, to Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, after Logan’s family was massacred.

Gracie Harlow ’27, a history major from Buchanan, Virginia, attended Parkinson’s presentation and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Dr. Parkinson was extremely knowledgeable on the subject of his work, and his passion for it showed in his enthusiasm,” said Harlow.

Colin Munz ’28, an economics and business major from Califon, New Jersey, also attended the presentation.

“Dr. Parkinson’s profound knowledge of Colonial America allowed for a very informative and enjoyable speech on the Cresaps.”

Maj. Zachary Deibel, assistant professor in the Department of History, shared that Parkinson joined his course on the American Revolution earlier in the day. “We discussed how united or disunited the colonists were in opposing British policies throughout the early 1770s. The students had read parts of Parkinson’s second book, “Thirteen Clocks,” in conjunction with a set of primary sources from the period, then engaged in a class debate over the question of unity across the various North American colonies. Dr. Parkinson participated in the debate as well, coaching a group of students in crafting their evidence-based arguments about the past. Throughout the class, he offered unique insights into the ‘chaos and bewilderment’ of the Revolutionary Era that will be guiding many of our discussions in the weeks to come.”

Parkinson has held fellowships at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture in Williamsburg, Virginia; the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience in Chestertown, Maryland; the Library Company of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania; the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg, the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky; the David Library of the American Revolution in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania; the Clements Library at the University of Michigan; and the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee, and his doctorate from the University of Virginia.

The event was sponsored by the Dean’s Academic Speakers Program and the Department of History.

Copies of “Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier,” may be purchased on Amazon.

Marianne HauseCommunications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

Virginia Military Institute hosted the 8th annual Commonwealth Cyber Fusion and Virginia Cyber Cup Competition, a state-wide collegiate cyber security competition, February 21 and 22. The invitation-only event is for colleges that are National Security Agency (NSA) / Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-designated National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. It was organized by the Center for Leadership and Ethics (CLE) as part of its strategic engagement initiatives, co-hosted by the Virginia Cyber Range and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative. 

VMI founded this cybersecurity event in 2017 at the suggestion of Bryce Bucklin ’17, a computer science major, when the Commonwealth of Virginia sought to create a statewide cybersecurity competition. Sen. Mark Warner served as honorary chairman.

Participating were about 130 students with 30 of their faculty advisors representing 18 colleges in Virginia: Danville Community College, ECPI, George Mason University, George Washington University, Germanna Community College, James Madison University, Laurel Ridge Community College, Liberty University, Marymount University, Northern Virginia Community College, Radford University, Tidewater Community College, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, Virginia Tech, Virginia Western Community College, and VMI. Each college was allowed to bring six competing students along with two observer students.  

VMI cadet competitors were Linh Ngo ’25, Michael Poe ’25, Raj Singh ’25, Amber Strapponi ’26, Trenton Watkins ’26, and John Stotler ’27. Their faculty advisor was Amish Parikh, instructor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) and IT specialist/systems engineer in the Cyber Defense Laboratory. Parikh stated that the VMI team’s technical cyber capabilities, team development, and cyber leadership skills have grown since he began coaching them three years ago. “The VMI CIS department teaches the cadets well to provide the much needed expertise to fill the highly competitive cyber workforce positions that are currently available for all industries,” he said.

For Singh, a computer science major from Honolulu, Hawaii, this was the second year in a row he competed at the event, and he agrees with Parikh in seeing growth within the team. “It was great to see my peers improve on their skills and new members taking up the mantle for future competitions,” he shared. 

Activities included a keynote speech by Don Mills, principal cloud architect for Cisco; a job fair; a TechDuels team debate; and a faculty/industry round table discussion hosted by representatives from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative. 

James Madison University was the high scorer in the capture-the-flag-style competition in the four-year college division and winner of the Virginia Cyber Cup. George Mason University finished second, and the University of Virginia came in third. For the community college division: Danville Community College was the winner, followed by Northern Virginia Community College in second, and Germanna Community College in third. 

Lt. Col. Kim Connolly, assistant director of programs and conference for the CLE, was proud to be part of the coordination of the event. “Our team does a great job organizing this and providing the Commonwealth of Virginia with this first-class cyber workforce development opportunity,” she said.

Marianne Hause
VMI Photos by H. Lockwood McLaughlinCommunications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE