By MATT CHITTUM
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Virginia Military Institute Commandant James Joyner, who oversaw the school's first two years of coeducation, has told the corps of cadets he will leave the job at the end of this academic year.

Joyner will return to his old post as director of cadet affairs. The interim director, Robert Green, will become the VMI post engineer.

"I am proud of the progress of the corps and its overall conduct," Joyner said in a statement released Friday.

Joyner, a career Army officer and 1967 VMI graduate who also was a professor, accepted the post just two weeks before the first women arrived at VMI in August 1997. Last year, Joyner suffered a heart attack and underwent bypass surgery.

The search for his replacement will begin in the near future, according the release. A search committee will make a recommendation to Superintendent Josiah Bunting.