Military Academy and Crozet's alma mater the École Polytechnique of Paris. So, instead of the mix of military and liberal education imagined by Preston, the board created a military and engineering school offering the most thorough engineering curriculum in America, outside of West Point.
Preston was also tasked with hiring VMI's first superintendent. He was persuaded that West Point graduate and former army officer Francis Henney Smith, then professor of mathematics at Hampden–Sydney College, was the most suitable candidate. Preston successfully recruited Smith, and convinced him to become the first superintendent and Professor of Tactics.
After Smith agreed to accept the superintendent's position, Preston applied to join the faculty, and was hired as Professor of Languages. At first, from 1836 to 1839, the institution was functionally a department of Washington College. The first class consisted of 30 regular cadets, and 13 paying cadets. Thanks to funding by the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati, the …
