Corps of Cadets Ring Centennial

“THE RING IS THE THING”

Any modern day Norwich University Corps of Cadet graduate knows the meaning of those words. But do you know anything about the Cadet Corps ring, other than your own class’s ring???

If you say you love the Corps of Cadets, you need to read this history of one of the most important traditions in our Regiment. I am so thankful to Richard Prevost for spending all the time to  research, compile, and now publish this important piece of our Norwich History. He did this not for himself, but for his love of history and out of love for the NUCC. Every Norwich student and graduate needs to read this book!!

Thank you, Richard, and WELL DONE!! 

RADM Rich Schneider USCGR(ret)
Norwich President Emeritus 

I am a longtime friend of Norwich University and many of its graduates, but I graduated from UVM and was commissioned as a 2LT from its Army R.O.T.C program. When I started reading 100 YEARS OF NORWICH UNIVERSITY CORPS OF CADETS RINGS by Richard J. Prevost, I was not certain what to expect. Teaching at West Point at the end of my time in the Army, I had watched small mobs of first year cadets track down seniors and subject their new class rings to ritual sarcastic admiration. But for me, these rings were just jewelry; just part of a long-standing custom that reminded me that I was an outsider.

For Prevost, however, his book is not just a history of cadet rings, and these rings are not just jewelry. Instead, he sees them as a key, as an entry point, to learning about the men and women who wear them as a symbol of what they accomplished as cadets, and the social, political, economic, and historical events that helped shaped them as they studied and learned, and later served.

For example, Prevost uses correspondence from and reports about cadets who served on their classes’ ring committees to tell their stories about combat and leadership, and transitioning from military service to leadership roles in civilian life. He interweaves these personal stories with examples of the continuous change that Norwich University as an institution has experienced in the last 100 years, and he illustrates both with well-chosen and evocative photographs.

Importantly, Prevost does not shy away from the awkward and the inconvenient, and this makes his retelling of these lives and times all the more credible and interesting. 100 YEARS OF NORWICH UNIVERSITY CORPS OF CADETS RINGS is simply an outstanding piece of work, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone interested in military education at any level. You might not have gone to Norwich University, and you might not have a Corps of Cadets ring, but you will not feel like an outsider reading this book. 

Jody M. Prescott, Lecturer, University of Vermont
(COL, Ret., USA) 

100 YEARS OF NORWICH UNIVERSITY CORPS OF CADETS RINGS by Richard J. Prevost is an engaging book that describes not only the Norwich NUCC Rings but also the events surrounding the design and purpose of the rings and the greater development of Norwich University. Prevost weaves together the crafting of the rings and their traditions with the evolution of Norwich itself as it met its specific challenges and addressed significant events affecting Norwich, the nation, and the world. To a reader who is not a graduate of Norwich, the book becomes a chronicle of how a school devoted predominantly to professional military education adjusted to the surrounding events and changes in its home state, Vermont, the nation, and the world beyond. From being a state military school founded in 1819, Norwich has evolved into a truly prominent actor in American higher education.

Prevost takes the past one hundred years and divides them into two year segments. Each chapter begins with a description of the class rings for the two years, many with pictures, and the symbols and other features in their design. Each ring reflects not only aspects of the school, its mission and values, and physical setting, but also events that a particular class realized would be an instrumental part of its future. In their own way, the rings are a mini-historical record. Through the first half of the years covered, the ceremony dedicated to the presentation of the rings also involved a dress ball and well-known bands and musicians. Not surprisingly, as the school became coeducational and diversified its student body and curriculum, the format of these ceremonies changed too. The subsequent sections of each chapter discuss changes in leadership, university institutions, departments, the student body, and on- and off-campus activities. A significant roster of outstanding speakers and visiting groups came to Norwich every year. Prevost then provides a listing of significant historical events during each year that run the gamut from key international and national events to cultural developments and trends.

Prevost’s writing is direct, clear, and lively. He uses real-life examples of meeting daily challenges faced by the administration as the school grew from an army-focused undergraduate institution in 1923 to its numerous joint service contributions to the nation’s conflicts, actions which have made it a world recognized post and undergraduate institution that addresses national and world challenges while continuing to promote core Norwich Values. While Prevost describes the many positive aspects of Norwich life and stresses Norwich’s successful development into a coeducational body, he also does not shy away from some of the more controversial aspects of Norwich’s history. such as how it had to deal with the social and political unrest in the U.S. during the 1970’s.

Prevost’s willingness to poke occasional fun at the university itself, the occasional shenanigans of students, or the migration of a Sherman tank on campus prevents the book from being a mere recitation of facts. He adds humorous observations concerning the Junior Ring Weekends, the reported studies of Norwich students’ habits and attitudes versus other non-Norwich students who form the social science “baseline.” Through these accounts, one sees the university grow and diversify while adhering to its mission and established values.

In conclusion, 100 YEARS OF NORWICH UNIVERSITY CORPS OF CADETS RINGS is a must-read for its graduates and many friends as well as anyone interested in understanding the evolution of undergraduate universities. This is especially true for those seeking to appreciate the role of such education in civil-military relations in the U.S. and how the evolution of Norwich University in particular has sought to serve its students and nation so conscientiously. Richard Prevost’s ability to blend the story of Norwich Corps of Cadet rings with the development of Norwich University makes this book an enjoyable and valuable read for alums and all concerned with the place of university education for the military and this nation. 

Kenneth B. Moss,
Professor Emeritus, National Defense University, author of Marque and Reprisal: The Spheres of Public and Private Warfare, Undeclared War and the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy, and other works