This study was designed to identify the unique shaping of the university/student relationship through the lens of the in loco parentis concept. The questions asked were to what extent has in loco parentis defined the relationship of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and its students through the institution's history as framed by: (a) the institution's mission, (b) university governance, (c) the definition of in loco parentis, and (d) institutional culture? Has in loco parentis found its sustenance at this institution through legal or cultural justification, or both?

Qualitative case study methodology was utilized to examine in loco parentis within four time periods: (a) Shaping of a Land Grant University, 1891-1907, (b) Expansion of VPI Post World War II, 1945-1955, (c) Establishing the University, 1945-1955, and (d) Framing the Present, 1988- 1992.

The research concluded that in loco parentis was historically grounded in the legal interpretation provided by the court. In loco parentis was sustained within this study by the culture of one particular land grant university grounded in its original charge of structuring a military lifestyle.

The legal system provided a steady and constant external sustenance of in loco parentis and the institutional culture provided internal justification for in loco parentis as demonstrated within the history and tradition of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Each time period studied provided a view of the University that defined its role to its students in place of parent under the dominant influence of presidential leadership.