PASSINGS

Willard W. Scott Jr., 82, an Army lieutenant general who led West Point through the aftermath of a cheating scandal and the introduction of coeducation, died of Parkinson’s disease Jan. 1 at his home in Alexandria, Va.

Scott was superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy from 1981 to 1986. He succeeded Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, who was called out of retirement to lead the school in the immediate wake of a 1976 cheating scandal that led to the expulsion of 150 cadets.

After the Vietnam War, applications to West Point had fallen off, and applicants often did not meet the academy’s traditional standards. Scott reduced required courses, expanded elective courses and allowed cadets, for the first time, to declare a major field of study.

As women began being accepted into the academy, he battled resistance from some students and alumni.

Scott was born Feb. 18, 1926, in what is now Fort Monroe, Va., and graduated from West Point in 1948 with a commission in field artillery.

He commanded troops throughout the world and led the 5th Corps in Germany from 1980 to 1981.

As West Point’s 52nd superintendent and for years afterward, Scott led cheers while riding an Army mule, the academy’s mascot, along the sidelines during football games.