Longwood University

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Longwood University
Motto:	Certum pete finem
Established:	1839
Type:	Public
President:	Patricia P. Cormier
Students:	4,479
Undergraduates:	3,787
Postgraduates:	692
Location:	Farmville, Virginia, United States
Campus:	Rural, 154-acre (623,215.9 m2)
Colors:	Blue and White
Nickname:	Lancers
Athletics:	NCAA Division I
Affiliations:	Independent
Website:	www.longwood.edu

Longwood University is a four-year public, liberal-arts university located in Farmville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839, and became a university on July 1, 2002. It currently has an undergraduate enrollment of about 3,700 students and a total enrollment of 4,400.

[edit] Academics

Longwood offers over 100 majors and minors, with business as the most popular, followed by education and psychology. The largest department on campus by faculty is English and Modern Languages, with 44.

The university is consistently ranked in the top ten public, masters-level universities in the South by U.S. News and World Report, and was recently selected by USA Today as one of only 20 schools in the country that actively promote and foster student success.^[1][2] The Longwood Theatre program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre.^[3] In 2008 the university opened submissions for and mounted the 1st Annual Longwood Ten-Minute Play Festival.

[edit] History

Founded on March 5, 1839 as the Farmville Female Seminary Association, Longwood University is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the United States and one the oldest public institution of higher education for women in the United States. The Farmville Female College was incorporated in 1860 as the increasing prosperity of the seminary led the stockholders to expand it into a college. Longwood is the third oldest public institution of higher learning in Virginia, after the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia.

On April 7, 1884, the state of Virginia acquired the property of the Farmville Female College, and in October of the same year the Normal School opened with 110 students enrolled making it the first state institution of higher learning for women in Virginia. The Normal School expanded its curriculum over the years and progressed through a succession of names. It became the State Normal School for Women in 1914, the State Teachers College at Farmville in 1924, and Longwood College in 1949. In 1954, graduate programs were authorized. Longwood became fully coeducational in June 1976.

A main university building, Ruffner Hall, burned down on April 24, 2001, in the middle of its renovation period and was subsequently rebuilt. Ruffner Hall, built in 1839 as the "College Building", had evolved through several stages of construction and expansion from 1839 to 1907. For decades the sprawling Ruffner, whose image appears on the university's logo and seal, was the main administration building, with administrative offices on the first floor and student housing on the upper two floors. After students vacated the building by the early 1970s, dorm rooms were converted to office and classroom space. The former library, Lancaster Hall, was renovated and reopened in 1996 as the main administration building. Ruffner was then used primarily for classrooms and faculty offices before being closed in 1999 for renovation.

Governor Mark Warner officially signed legislation changing Longwood's designation to university on April 24, 2002, the one-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed Ruffner Hall.

[edit] Campus

Longwood sits on 60-plus acres in the gently rolling Virginia piedmont. Although a single campus, architecturally speaking the grounds are separated into two distinct areas: the historic “north core” and the more modern south end.

The oldest part of campus stretches along High Street from French dormitory to Grainger Hall. These six red-brick Jeffersonian buildings (French, Tabb, South Ruffner dormitories, and Grainger, Ruffner, and Blackwell Halls) date from the 1830s to the 1920s and are joined by a covered colonnade and all bear the university’s signature red roofs. At the center of this complex is Longwood’s main building, Ruffner Hall.

The College of Arts and Sciences and recently the university’s athletic offices, are located in along this section of campus. To the western end of the north core is the administration building, Lancaster, as well as Jarman theatre and the recently completed New Science Center.

Surrounding the main campus walk, Brock Commons, are the College of Business and Economics in Hiner Building, as well as the Cunninghams dormitories, the dining hall and Lankford Building, the student union. At the south end of campus are the library, music and arts buildings, and the Hull Education Center. Several athletic complexes and dormitories surround the perimeter of the campus.

[edit] New Construction

Construction has now begun on a new Communications and Theater building. The $11.9 million dollar new theater building will feature a 75 seat flexible black box theatre, a 100 seat studio theatre, 4 multi-function classrooms, a rehearsal studio, traditional drafting lab and a computer design lab.^[4]

The new Health and Fitness Center opened on August 28, 2007. The 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m²) facility, features a wide range of amenities including an indoor track, basketball and racquetball courts, a climbing wall, work-out rooms, juice bar, and the latest weight, exercise and training equipment.

Across Main Street, a new retail/student housing complex made of four four-story buildings arranged in an pedestrian mall-type setting, called "Longwood Landings," was recently completed as well.

A new athletic training facility is currently under construction and is due to be completed by the spring semester.

[edit] Student activities

Student life at Longwood revolves around many traditions, such as the annual Oktoberfest and Spring Weekend celebrations and Founders Day celebration. Oktoberfest is usually held on the first weekend in October, while Spring Weekend typically occurs on the third weekend in April. One part of Spring Weekend is called "Bandfest," a concert on the Friday of Spring Weekend, and is run by the student radio station WMLU, formerly WLCX. On April 30, 1995, the Ramones played in Lancer Gym, and the show was free for everyone. Other artists such as Peter Himmelman, The Poster Children, Air Miami, Matthew Sweet, Lois Maffeo, Brenda Kahn, Something Corporate, Yellowcard, Carbon Leaf, Cartel, Andrew W.K., Regina Spektor, Josh Kelley and The Fray have performed in the past. Throughout the rest of the year weekend events are sponsored by the student activities board, Lancer Productions. Past acts have included comedians Elvira Kurt, Stephen Lynch, Jimmy Fallon, Carrot Top and Jon Stewart.

[edit] Intercollegiate athletics

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The Longwood University's athletics program competes in Division I as an Independent as of July 17, 2007 under the name Lancers. The men's sports consist of baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and tennis. Women's sports consist of basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball and tennis.

The men's soccer team holds membership in the Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC) where they reached they won their first conference title in 2008 with a win in the conference championship over Adelphi. The women's soccer team also caputured a United Soccer Conference championship in 2008 with a victory over Utah Valley State, 2008. The only other team with conference affiliation is field hockey in the NorPac Conference. In 2007 the men's golf team became the first team to play in NCAA Division I postseason play when they reached the NCAA East Regional tournament.

[edit] Club sports

Longwood also has many club sports. In 2007 & 2009 the men's rugby team took 3rd place in USA Rugby's Division 3 National tournament.

[edit] CHI

Also popular at Longwood is the secret society, CHI, named after the Greek letter X.^[5] Shrouded in mystery, CHI was founded on October 15, 1900. Members are secretly "tapped" and are revealed only at the conclusion of their senior year during the annual CHI Burning, a large bonfire held on campus to commend members of the Longwood community for their selfless acts.^[5]

[edit] Princeps

Another secret society at Longwood is Princeps, which was founded on 7 principles of leadership. Members are selected during their undergraduate career and are not revealed until graduation. The group recognizes and honors citizens of the Longwood community who are exceptional leaders. The mysteries of this organization are only revealed with their droppings around campus and their recognition of those who embody the spirit of Princeps. Students often step on the crowned sevens around campus for good luck.

[edit] Sororities

Longwood is the founding home of four national sororities: Kappa Delta (1897), Zeta Tau Alpha (women's fraternity) (1898), Sigma Sigma Sigma (1898) and Alpha Sigma Alpha (1901).

[edit] Ghost Stories

Many myths also abound on Longwood’s campus, thanks in part to the annual Longwood Ghost Stories. Told at Halloween by legendary professor of anthropology, Dr. James Jordan, students are reminded every year of the cemetery that still remains beneath the North Cunninghams residence hall; the eerie red line that crosses room 333 and a light but distinct knocking on doors in Main Cunningham by the phantasm known to residents as the "Brown Lady"; the infamous University Bell, which now sits in the lobby of Greenwood Library and is rung only on highly special occasions, is said to be cursed, having caused the mysterious deaths of more than one student. One story tells of a young man who was burned to death in Hiner after he tried unsuccessfully to end a suicide attempt. Also said to have caused the mysterious departing of students is the once massive network of underground tunnels. Although remaining portions of the tunnels are officially said to not exist, many students believe they do and are haunted by the ghosts of past students.

[edit] Joan of Arc

Jeanne d'Arc in Longwood University's Ruffner Hall

Unique among public American universities is Longwood’s adoption of a patron saint. Saint Joan of Arc is said to both protect and inspire Longwood students. The University’s two prized depictions of Joan are “Jeanne d’Arc,”—known affectionately as “Joanie on the Stony"—an 1870 plaster statue created by French sculptor Henri-Michel-Antoine Chapu and Anna Hyatt Huntington's 1915 bronze Joan of Arc equestrian statue, nicknamed “Joanie on the Pony.”

Rituals and myths dealing with the two statues abound. Joanie on the Stony, for example, heralds the occasion of every CHI walk with a pair of mysteriously appearing blue and white carnations. Joanie on the Stony is also said to bring good luck for tests to students who touch her clasped hands on their way to class.

Joanie on the Pony, however, with her knight's armor and sword, acts as Longwood’s protector. On the night of the Great Fire of 2001, Joanie turned bright red upon her horse from the intense heat of the flames. Although the fire spread west-ward, engulfing Grainger Hall along with Ruffner, the connected student dorms past Joanie to the east remained untouched—the fire stopped directly before her.^[6]

[edit] The Dos Passos Prize

The English department at Longwood University awards the annual John Dos Passos Prize For Literature, founded in 1980. Notable past recipients include Graham Greene, Tom Wolfe, Shelby Foote, Paule Marshall, Ernest J. Gaines, E. Annie Proulx, and Richard Powers.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] External links

• www.longwood.edu -- Official web site
• www.longwoodlancers.com -- Official athletics web site
• www.longwood.edu/dospassosreview -- The Dos Pasos Review at www.longwood.edu
• beta.thespook.org -- College Folklore web site

[edit] References

Coordinates: 37°18′5.6″N 78°23′39.1″W / 37.301556°N 78.394194°W / 37.301556; -78.394194