Longwood College and Its Programs

LONGWOOD COLLEGE MISSION

 Longwood College is an institution of higher learning dedicated to the development of citizen leaders who are prepared to make positive contributions to the common good of society. Building upon its strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, the College provides an environment in which exceptional teaching fosters student learning, scholarship, and achievement. As the only four-year public institution in south central Virginia, Longwood College serves as a catalyst for regional prosperity and advancement. 

VISION 

Longwood College prepares citizen leaders for the common good. To achieve this vision, all members of the Longwood community will be dedicated to the highest standards of academic distinction and quality of life, and will examine, reaffirm, and refine those aspects of the college experience that collectively form a meaningful learning environment. To ensure the vitality of the learning environment, the College will increase enrollment while maintaining its inherent character and enhancing its academic quality.
                The learning environment will be characterized by dynamic, exceptional teaching and scholarship that directly influence student learning and increase academic achievement. Student accomplishments will be defined by established competencies that demonstrate a sound grasp of the liberal arts and sciences as well as the ability to think critically, to respond creatively, and to apply knowledge to the resolution of practical issues.
                The curriculum, including the appropriate use of instructional technology, will be refined to ensure its relevancy to the mission of developing citizen leaders. Longwood College will enhance its rigorous foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and will elevate its exceptional professional programs, such as teacher education and business, to the highest regional and national standards.
                The institution’s dedication to learning will extend beyond the degree-seeking student to embrace all members of the diverse college community, leading to a collegial climate where divergent ideas are respected. Longwood will be committed to community service and outreach devoted to local, regional, national, and global advancement.
                The improvement of learning and quality of life will permeate all institutional practices including the design of student co-curricular programs and the development of physical facilities. Longwood’s careful and responsible stewardship of human, fiscal, and environmental resources will be continuously improved to incorporate the most effective methods and practices to support the institution’s vision.

Approved by the Board of Visitors, July 25, 1997.

Location

The College is located in historic Farmville, Virginia -- 65 miles west of Richmond and Petersburg, 48 miles east of Lynchburg, and 60 miles south of Charlottesville. U.S. Highways 15 and 460 intersect in town. Commercial bus systems provide service to the town.
                Farmville is a pleasant college town with a population of 6,500; it is the business and education center of the area. Located in and near town are churches, hotels, motels, a country club, a municipal airport, and a community hospital. Hampden-Sydney College, a liberal arts college for men, is five miles south of the campus. Many points of interest are within a short distance of Farmville, including Appomattox Courthouse and Sailors Creek Battlefield.

History

Longwood College, a pioneer first in private and later in public education, is one of the oldest colleges in the United States. The College was founded on March 5, 1839, this being the date that the Farmville Female Seminary Association was incorporated by the General Assembly of Virginia.
                In the succeeding years the increasing prosperity of the Farmville Female Seminary led the stockholders to expand the seminary into a college, and the Farmville Female College was incorporated in 1860. 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. This was the first state institution of higher learning for women in Virginia.

                With the passage of the years, the Normal School expanded its curriculum 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.
                The College was first authorized to offer a four-year curriculum leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education in 1916. It was authorized to offer Bachelor of Arts in 1935, the Bachelor of Science in 1938, a curriculum in business education the same year, courses leading to a degree in music education in 1949, and the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1976. In 1978, the College was authorized to offer the Bachelor of Fine Arts, and in 1981, the Bachelor of Music. In 1954, graduate programs were authorized. Longwood became fully coeducational in June 1976.

Buildings

The Longwood campus provides excellent facilities while reflecting the charm, beauty, and character associated with its long heritage.
                Red-brick Jeffersonian buildings stretch along High Street joined by a covered colonnade. At the center is the oldest building on campus, Ruffner Hall. It is distinguishable by its Rotunda, the dome of which features portraits of Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, and important figures in Longwood's history. Ruffner Hall is currently undergoing a complete restoration and is scheduled to be re-opened by the fall of 2002.
                The newly remodeled Lancaster Hall houses the President’s Office and the administrative offices of Academic Affairs, Administration and Finance, Student Affairs, and Institutional Advancement.
                The newest building on campus is the two-story, 60,000 square foot dining hall located on Pine Street which opened for the spring semester 2000.  This multi-purpose facility, with its curved, colonnaded portico overlooking Iler Field, is the first on campus to utilize geothermal heating and cooling.  The flexible interior design provides space for banquets, meetings, and special events along with a Grand Dining Room seating 500 and an arcade seating an additional 700.
                Behind and alongside this area are broad malls, lawns, 11 tennis courts, four athletic fields, an indoor-outdoor swimming pool, and numerous late-20th century buildings, including the library, residence halls, the Lankford Student Union, and various academic facilities.
                The campus has six auditoriums ranging in size from 150 seats to 1,227.
                Lancer Hall is a 4.5 million-dollar health, physical education, and recreation complex. It has a gymnasium with 3,000 seats; a complete weight-training laboratory; an olympic-size pool with a three-meter board and underwater sound, lighting, and observation window; a 500-seat natatorium; a modern dance studio with a floating floor and staging capacity; and one of the state's best-equipped laboratories for the study of human performance as it relates to exercise, sports, health, and the arts.
                Students also can enjoy the facilities at Longwood Estate, about a mile from the campus. These include "The Cabin," the Dell, and a nine-hole golf course. The President's home is on the Estate.

College Library and Resources

The Library, occupied in 1991 and conveniently located near the center of the campus, is open for use 99 hours each week during regular sessions. Entry is through a two-story atrium, which facilitates visual orientation to each of the major service points for the Library. The Library collections offer 225,000 cataloged titles. The Library currently subscribes to 2,050 journals. Some 700,000 microform units, sound and video recordings, and CDROMs supplement the book and journal collections. The Library also provides access to the holdings of other libraries through its interlibrary loan service. Access to and control of its collections are through the Library’s online catalog and circulation system, which can be consulted from any point on the campus network or the Internet. The Library complements its collections by providing users access to electronic information found throughout the Internet and by making selected information more accessible through the Library’s World Wide Web offerings. To aid users in finding information expeditiously and in gaining expertise for information literacy, the Library provides a variety of reference services, including individual reference assistance, group bibliographic instruction, and online searching assistance to commercial and non-commercial information providers.

The College Year

The college year consists of a regular session, including two semesters of 15 weeks each, and a summer session. The summer session for undergraduate students consists of three four-week terms. The graduate summer session consists of two four-week terms. The summer session makes it possible for an undergraduate student to complete a degree program in three calendar years as compared to the traditional four academic years generally required to complete such a program. Both undergraduate and graduate classes during the summer are scheduled for five days a week.

 Summer Session

 Longwood welcomes a variety of students to its summer sessions by offering basic courses and advanced courses in the majors in a wide variety of academic disciplines. Specialized instruction is also available through a broad range of intensive course offerings.
      Registration procedures for summer sessions are published in the summer brochure, which is usually available on or about January 1 and may be obtained by calling the Office of Registration (804.395.2580). 

Commencement

 Commencement is held once a year, in May. Students completing a degree program in August or December may participate in the following May commencement.
     Graduating seniors must buy from the college bookstore the caps, gowns, and hoods required for commencement exercises.

Longwood's Honor System

A strong tradition of honor is fundamental to the quality of living and learning in the Longwood community. The Honor System was founded in 1910, and its purpose is to create and sustain a community in which all persons are treated with trust, respect, and dignity. Longwood affirms the value and necessity of  integrity in all intellectual and community endeavors. Students are expected to assume full responsibility for their actions and refrain from lying, cheating, stealing, and plagiarism.

Upon entering the College, students sign the Honor Pledge:

I, .........................................having a clear understanding of the basis and spirit of the Honor Code created and accepted by the student body of Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, pledge myself to govern my college life according to its standards and to accept my responsibility for helping others to do so, and with sensitive regard for my college, to live by the Honor Code at all times and to see that others do likewise.

Longwood College Home Page

Undergraduate Catalog Home Page