News & Notes

Please register by calling 434.395.2334 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday or toll free 877.267.7883 or email graduate@longwood.edu.

For a fourth consecutive time, Longwood will offer its Education/Community and College Counseling master's degree at the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (HEC) in South Boston, Virginia. This successful program offers two courses each term in a weekend format and is completed in two and a half years. The Education/Community and College Counseling program offers an interdisciplinary degree specifically for college graduates interested in preparing for counseling roles in community agencies, working in areas such as mental health, social services, youth development services, court services or rehabilitation, or in college settings such as student affairs offices, counseling centers or residence halls. Students will receive solid grounding in research methodologies and human development theories relevant to counseling applications. They will learn the theoretical frameworks of counseling and how they translate into individual and group interventions based on research strategies tailored to individual client needs. A practicum tailored to the individual goals of the student is the culminating activity of this 39 credit hour program. For information and application materials contact Hope Harris-Gayles at the HEC (hopegayles@svhed.org or 434.572.5446 or toll-free 800.283.0098) or contact Graduate Studies (graduate@longwood.edu or 434.395.2255 or toll free 877.267.7883) or click here to complete an information request. Application deadline to be a part of the Flamingo Cohort is September 1, 2008 with courses beginning in the spring of 2009.

Frances Reeve, Associate Professor of School Library Media, received the VEMA Media Educator of the Year Award which is the highest award given by the Virginia Educational Media Association at their annual fall conference held in Williamsburg this past year. The award was presented at the VEMA awards and scholarships banquet held Friday evening, Oct. 12, 2007.

Dr. Lissa Power-deFur, Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, received the 2007 Friend of VCASE award.The Friend of Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education Award was created in 2005 to recognize and express appreciation to those individuals who have consistently provided extraordinary support in furthering the work of Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education (VCASE). The recipients of the award are nominated by the membership and identified by the VCASE Executive Committee. The award is presented annually at the Spring conference.

Starting with the Fall 2007 term all administrative processes at Longwood moved to a new administrative computing system called myLongwood.com. The old WIN system will not be accessible after September 30, 2007.

To enter the secure myLongwood.com system go to the Longwood home page and click on myLongwood.com in the upper left hand corner. Then sign in with your Longwood user name and password. The next screen you will see has several tabs on it. Choose the one labeled student to access registration and registrar functions including the course directory, financial and billing information, your class schedule, any hold flags or fines needing to be cleared, Blackboard, grades and transcripts. There is a tutorial button that will quickly teach you how to customize the student page to add or delete functions that you need or don't want.

Check the personal announcements on the opening page for any announcements from the Graduate Studies office or from your instructors.

Check your Longwood email and the myLongwood.com space frequently as these are the official forms of communication with Longwood students. For example, no billing statements are mailed anymore. Your billing information is on your myLongwood.com space.

If you lose or forget your username or password, call the Helpdesk at 434-395-4357 or toll free at 877-267-7883. They cannot provide username or password information through email for security reasons.

Beginning with the Fall 2006 semester, students are charged per credit hour by the level of the course being offered. This means if you enroll in an undergraduate level course you will be assessed undergraduate tuition and fees. If you enroll in a graduate level course you will be assessed graduate tuition and fees. In the past, students were charged based on their level regardless of the level of the course. Students may make payment to the Office of Cashiering by check, tuition voucher completed & signed, financial aid, VA benefits, or combination of the above or by Credit/Debit Card online 24 hours after the registration has been processed. Click here for a listing of current tuition and fee charges.

Louise Walton Morris of Hampton was honored recently at Longwood University’s May 13, 2006 commencement as the school’s first master’s degree graduate.

Morris, a retired teacher who taught in Lynchburg, Newport News and Hampton, earned an M.S. in education at Longwood in 1956, two years after the State Board of Education authorized a graduate program there.

In the commencement ceremony May 13, her 79th birthday, Morris stood after her name was announced by Dr. Sue McCullough, dean of graduate studies. Afterward, she was the guest of honor at a reception hosted by graduate studies. Morris and all 164 master’s graduates were given a special medallion commemorating the 50th anniversary of graduate studies at Longwood.

Morris was teaching 3rd grade at Thomas C. Miller Elementary School in Lynchburg when she earned her master’s. She took the classes at nights, on weekends and during summers. She was handed her diploma by Longwood’s president, Dr. Francis G. Lankford Jr., in a commencement ceremony Aug. 11, 1956.

An Appomattox native who graduated from Lynchburg College in 1947, Morris taught in Lynchburg for 13 years before moving to Hampton in 1960 when her husband got a job in the area. She taught in Hampton for two years, then taught in Newport News from 1962 until retiring in 1974 when she became legally blind. She taught at Denbigh Elementary for two years and at Sedgefield Elementary the last 10 years.

She is a widow (her husband, Edward Morris, died in 1995) with three children. She was accompanied at graduation by her daughter, son-in-law and grandson, Becky, Gary and Sammy Krimstein of North Potomac, Md.; and a niece and great-nephew, Harriette Beasley and Kemper Beasley of Dillwyn.

Longwood President Dr. Patricia Cormier with Mrs. Morris.

In celebration activities on Friday, March 24, 2006, the Future of Graduate Studies at Longwood was explored. Dr. Debra Stewart, President and CEO of the national Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) presented the national perspective by pointing out the national needs for graduate preparation to:
    Increase domestic graduate degrees in Science & Engineering
    Accelerate degrees in underrepresented groups
    Increase production of innovators in all fields
    Include transferable skills-life skills in graduate training
    Respond to increased aspirations on part of students

Following Dr. Stewart, Dr. Wayne McWee, Vice President for Academic Affairs, shared a vision for Graduate Studies at Longwood. Attendees were treated to a luncheon followed by a power-point presentation of the 50-year history of Graduate Studies at Longwood. The history was compiled and prepared by Miss Nicole Roach, graduate student in Education/Literacy and Culture, and Miss Megan Greer, graduate student in Education/Community and College Counseling. A panel discussion by Dr. Margaret Blackmon - Superintendent of Prince Edward County Public Schools, Dr. Deneese Jones - Dean of the College of Education and Human Services, Dr. Evelyn Hume - Dean of the College of Business and Economics, Dr. Chuck Ross, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Sue McCullough, Dean of Graduate Studies, and Dr. Stewart was the culminating event of the afternoon. Dr. Stewart summarized the panel and audience discussion by noting several themes that emerged: