A Special Message To the Parents of
Accepted Longwood College Students
From Patricia P. Cormier, President of Longwood College

April 26, 2001

I know you must have watched with some apprehension the media reports of the past few days regarding the fire at Longwood College. I want to reassure you that Longwood is already recovering very rapidly from this tragedy.

Though the fire is devastating, the actual effect on campus life will be minimal. These are the facts:

  • The signature Rotunda building that was completely destroyed was already off-line due to a 3-year renovation already underway. We will rebuild that building in the same architectural style with all its historical grandeur -- and it may not take much longer than the original renovation would have taken.
  • The damage to the residence halls that were affected is smoke and water damage only and we expect them to be functional by the time the semester begins in August.
  • The College bookstore will be relocated because it is adjacent to the site that will require rebuilding.
  • Grainger Hall suffered severe fire, smoke and water damage. It housed some of the academic departments and faculty offices and will not be functional in the fall. However, already this morning, we have begun to secure space both in other areas of the campus and nearby properties in town that will allow us to return to "business as usual" with the fall semester.

The bottom line is that we have lost a very important historic landmark on our campus -- one that people connect to emotionally, and that saddens many, many people. However, the functional damage to much of the other space is minimal. We expect to be fully operational to sustain our summer school and by the time we open the fall semester in August, campus life will resume as usual, probably with a few minor inconveniences.

Student health, safety and welfare are our primary concern. That is why we took advantage of the fact that the fire occurred at the very end of the semester, and closed the College quickly to ensure safety while we did a thorough damage assessment. We are so confident that Longwood College will be a phoenix rising from the ashes that we will have our commencement ceremony on May 12 for some 7,000 people with all our usual "pomp and circumstance."

Longwood's academic program and the ultimate quality of student life will not be compromised by this setback. You have my word on that. And we hope that you will send your son or daughter to Longwood College -- I believe the most caring academic community in Virginia. We will take good care of them and give them an education that will place them among the most employable college graduates in the country.

If you have questions or unanswered concerns, don't hesitate to call us at any of these numbers:

President's Office (804) 395-2001
Office of Admissions (804) 395-2060
Office of Institutional Advancement (804) 395-2028.

I hope to see you in August!

Sincerely,

Patricia P. Cormier
President