Dear Friends:

Welcome to Longwood University, an institution with a proud history and a bright future. With four active colleges, diverse academic majors and a wide variety of leadership and social opportunities, we strive to offer you a well-rounded academic experience that focuses on your personal and professional growth.  

My wife Joan and I were very proud to join the Longwood family on July 1, 2010, when I became Longwood University's 25^th president. I am especially taken by Longwood's mission to create citizen leaders, as I hope you will be. At Longwood you will not only learn to communicate effectively, think critically, solve problems, imagine creatively, and use technology adeptly, you also will learn to conduct yourself as a citizen and a leader in the world's greatest democracy. Service to others will be a vital part of your tenure at Longwood.

We also focus on honor and integrity in everything we do. Too often these days, we see examples of business and political leaders gone wrong and choices made in haste or for self-serving motives. The students at Longwood have a deep commitment to the honor code in their daily lives and they hold their fellow students accountable. Because everyone – faculty, staff, and administrators as well as students – lives according to the honor code, Longwood's campus has a permeating atmosphere of trust and respect, a community united in the pursuit of learning.

We are confident you will find, from the moment you arrive in Farmville, that Longwood's faculty, staff and students are deeply committed to the institution. This community of caring is one thing that drew us here, and I am sure that you will be impressed in the same way as you experience the sense of family that pervades this campus. Longwood is a welcoming environment where students, faculty, and staff know and interact with each other on a regular basis – in and out of the classroom. Your learning experience at Longwood will extend far beyond academic disciplines to include notions of leadership, citizenship, responsibility, honesty and civility.  And we hope and trust that it will be fun as well.

Our goal is to provide you a high tech, highly relevant and uniquely supportive educational experience that will prepare you for a successful life and career. Whether you are an English major or a business major, a commuter student or a resident, full time or part time, you will find a community dedicated to excellence in all that we do. From our state-of-the-art facilities and comprehensive curriculum, to our dedicated and knowledgeable staff, to our supremely qualified faculty, Longwood stands ready to serve you, to challenge you, and to provide you an active, intellectually vibrant environment.

We are confident that Longwood University can provide the high quality education that you will need to live happily and work productively as a citizen leader in the 21st century. We do this in the belief that the best environment in which to learn is one that only a university can provide. This is an environment where you are not just a number, but a recognized individual who is a vital and indispensable part of a very special community devoted to learning and service, an environment that is every bit as much a home as it is a school. That place is Longwood University.  We look forward to seeing you around campus or meeting you during an upcoming visit and sharing our Lancer Pride with you.