Lynchburg College

History

Lynchburg College was founded in 1903 by Dr. Josephus Hopwood as Virginia Christian College, a selective, independent, coeducational, and residential institution, which is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Hopwood was president of Milligan College in Tennessee when a group of ministers and businessmen approached him about establishing a college in Lynchburg. He agreed to serve as president, after which the group purchased the failed Westover Hotel resort for $13,500, securing Lynchburg's current campus. Hopwood worked with his wife Sarah Eleanor LaRue Hopwood to establish the college based on their shared vision.

The institution officially changed its name to Lynchburg College in 1919, citing a constituency that had expanded beyond Virginia.

The college has maintained its original commitment to a liberal arts education. Beginning with 11 faculty and 55 students, the college has grown to 159 full-time faculty and 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students. The college offers 39 majors, 49 minors, two dual-degree programs, the Westover Honors Program, and offers graduate degrees in Masters of Arts, Masters of Business Administration, Masters of Education, and Masters of Science in Nursing as well as Doctorate programs in Physical Therapy and Educational Leadership. As of December 2016, the college is awaiting accreditation approval for the Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degree program unique for seasoned, practicing physician assistants. Lynchburg College has more than 20,000 alumni.

The Lynchburg College hymn was written by alumnus Paul E. Waters. Its melody is derived from J. S. Bach's "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" Op. 135a, No. 21. The college fight song includes the phrase, "Hornet Born and Hornet Bred and when I die I'll be Hornet dead."

In fall 1994, a few months after Intel introduced its Pentium microprocessor, Thomas R. Nicely, from Lynchburg College, was performing computations related to the distribution of prime numbers and discovered the Pentium FDIV bug. Nicely left Lynchburg College in 2000.

In 1997, after Leonard Edelman was denied tenure by the dean of the college, he filed a lawsuit against the college for religious and gender discrimination. The lawsuit was filed, however, beyond the limit allowed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Edelmen filed a petition for re-consideration, and his lawsuit went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled against his extension request, and not on the merit of his tenure-denial claim.

Community outreach remains a tradition of the college, through initiatives of its eight Centers of Lynchburg College and the SERVE program, through which 98,000 volunteer hours are contributed annually by students, faculty, and staff.

In February 2017, the university announced that it will be changing its name to the University of Lynchburg starting with the 2018-2019 academic year.

Campus and campus life

Lynchburg College is located in Lynchburg, Virginia, about 180 miles southwest of Washington D.C., in the Central Virginia foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It occupies 250 acres (1.0 km²) in Lynchburg and has a separate environmental research center on 470 acres (1.9 km²), the Claytor Nature Study Center, located about 40 minutes from campus. Most students live on campus and in nearby college-owned houses.

Student organizations

Lynchburg College has over 40 clubs and organizations for students to participate in. Examples of organization types are Greek life, student government, spiritual life, volunteer organizations, leadership programs, and publications.

Greek life

Fraternity life began on the Lynchburg College campus in 1962, with the arrival of Sigma Mu Sigma, whose Sigma Chapter was active until disbanded in the mid 1980s. Fraternities and sororities appeared on campus again in 1992. All official Greek houses are located on Vernon Street, and are currently owned by the college. LC is 17% Greek. Listed below are the chapters of the social fraternities and sororities that comprise Greek life at LC.

Fraternities

Sororities

National Pan-Hellenic Council Fraternities and Sororities

Athletics

The Lynchburg College Hornets participate in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). The Hornets program offers eight men's sports, nine women's sports, and two co-ed sports. Since joining the ODAC, the Hornets have recorded 148 conference titles. Lynchburg College is one of the stronger competitors at ODAC. The Hornets have won many ODAC championships throughout their history; the most recent came in 2010 for men's indoor and outdoor track and field. Traditionally its lacrosse, baseball, cross country, field hockey, soccer, softball, and track and field teams compete at a high level in conference play.

In 2015 the Lynchburg lacrosse ODAC champions made their first appearance in the NCAA Division III championship with tournament wins over Sewanee (13–4), Aurora University (19–8) and Salisbury University (13–11) at home before traveling to Gettysburg College for a come-from-behind 11–9 semi-final win. The Hornets then lost to Tufts University in the championship game of the NCAA Division III Title Tournament, 19–11. The contest was held at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. This achievement brought much more attention to the entire athletic program.

Lynchburg College also fields a men's rugby union team, which operates under the club sports department rather than the athletic department. Founded in 2010, and a member of USA Rugby, Lynchburg College Rugby Football Club competes in the Cardinals Collegiate Rugby Conference as a National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) team, competing in the Challenge Cup portion of the league. They compete regularly against schools such as Roanoke College, Emory and Henry College, Christopher Newport University and Hampden–Sydney College.

In 2011 Lynchburg's men's club lacrosse program won the Division 2 National Championship over the Cincinnati Bearcats, 12–10. The team made it to the national title game from 2009 to 2011. Competing in the Blue Ridge division with Radford University, Virginia Military Institute, Washington and Lee University, and High Point University. The team travels to play teams from around the country every year continuing its competitive effort.

Administration

Lynchburg College has both a president and a board of trustees, which currently consists of 37 individuals. The board's role in administration is the "fundamental oversight of the College."

Kenneth R. Garren began his tenure as the tenth president of Lynchburg College in 2001. A former vice president and dean of Roanoke College, Garren led Lynchburg College through its 2003 centennial celebration and initiatives such as a strategic plan, campus facilities master planning, building projects (including Elliot & Rosel Schewel Hall), and restoration work on College Lake. The college finished multimillion-dollar renovations of Shellenberger Field and Drysdale Student Center.