Lynchburg College was founded as Virginia Christian College in 1903 by Dr. Josephus Hopwood, a pioneer in Christian co-education. His wife Sarah shared his vision and was his partner in all his endeavors.
Westover Hall |
Dr. Hopwood was president of Milligan College in Tennessee when a group of Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) ministers and businessmen approached him about establishing a college in Lynchburg. They informed Dr. Hopwood that Westover Hotel, a failed resort, was available for sale and could serve as the center of operations for the new college. Dr. Hopwood agreed, and the property was purchased for $13,500. Renamed Westover Hall, the resort hotel housed the new college’s entire physical plant until 1909 when a new central heating plant was completed along with the construction of Main Hall (later known as Hopwood Hall), and Carnegie Hall, a men’s residence.
The second oldest college in Virginia to be founded as coeducational, VCC changed its name to Lynchburg College in 1919, reflecting its broadening constituency.
Since 1903 Lynchburg College has grown from the original eleven faculty members and fifty-five students to one hundred fifty full-time faculty and more than 2,400 students from across the nation and around the world.
Faithful to its commitment to the liberal arts and high academic standards, Lynchburg College has a national reputation as an institution that offers quality educational opportunities while building the character and the leadership ability of its students. The College is one of only fifty institutions nationwide participating in the Bonner Leaders program, which focuses on student leadership development through service.
A rigorous academic program of undergraduate, graduate, and pre-professional programs provides thirty-five major and forty-three minor fields of concentration offered through six schools:
In 1998 Lynchburg College expanded into Bedford County with the creation of the Claytor Nature Study Center, a 470-acre farm donated to the College by A. Boyd Claytor III for environmental study and research.
Over the years, Lynchburg College has expanded its facilities to more than forty buildings, including Hall Campus Center (formerly Memorial Gymnasium, 1923, renovated 1980); Hundley Hall (1954); Knight-Capron Library (1954, Capron addition 1969); Hobbs Hall (1959; laboratory wing 1993, renovated 1995); Shackelford Hall (1963); Freer Hall (1963); Crews and Reynolds Courts (1964); McWane Hall (1966); Snidow Chapel-Hebb Music Center (1966); Tate Hall (1967); Burton Student Center (1968); Turner Gymnasium (1969, renovated 2000); Wake Field House (1969); Montgomery Hall (1970); Dillard Fine Arts Center (1974); Alumni House (1985); McMillan Nursing Building (1987); Thompson Education building (1987); Daura Art Gallery (1990; addition 1995); Beaver Point Clubhouse (1990); Bell Tower (1993); A. Boyd Claytor III Education and Research Facility (2003); Brewer, Rainsford, and Warren townhouses (2003); Bullard and Huston townhouses (2004); Elliot & Rosel Schewel Hall (2005), and Peaks View Hall (2005).
Steeped in a rich legacy of faith and reason, Lynchburg College enters its second century with enduring high ideals of scholarship, character, leadership, and service that continue to enrich the lives of its students.
Hopwood Hall |
Lynchburg College presidents: |
View the Campus Tour for more building information and pictures.