About Lynchburg College
Founded in 1903 by Dr. Josephus Hopwood and four outstanding business and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) leaders, Lynchburg College is the second oldest college in Virginia to be established as co-educational.
Throughout its history, Lynchburg College has maintained strong commitments to the importance of the liberal arts as the basis for education, to a church relationship, to coeducation, and to being a residential community. The College combines liberal education with career development and is dedicated to helping students develop the curiosity and interests that will enrich their private lives, the intellectual and social skills important for success in the public world of work, and the values and purpose necessary for citizenship in a changing world.
The College has grown from its modest beginnings of eleven faculty members and fifty-five students to a full time faculty of more than 100 and an enrollment of more than 2,000 students in undergraduate and graduate study, the majority of whom come from Virginia and the Northeast corridor. Thirty-three states and a dozen foreign countries are represented within the multiculturally diverse student body, which has a minority enrollment of 14 percent, with 9 percent being African-American.
Over the past four years, Lynchburg College has witnessed a 50 percent growth in students, resulting in an on-campus population of more than 1,625 students. During that time, the College has built new townhouses, an apartment complex, and has converted more than 65 houses in the neighborhood for student occupancy.
Lynchburg College preserves the best of its liberal arts tradition while strengthening its teaching and learning environment through the appropriate use of information technology in curricula and scholarship across campus. The College's strong academic offerings include thirty-nine major and thirty-nine minor areas of concentration; an honors program; professional studies in business, education, communication, and health sciences; thirteen pre-professional programs; and masters programs in education and business. In the nationally recognized Lynchburg College Symposium Readings Program, students draw lessons from classical literature to address challenges of today's world.
Lynchburg College is accredited by the Commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award degrees at the baccalaureate and masters levels; American Medical Association for premedical training; the State Department of Education of Virginia for teacher certification; Virginia State Board of Nursing; and the National League of Nursing.
Long considered one of the most beautiful campuses in the South; the College's grounds are graced by thirty buildings, most of Georgian design. The 470-acre Claytor Nature Study Center in nearby Bedford County features a diverse natural learning environment for College students and for the community.
A member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), Lynchburg College offers twenty-one intercollegiate sports that compete at the NCAA III level. Varsity athletics integrates academic rigor with competition in ten women's sports: basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor track, outdoor track, and volleyball; nine men's sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, indoor track, and outdoor track; and two coed sports: cheerleading and equestrian. The College has produced more than ninety ODAC team championships and more than 140 All-America athletes.
Lynchburg College has played an active role in the Central Virginia community since its founding more than a century ago. Through the College's SERVE (Students Engaged in Responsible Volunteer Service) program, students, faculty, and staff contributed more than 20,000 hours in the 2004-2005 academic year to more than 200 College and community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, Relay for Life, Hunger Task Force, and the College Rescue Squad. Student internships, and student teaching provide students with valuable work-related experience, help keep community corporations, organizations, and schools current with latest trends, and offer a fresh perspective to traditional approaches. The Mason Center for Economic Education offers workshops on leadership, workforce development, and information technology. Five Centers of Distinction (Beard Center on Aging, Community Development and Social Justice, Environmental Education, Family Studies and Educational Advancement, and History and Culture of Central Virginia) reach out to meet community needs and to offer students with unique learning opportunities beyond the classroom.
Daura Gallery exhibitions, Lynchburg College Theatre productions, Lynchburg College Fine Arts and Lecture Series featuring performers and speakers of national and international prominence, and performances by the Lynchburg College Concert and Handbell Choirs, Wind Ensemble, and Dance Company enrich the cultural life of the community and are open to the public, most free of charge.
Lynchburg College continues to receive national recognition for the quality of its programs. The College is one of only forty colleges and universities nationwide to be recognized in Colleges That Change Lives by former New York Times education editor Loren Pope, and the John Templeton Foundation has twice selected Lynchburg College for its Honor Roll of Character-Building Colleges. Two recent Student Government Association presidents received the national Multicultural Student Leader Award from the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) and the Student Government Association and Student Activities Board have received NACA Awards of Excellence.
