Lynchburg College officially becomes University of Lynchburg today, July 1, 2018.
The campus community will celebrate the change in a ceremony at 9 a.m. Monday at the Moon Field parking lot. President Kenneth R. Garren and Board of Trustees Chair Nathaniel Marshall ’83 will offer brief remarks, followed by the ceremonial unveiling of new University of Lynchburg signs at the Lakeside Drive entrance. (Off-campus visitors are asked to enter campus from College Drive behind Snidow Chapel.)
The new name reflects a new chapter in the institution’s history. The Board of Trustees approved the new name in February 2017, just a few months after adopting Vision 2020, a strategic plan in which the University asserts national leadership in student engagement. Since then, the University has introduced new programs for student involvement, focused on active learning, and designed a new, flexible, interdisciplinary general education platform. It also has begun a project to build a major residence hall designed for better student engagement.
The University was founded in 1903 by Josephus and Sarah Hopwood, pioneers in Christian coeducation who believed in the power of education to transform students and the world. Originally named Virginia Christian College, it became Lynchburg College in 1919. The school has grown from a handful of students, faculty, and staff to a dynamic community of 2,800 students, faculty who are renowned in their fields, and thousands of alumni around the world.
“Now is an exciting, pivotal time to be a part of the Lynchburg community,” Dr. Garren said in a recent column for Lynchburg College Magazine. “This summer, we transition to the University of Lynchburg name, begin construction on our first major residence hall project in decades, and continue developing programs that will lead the nation in engaged learning. We’re investing in our people, programs, and campus to give students a transformational experience that will serve them, and the world, well throughout their lives. I’m excited to be a part of this story as it unfolds, and I hope you will join me.”
The following video, released in August 2017 at the beginning of the University’s 115th academic year, captures the spirit of the institution’s transition from a small school to a comprehensive university.
