Early history (1839–1884) Longwood was founded in 1839 as the Farmville Female Seminary Association. Led by Solomon Lea, a Methodist minister who had taught at
Randolph–Macon College, the school flourished. Lea left to become the first president of Greensboro Female Seminary (now
Greensboro College) in his native North Carolina, and several presidents and name changes followed in the subsequent decades. Led by a number of Methodist ministers, the school offered English, Latin, Greek, French, and piano. As was common among
female seminaries during
Reconstruction, Farmville Female College, as the institution was then known, fell into a period of deep financial difficulty. The decade following the Civil War saw many seminaries around the South shutter their doors. The college was given new life on June 5, 1875, with a new charter granted and the college renamed Farmville College. Paul Whitehead, a minister from nearby
Nelson County, Virginia, who had been president of Wesleyan Female College at Murfreesboro, North Carolina, was appointed president. Under Whitehead, enrollment grew by nearly half, topping 100 students in 1876. Whitehead resigned in 1872 to return to full-time ministry. Modeled after the French
École normale supérieure, which had been developed in the late 18th century as a model for teacher preparation, the State Female Normal School is one of the oldest of several
normal schools in the state. In 1902, Joseph L. Jarman was named president of the State Female Normal School, a post that lasted an astounding forty-four years. Jarman reshaped the physical campus from a single Victorian structure to a row of colonnaded Jeffersonian brick buildings that forms the core of today's campus. The academic program was also overhauled: the two-year teacher training program that had been in place since the college's founding was replaced with a four-year college academic program with permission to grant degrees. Jarman instituted the Honor Code, which survives to this day, and the student government. Through still several name changes—State Female Normal School (1884), State Normal School for Women (1914) and State Teachers College (1924)—Jarman shaped the institution into one of the most well-respected teacher preparatory colleges in the state.
Longwood College (1949–2002) With an expanding curriculum and growing class sizes, State Teachers College was renamed a penultimate time to Longwood College, its namesake being the nearby estate purchased by the Jarman administration. Longwood—with a focus still very much on teacher preparation—expanded its academic degrees, and in 1954 was authorized to issue graduate diplomas. The campus grew quickly in the ensuing years—three dormitories were constructed perpendicular to the core four Jeffersonian buildings: Wheeler, Cox and South Cunningham dormitories all arose between 1959 and 1963. In 1981, Janet Greenwood became the first woman president in the modern history of Longwood. She served until 1987. William F. Dorrill, president from 1988 to 1996, was instrumental in increasing Longwood's international population and expanding study-abroad opportunities for students and faculty through partnerships with numerous educational institutions around the world. A fire burned
the Rotunda building on April 24, 2001. The building was undergoing extensive renovations at the time, and no one was injured in the blaze, though the rotunda and much of Grainger Hall required rebuilding.
Longwood University (2002–present) Virginia Governor
Mark Warner signed legislation designating Longwood a university on April 2, 2002, one year to the day after The Great Fire that burned the Rotunda and significantly damaged Grainger Hall. Then-president Patricia P. Cormier said at the time that a "university is a better reflection of the type of institution that Longwood is today. We are a comprehensive entity with a broad array of undergraduate majors and minors as well as graduate programs." Since becoming a university, Longwood has expanded its physical campus and academic offerings. The John H. and Karen Chichester Science Center opened in 2005. Longwood's Health and Fitness Center, which opened in 2007, was the first higher education building in Virginia to be awarded the gold level of LEED certification. A new 41,983-square-foot Center for Communication Studies and Theater opened in 2009 to house the rapidly growing communication studies major. That building is adjacent to Bedford Hall, home of the art program, which was expanded and renovated in 2012. Three residence halls were renovated between 2007–14: Wheeler Hall (2007), Cox Hall (2008) and Stubbs Hall (2014). Two residence halls and a commons building opened in 2013 at Lancer Park, an off-campus apartment complex. The residence halls house about 450 students, in addition to the 264 students who were already living there in apartments and townhouses. Longwood has managed the complex since 2006. Keeping with campus tradition, in 2004 three major campus buildings were named for former presidents. The dining hall was named Dorrill Dining Hall for William F. Dorrill, president from 1988–1996; the library was named Greenwood Library for Janet D. Greenwood (1981–1987); and Lancer Hall was named
Willett Hall for Henry I. Willett Jr. (1967–1981). The academics profile has increased as well since becoming a university, notably with the additions of nursing, environmental science, athletic training, animation and cybersecurity programs, among many others. statue under the RotundaOn March 23, 2013, Longwood's Board of Visitors introduced
W. Taylor Reveley IV as the university's 26th president. Reveley's father,
W. Taylor Reveley III, was the president of the
College of William & Mary, and his grandfather
W. Taylor Reveley II was president of
Hampden–Sydney College. On September 23, 2015, the
Commission on Presidential Debates named Longwood as the host for
the 2016 United States vice presidential debate, which occurred on October 4, 2016. ==Academics==