The University of Lynchburg 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 University of Lynchburg was the first institution in the United States to train nuclear physicists and engineers for the NS Savannah project under the order of President Eisenhower, to aid in the development and operation of the world's first nuclear-powered ship.[3]
The institution officially changed its name to Lynchburg College in 1919, citing a constituency that had expanded beyond Virginia.
Beginning with 11 faculty and 55 students, the institution has grown to 159 full-time faculty and 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students. For undergraduate students, the university offers 39 majors, 49 minors, two dual-degree programs, and the Westover Honors Program. It also confers the Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration, Master of Education, and Master of Science in Nursing as well as doctoral degrees in physical therapy, physician assistants, and educational leadership.
The University of Lynchburg 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 the University of Lynchburg, was performing computations related to the distribution of prime numbers and discovered the Pentium FDIV bug. Nicely left Lynchburg College in 2000.
In July 2018, the university changed its name from Lynchburg College to the University of Lynchburg.[4]
The University of Lynchburg campus
Presidents
President
Term
Josephus Hopwood
1903–1911
S.T. Willis
1911–1912
G.O. Davis
1912–1914
Matthew Clark (Acting)
1914–1915
John T. Hundley
1915–1936
Riley B. Montgomery
1936–1949
Orville W. Wake '32
1949–1964
M. Carey Brewer '49
1964–1983
George N. Rainsford
1983–1993
Charles O. Warren
1993–2001
Kenneth R. Garren
2001–2020
Alison Morrison-Shetlar
2020-present
Campus
The University of Lynchburg 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 university-owned houses.
Student life
Carnegie Hall
The University of Lynchburg 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.[5]
Greek life
Fraternity life began on the University of Lynchburg 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 university. UofL is 17% Greek. Listed below are the chapters of the social fraternities and sororities that comprise Greek life at UofL.
In recent years, Lynchburg athletics has competed for three team national championships. The women's soccer program won Lynchburg's first-ever team national championship in 2014, defeating Williams College in penalty kicks to take the crown.[6] In 2010, the Hornets men's soccer program reached the Division III national championship match, where they fell in overtime to Messiah College.[7] In 2015, the men's lacrosse team made its own run to the national title game, losing to Tufts University in the championship game, 19–11.[8]
Multiple men's cross country, indoor, and outdoor track & field athletes have captured NCAA Division III titles over the years as well. In 2009, Ricky Flynn won the Division III men's cross country championship.
Gary Phillips
Class of 1971
Ph.D. Vanderbilt University, 1982
New Testament Studies and linguistics, Highest Distinction
École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris, 1975–76
M.Div Vanderbilt Divinity School, 1974
Biblical Studies, Theology, Magna Cum Laude
Best Professor at Wabash College
