Lynchburg's Randolph College
Coed Liberal Arts and Sciences

Lynchburg's Randolph College has had a sexual identity crisis over the years. That's a strange statement to make about a college but probably fair since the first Randolph Macon College, chartered in 1930 by the Virginia legislature and located in Boydton, VA, was all male.

Wars have a way of changing things and due to the destruction of the railroads to Boydton during the civil war, the college was relocated to Ashland, VA in 1868, still being a male-only college.

A little over two decades later, the Randolph Macon Woman's college was founded in 1891 in Lynchburg and was just as its name says, all women. Finally in July 2007, the Lynchburg campus became Randolph College, a coeducational institute of higher learning.

The impetus for the evolution from male to female to coed belongs to William Waugh Smith, an early president of the Ashland Randolph Macon College.

He didn't share the early southern attitude that educating women was "dangerous" and set out to establish a college for women that would be equivalent to the quality education provided to males. After hitting a brick wall with his own trustees, Smith took to the road and found support in Lynchburg, VA.

Lynchburg's Rivermont Land Company, established in 1890 and owning 7000 acres in Campbell County and Lynchburg, donated 20 acres of prime land for the women's college and generous citizens provided $100,000.

The land and money enabled Smith to found Randolph Macon Women's College in 1891 and it opened its doors in 1893 to its first class of 36 students and 12 professors.

July 1, 2007 will forever live in infamy at Randolph Macon Woman's College in that men were admitted and the name changed to Randolph College.

The college is small compared to many of its contemporaries. It has an enrollment that hovers around 700 with an average class size of 12 and a student to teacher ratio of 8:1. At RC it is quality, not quantity, that counts.

Student grade point averages fall between 3.2 and 3.7 and most Scholastic Aptitude Test scores are routinely near the high end.

Size aside, the college offers 25 majors and 50 minors with an option to design your own degree program. Masters programs include the Masters of Arts in Teaching and the Masters of Education.

The campus covers a beautiful 100 acres on the north side of Rivermont Avenue, has 18 incredible, stately buildings including the impressive main hall, residence quarters and classrooms.

The grounds feature wonderful walkways that bring us to the open-air Greek amphitheater, eight tennis courts, the running track and athletic fields. Sunday afternoons are a great time to walk around the campus and take in the scenery.

Custom Search

Not-to-miss sites on the Randolph college campus are the Maier Museum of Art, the Houston Memorial Chapel with its soaring roof reaching to the heavens, the Dorothy Bliss Botanical Garden, the Whiteside Amphitheatre and the Thoresen Theater in the Leggett building.

A map of the campus can be seen at the college website and an impressive virtual tour is also available online.

Location and Contact:
Randolph College
2500 Rivermont Avenue
Lynchburg, VA 24503
Admissions Office:
800-745-7692>br>admissions@randolphcollege.edu