Southern Virgina University: Using the Past to Pave the Way to Our Future
By Matthew Rosson
There is knowledge in where you come from, extreme power in where you are, and hope in where you’re going.
On every college campus, there are students who will complain about their university and then offer several changes to be made. Southern Virginia University students are no different. They often have ideas, hopes, or goals that we wish the University might reach. Whether it is a new gym, a strong and thriving school newspaper, or a revitalized and revamped music and art program. Everyone wants more without understanding where we come from and where we are.
If we look at the University’s past, we would be amazed at the things our university has accomplished! The University has been Southern Virginia University for a little over thirty years now. But, what was our story before that? What were we thirty years ago? And, how has that gotten us to where we are now? With this overview of our past, hope and determination can be seen in the University’s present.
Many don’t know, but Southern Virginia University did not originate in Buena Vista. The school that started everything was Bowling Green Female Seminary, founded in 1867 in Bowling Green, Virginia, by Mrs. W.T. Chandler and her sisters. Their designs for Bowling Green Female Seminary was to educate and house women. In 1881, an Edgar Rowe, a Methodist Minister, married one of Mrs. Chandler’s Sisters Alice Scott and bought the school from Mrs. Chandler. Running the school, Rowe created a connection between the school and the Methodist Church.
For the next twenty years, the school remained in the hands of Mr. Rowe and the Methodist church until the school moved to the Buena Vista Hotel. During this move, the school changed its name to Southern Seminary. In 1919, the Durham family bought a half interest in the school when Dr. Robert Lee Durham became the school’s second president. This was followed by H. Russel Robey marrying Durham and buying the other half of the school. Under the direction of the Durhams and Robeys, the first class graduated in 1925.
Over the next eighty years, the school operated as Southern Seminary. In the 1980s and 1990s, the school’s enrollment began to slip, causing a financial struggle that resulted in the school losing its accreditation in 1996. This is when the story of Southern Virginia University, as we know it, truly begins.
At a birthday party on March 11, Glade Knight was handed a catalog with pictures of Southern Seminary. He then later visited the small college that was built around equestrianism and had just lost everything. The rumor was that Southern Seminary was being sold as a women’s prison.
After touring the school and meeting the students, he ended up in the cafeteria — It was here he knew.
“As sure as I have felt anything. The spirit saturated me, it drenched me in this warm feeling and it became very clear to me that I needed to do something. And the impression was that this cafeteria will someday be filled with LDS students,” Mr. Knight.
Then the rough stone began rolling.
Over the next sixty days, the process of buying and setting up this potential Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aligned college began. A president was found, a board was elected, and the community ultimately accepted the new school. It was even reported that the mayor said the change was an answer to their prayers; to keep the lights on the hill on. Teachers all around heard of the possibility of the school and wanted to come, yet there were no students. So, in act of “it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission,” the school board used the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints directory to find students in the Virginia area. However, this was not allowed because Southern Virginia College, although hoping to be aligned with the church, was not.
At this point, Southern Virginia’s school year was beginning and seventy three students showed up, laying the foundation for students to come. They organized their own music department and created a thriving student organization that was responsible for picking the school’s mascots; The Knights. This was the beginning of our journey as Southern Virginia College.
Over the next few years, the college began its growth. Just like many things in the Latter-day Saints faith, fast and rapid growth occurred in the beginning. A subtle climb through the decades made Southern Virginia College strong, setting a culture that’s still held today.
With the motto learn that life is service inscribed by those seventy three students, Southern Virginia College was officially formed. In 2000, the College got pre-accreditation from the American Academy for Liberal Arts (an organization focused on fostering a liberal arts education in the United States). This pre-accreditation led to the board of trustees making the decision to change the name from Southern Virginia College to Southern Virginia University, which it has remained ever since.
In 2003, the University began to take steps forward and was soon fully accredited by the American Academy for Liberal Arts. This accreditation legitimized Southern Virginia as an educational institution. The strong liberal arts mindset that focused students on learning outside of their particular major is instilled in Southern Virginia University from this point on. Specifically, liberal credits that are required for every student to take (LIB 110, LIB 120, LIB 130).
In 2008, the campus saw its first major campus update with the construction of the Lofts finishing. In the beginning, the Lofts were a girls only dormitory. Further in 2008, the American Academy for Liberal Arts renewed the University’s accreditation. This new campus update and the continued accreditation continued to propel Southern Virginia University’s legitimacy and bring more students in.
In 2012, a very special year for the University occurred as two major milestones were hit. On the academic side of Southern Virginia, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (the oldest, largest, and most prestigious accreditors of colleges and universities in the Southern United States) granted the University accreditation. On the campus life side of the University, due to the growth of the University, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized a young single adult Stake. This Stake was the first of its kind on the east coast, showing the exponential growth of the University since the original seventy three students.
In 2013, a new softball field was finished and dedicated. Further, the lighting system at The Fields was updated. As far as cultural news, the University received national buzz when Senator and presidential candidate Mitt Romney gave the commencement speech at graduation.
In 2014, the University took a step into connecting students through the internet by updating their website. The goal of the University’s website was to make it more interactive, similar to what we see and use today.
In 2015, it was announced that a new stadium would be built and construction of the Knight Arena began. The University also started to provide more scholarships for its students, providing diversity and an opportunity to flourish and grow among our student body.
In 2016, the University’s course and community changed. In a landmark decision that would bring hundreds of students here, the University was granted a full division three status. This meant that Southern Virginia would now join the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), gaining the respect and perks of being in the association. In the campus improvement section, the Walnut apartments were opened in the spring and set to provide more housing for students. 2016 also marked the twentieth anniversary of the beginning of Southern Virginia University. Within those twenty years, the University had over a thousand alumni, millions of dollars in updates and changes, multiple new majors, and has grown beyond the wildest dreams of those first seventy-three students.
2017 marked the dedication and beginning of the Knight stadium. With this new stadium, the University’s football team entered the ODAC, the ivy league of football conferences. This allowed us to compete against our peers from other liberal arts colleges. On the campus community side, Wellness Wednesday was introduced with a focus to help student’s mental and physical health. Later in 2017, Southern Virginia received national recognition with the filming of Alex Boye’s music video of “Believer.” This also marked the renewal of Southern Virginia’s accreditation. Also at this time, concentrations were added to majors to help students prepare for specializations in the world after their time at Southern Virginia University. And finally, to conclude the 2017 year, Southern Virginia became an Apple Distinguished School which provided all their students with iPads to better their learning experience.
In 2018, the University unveiled the knight statue at the Knight Stadium. It was also announced that over the next few years, due to rapid growth, that more facilities were to be added to the Southern Virginia University campus. This included new academics and housing for our future students to continue their education in a positive way. The Knight App was also introduced in 2018 with the hopes that students would be able to connect in a faster and more efficient way.
The 2019 year marked a shift and growth of the University. Southern Virginia changed athletic conferences to join the USA south. Soon after this change, Southern Virginia welcomed in their largest student body in the history of the University.
In 2020, like the rest of the world, the University was hit with Covid-19. Because Southern Virginia was recognized as an Apple Distinguished School, it was slightly easier to continue teaching students at a high level. To battle Covid-19, air purifiers and tents were installed to keep classes going.
Looking back at our past, we almost didn’t exist. The miracle and the growth that is Southern Virginia has been unimaginable. If you look back and contemplate on the past, and look at where we are now and the future we strive for, the possibilities are endless. Before writing this, I had no idea that almost every year the University has either opened a new building or made a big renovation to campus life.
Where we are now is special. To describe us from a student perspective, we’re growing and we’re fighting our way to the top. The journey is long, but the reward is sweet. At this point, the University is focusing on restoring our beloved Main Hall. Just this year, they have redone the entire first floor. This includes new paint and new flooring which has opened up the Main Hall area in new ways we never thought possible.
Then, there is the partnership with Sodexo and the multiple new dining options. The Knight’s Table (officially named in 2022) has been an intriguing part of our history. Remember, you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that café.
Also, look to the Knight Arena with the new basketball court. This newer space has given our athletics the opportunity to better accommodate our conference championship volleyball teams and women’s basketball teams.
With that being said, the campus community is receiving a revitalization. With the demise of COVID-19, we are again able to become who we once were. Within the next few years, our campus community will resemble that of a phoenix rising from the ashes. This campus is ours for the making, just as it was for the seventy-three students of our past.
Now it is time to hope. The present is hard to live in with finals, silly roommates, and strange things that are always happening in The Lofts. So, what will the future hold?
This week, Igot to sit down with the Head of Operations and current Dean of Students Chris Packer. During our conversation, he opened up about the plans that we have for the future. He said over the next few years we will continue restoration of our beloved Main Hall. Packer hopes that through these restorations, Main Hall will become a location students congregate in building a strong campus community. Look in the next few years for similar restorations that have happened to the first floor. Who knows, maybe even the fourth floor will be opened once again.
Dean Packer also had this to say about the future. “Our future is to improve the student experience and bring more students to campus.” This can be done in many ways. One way he mentioned in our interview is a possible outreach into the Buena Vista community.
Your voice matters at Southern Virginia University. We asked students a few questions and this is what they want from their future Southern Virginia University…
Three questions were asked. The first was “What updates to Southern Virginia University would you like to see?”
- Less restrictive rules and a more welcoming community to all people.
- Policing the title IX more carefully, focusing on no one slipping through the cracks despite status.
- Students want more to do on campus and in Buena Vista. The opening of Straws and the BeeVe are two promising starts, but the possibilities are endless.
The next question asked was “What campus updates would you make?”
*The most common request from our students was better roads and more parking — a lot more parking.*
- Students are seeking that the on campus housing be updated and maintained.
- Requests for a more functional Gym and library have been expressed.
- Southern Virginia University’s own baseball field so we can go support this amazing team.
The final question was more open ended: “What updates or goals would you make for the future?”
- They feel Southern Virginia University is not running as efficiently as they could and want to see it thrive.
- They don’t want to be asked for donations, feeling it’d be unbecoming of our staff.
- They want to be involved with the community and see Southern Virginia University become a part of Buena Vista other than just being here.
In conclusion, there is knowledge in the past. Just think of where we were! Knowing and understanding our struggle and how we’ve gotten here is encouraging. It gives us the motivation to be in the now. It gives us the drive to take the power as a university student and staff alike to seize the day and be the change we want in our community. We are ever growing, always changing, but never failing.
Southern Virgina University: Using The Past to Pave The Way to Our Future was originally published in The Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.