Bluefield College Changes Name to become Bluefield University

 Bluefield College announced that they have now changed their name to Bluefield University. The Board of Trustees met in special session in June 2021 to approve the new name.

The institution, located in Bluefield, VA, was founded in 1922 and is currently preparing for its centennial celebration. 

An institutional history, Lighthouse on the Hills: The Bluefield College Story, can be viewed on the college's web site. A brief historical sketch and information on presidents of the institution can be found on the "History" web page.

John Tyler Community College changes name to Brightpoint Community College

 John Tyler Community College in Chester,  VA will be changing its name to Brightpoint Community College. The name change was approved by the Virginia State Board for Community Colleges in July 2021.

Classes were first held on October 2, 1967, with 1,231 students and 85 faculty members. Over 10,150 students are currently enrolled and the institution employs 114 full time and over 300 part time faculty.

Patrick & Henry Community College is the New Name for PHCC

WFXR-TV reported this past week that a new name for Patrick Henry Community College was approved by the Virginia’s State Board of Community Colleges. PHCC will now be known as Patrick & Henry Community College, recognizing the two Virginia counties it serves. The name change will also hopefully reduce confusion with a well known Revolutionary War figure or a small private institution founded in 2000 as Patrick Henry College.

P&HCC was founded as a two-year branch of the University of Virginia's School of General Studies in 1962. It became an autonomous two-year college of the university two years later as Patrick Henry Community College. Classes were initially offered in the old Northside Elementary School in Martinsville and it moved to its present campus in the fall of 1969. The institution became part of the Virginia Community College System on July 1, 1971.

Bluefield College Prepares to Celebrate Centennial

WVNS-TV reported on June 20, 2021 that "Bluefield College prepares to celebrate centennial anniversary." Festivities begin on August 18, 2021 and the institution is currently asking alumni and friends to share memorabilia and stories. 

Bluefield College is located in Bluefield, VA and opened in 1922 to meet the needs for higher education in southwestern Virginia by the Baptist General Association of Virginia. 

An institutional history, Lighthouse on the Hills: The Bluefield College Story, can be viewed on the college's web site. A brief historical sketch and information on presidents of the institution can be found on the "History" web page.

Virginia Business College Set to Open on Campus of former Virginia Intermont College

 

Virginia Business College is a new nonprofit higher education institution that will begin offering classes in February. VBC is located on the campus of the former Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, VA. 

You can read more in "Virginia Business College receives state’s approval" by David McGee and published by the Bristol Herald Courier on January 22, 2021. 

It is interesting to note that McGee provided extensive coverage of Virginia Intermont's struggle and ultimate closure during 2014. He was recognized by his peers with a first-place award from the Tennessee Press Association in the Best Education Reporting in 2015. An earlier College History Garden post provides more information on the award and links to a number of McGee's articles, "Reporter Receives Award for Reporting on Closure of Virginia Intermont College."

The Former Daleville College and Its links with Bridgewater College

The Roanoke Times published several articles by Ray Cox over the past couple of months featuring the history of the former Daleville College and its ties to Bridgewater College in Virginia. 

Both institutions were affiliated with the Church of the Brethren and were located in western Virginia, with Daleville roughly 100 miles south of Bridgewater. 

Bridgewater College was founded in 1880 and is still in operation. It began as Spring Creek Normal & Collegiate Institute with the name changing to Virginia Normal College in 1882 and to Bridgewater College in 1889.

Daleville College incorporated as Botetourt Normal College in 1892. It was renamed Daleville College in 1910 and consolidated with Bridgewater College after 1928.

You can find the articles from the following links:

• "The story behind the college that once operated in Botetourt County's Daleville," October 20, 2019.
• "Bridgewater's 'next-generation' library will be a good place to learn more about Daleville College," November 24, 2019.
• "Book sketches out the rise and fall of Daleville College and academy in Botetourt County," December 1, 2019.

The third article references Francis Fry Wayland’s Bridgewater College: The First 100 Years 1880-1980.  A digital version of Wayland's history and other historical resources are available through the Bridgewater College Digital Commons. 

You can also find used copies of an earlier history published fifty years earlier, Bridgewater College 1880-1930, Daleville College 1890-1930 through Abe Books.

Randolph College in the 1890s

Randolph College posted an interesting article written by Meta Glass (Class of 1899) in the fall of 1965 about her experiences as one of the first students enrolled at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in the 1890s...The Beginnings of the College: R-MWC in the 1890s.

Randolph-Macon Women's College was initially founded under the charter of Randolph-Macon College.  It moved in 1893 to Lynchburg, VA. Then in 2007, it became co-ed and changed its name to Randolph College.  The college celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2016.

Museum and Archives Maintains Memory of Saint Paul's College

U.S. News & World Report posted an article by Bill Lohmann, a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter, "Group Keeps Saint Paul's College's History Alive With Museum," on February 16, 2019.  

The original article, "With new museum, grassroots group keeps alive the history of Saint Paul's College," was first published by the Times-Dispatch on January 6, 2019.

Lohmann relates the work of of community volunteers, including Saint Paul’s alumni, to form a nonprofit organization after the institution in Lawrenceville, VA closed in June 2013.  The James Solomon Russell-Saint Paul’s College Museum and Archives is now open several days a week and the group has a website where you can find more information, volunteer, or donate.

You can also review the Museum page on Facebook to follow activities of the group.

Information about Saint Paul's College and events leading up to its closure can be found in previous posts on College History Garden:

• Thursday, August 30, 2012 Saint Paul's College (VA) #1--initial suspension of classes
• Monday, May 13, 2013 Saint Paul's College (VA) #2--possible acquisition of Saint Paul's by Saint Augustine's University of Raleigh, NC
• Friday, May 31, 2013 St. Paul's College (VA) #3--closure of Saint Paul's
• Sunday, December 28, 2014 President of Saint Paul's College Recognized

Education Corporation of America Closes over 75 Campuses

The Education Corporation of America headquarter in Birmingham, AL announced today that it will close more than 75 sites that enroll roughly 20,000 students.  The company began the process of notifying students and employees.  The sites include those operating as Brightwood College, Brightwood Career Institute, Ecotech Institute, Golf Academy of America and Virginia College.

You can read more at Inside Higher Ed in an article that was posted earlier today, "Large For-Profit Chain to Close."  WSFA-TV in Montgomery, AL posted a short video with an article, "Virginia College closing in Montgomery, nationwide."

KCRA-TV in Sacramento, CA posted "Brightwood College closing Modesto, Sacramento campuses" on its website.

Thirty-two sites are listed for Brightwood College in eight states on the IPEDS College Navigator site and twenty-seven sites in eleven states are listed for Virginia Colleges.

	Brightwood College Sites	Virginia College Sites
Alabama		4
California	10
Florida		3
Georgia		4
Indiana	2
Louisiana		2
Maryland	3
Mississippi		2
Nevada	1
North Carolina	1	1
Ohio	1
Oklahoma		1
South Carolina		5
Tennessee	1	2
Texas	13	2
Virginia		1
Totals	32	27
# states	8	11

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Baptist Theological Seminary Announces Closure in 2019

The Trustees of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond announced on November 13, 2018 that it will be closing at the end of the academic year in June 2019.







Baptist News Global posted an excellent article by Bob Allen, "Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond to close in 2019."

Allen provides a brief history of the institution since its founding in 1991 and places the seminary's decision within the context of pressures faced by other seminaries.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch published an article almost six years ago on January 19, 2013, "Private K-12 school to buy seminary property in North Richmond," as the seminary worked to reduce fixed costs.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

50th Anniversary for Tidewater Community College

Tidewater Community College is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1968.  The institution is located in Virginia with campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach.

TCC 50th anniversary web pages include more information on presidents who served the institution, a timeline of historical milestones, and fifty people who contributed in various ways to make TCC what it is today.

You can also read more at Inside Business: The Hampton Roads Business Journal, "Tidewater Community College, 50 years | 2018 milestone anniversary."

Eastern Mennonite University Celebrates Centennial of Founding in 1917

Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA is celebrating the centennial of its founding in 1917 as Eastern Mennonite School.  The name changed to Eastern Mennonite College in 1947 and then to Eastern Mennonite University in 1994.  

The EMU centennial webpages include a timeline of the institution's history or you can view historical images and a timeline in a digital version of the Spring/Summer 2017 issue of the alumni publication, Crossroads.  

Donald B. Kraybill, professor at Elizabethtown College and and a distinguished alum of EMU, will also author a new history of the institution that is scheduled for fall release.

Agnes McClung, Important Figure in History of Mary Baldwin University

The Staunton, VA News Leader published an interesting article, "Forgotten Folks: Agnes McClung, Mary Baldwin's friend, was crucial to school's survival," written by Charles Culbertson.  McClung was appointed co-principal of Augusta Female Seminary in 1863 along with Mary Julia Baldwin.  

McClung and Baldwin took control of an institution that had been founded twenty years earlier in 1842.  Culbertson provides a number of historic details and describes how the two women turned around the fortunes of a struggling school during the Civil War and in the years that followed.

McClung passed away in 1880 and Baldwin continued to lead the seminary.  It was renamed Mary Baldwin Seminary in 1895 and Baldwin passed away two years later in 1897.  The institution's name was changed to Mary Baldwin College in 1923 and to Mary Baldwin University in 2016.

Hopwood Hall at Lynchburg College is Recognized

Reporter Christopher Cole explores the early history of Lynchburg College in an article published by The News & Advance, "Lynchburg College's Hopwood Hall joins Virginia Landmarks Register."  Hopwood Hall was completed in 1909 and continues to serve as the largest academic building on the campus.

The institution was founded six years earlier in 1903 as Virginia Christian College.  The name was changed to Lynchburg College in 1919 and will be changed again this next year to Lynchburg University.

Virginia Wesleyan College Changes its Name

The Virginian-Pilot reports that Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk will change its name to Virginia Wesleyan University.  Ryan Murphy reports in "Virginia Wesleyan College to become a university this year," that the name change will be in place by the fall of 2017.

WAVY-TV's post includes a short two minute video segment reporting on the name change, "Virginia Wesleyan College to become a university." 

Lynchburg College Trustees Adopt New Name

Trustees of Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, VA approved a name change earlier today and the institution will be known as the University of Lynchburg at the beginning of the 2018 academic year.  

The institution was founded as Virginia Christian College in 1903 and was affiliated with the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.  The name was changed to Lynchburg College in 1919.

A press release providing more information on the decision and the University of Lynchburg FAQ page are available on the institution's website.

Valuable Insights from those Involved with Closing Colleges

Rick Seltzer's article for Inside Higher Ed, "Closing Out a College," provides a detailed and valuable look at several institutions and the difficulties their trustees and staff faced as they prepared for closure.  Seltzer focused on three institutions.  Two have closed, Virginia Intermont College and Dowling College.  And while the details of the near closure and rebirth of the third institution have been widely covered, I appreciated the insights of Dr. Phillip Stone, Sweet Briar's president, as he reflected on their unique situation.  

The article's comment section also included several important notes clarifying why struggling independent colleges are no longer able to reorganize using the bankruptcy protection of the courts.  Michael Goldstein included a link to an article, "Bankruptcy Benefits," that he co-authored on the topic for the September / October 2016 issue of AGB's Trusteeship magazine.

Update on Virginia Intermont two years following Closure

David McGee continues his excellent reporting on the closure of Virginia Intermont College for the Bristol Herald Courier with "Quiet in the Halls: VI marks two years since closing, still trying to resolve financial issues."  The article includes excerpts of interviews with Art Rebrovick, interim VI president, regarding the ongoing negotiations with the U.S. Department of Education and with assistant city manager Andrew Trivette on efforts to find new owners or uses for the VI campus.

McGee received a 1st place award from the Tennessee Press Association for educational reporting and a previous post on the College History Garden includes links to a number of his articles on Virginia Intermont.

Randolph College is celebrating 125th Anniversary

Randolph College is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the institution's founding on March 10, 1891.  A Founder's Day observance is scheduled for March 24, 2016. 

Randolph-Macon Women's College was initially founded under the charter of Randolph-Macon College.  It moved in 1893 to Lynchburg, VA. Then in 2007, it became co-ed and changed its name to Randolph College.

Mary Baldwin College will change name to Mary Baldwin University

Megan Williams of the Staunton, VA News-Leader reports that Mary Baldwin College will become Mary Baldwin University after August 31, 2016.  The board of trustees previously approved the name change in May 2015.

The institution was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary.  The name changed to Mary Baldwin Seminary in 1895 and then to Mary Baldwin College in 1923.  There is an interesting brief historical sketch on the Mary Baldwin website with links to a timeline, campus traditions, and a digital archive with a variety of institutional documents.