Randolph-Macon College is a private, co-educational
liberal arts collegeLiberal arts colleges in the United States are undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers the following definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing...
located in
AshlandAshland is a town located just north of Richmond in Hanover County, Virginia., United States. The population was 6,619 at the 2000 census. Ashland is home to Randolph-Macon College...
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
, near the capital city of
RichmondRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. Founded in 1830, the school has an enrollment of over 1,200 students.
The college offers
bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s in 29 major disciplines in the
liberal artsLiberal arts are the skills derived from the Classical education curriculum.-Definition:The term liberal arts denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge and develops the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities, unlike the professional, vocational, technical curricula...
, including
political sciencePolitical science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the pragmatic application of the art and science of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how",...
,
businessA business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself...
,
psychologyPsychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the systematic, and sometimes scientific, study of human or animal mental functions and behavior...
,
biologyBiology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
,
international studiesInternational studies can refer to:*International relations*International education...
, and
computer scienceComputer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. It is frequently described as the systematic study of algorithmic processes that create, describe and transform...
. It also offers nearly 40 minors, including
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
. Randolph-Macon was one of the first colleges to offer English as a full discipline, and it was the first southern college to develop biology as a distinct study.
Randolph-Macon College is a private, co-educational
liberal arts collegeLiberal arts colleges in the United States are undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers the following definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing...
located in
AshlandAshland is a town located just north of Richmond in Hanover County, Virginia., United States. The population was 6,619 at the 2000 census. Ashland is home to Randolph-Macon College...
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
, near the capital city of
RichmondRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. Founded in 1830, the school has an enrollment of over 1,200 students.
The college offers
bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s in 29 major disciplines in the
liberal artsLiberal arts are the skills derived from the Classical education curriculum.-Definition:The term liberal arts denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge and develops the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities, unlike the professional, vocational, technical curricula...
, including
political sciencePolitical science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the pragmatic application of the art and science of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how",...
,
businessA business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself...
,
psychologyPsychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the systematic, and sometimes scientific, study of human or animal mental functions and behavior...
,
biologyBiology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
,
international studiesInternational studies can refer to:*International relations*International education...
, and
computer scienceComputer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. It is frequently described as the systematic study of algorithmic processes that create, describe and transform...
. It also offers nearly 40 minors, including
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
. Randolph-Macon was one of the first colleges to offer English as a full discipline, and it was the first southern college to develop biology as a distinct study. Its computer science department is one of the oldest in the country associated with a liberal arts school; in the 1960s when the program was established, many academics believed computer science to be more appropriate for a commercial trade or secretarial school, rather than a traditional 4 year institution.
History
Randolph-Macon was founded in 1830 by the Virginia Methodists, and is the oldest Methodist-run college in the country. It was originally located in
BoydtonBoydton is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 454 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County.-Geography:Boydton is located at ....
, near the
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
border but as the railroad link to Boydton was destroyed during
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, the college's trustees decided to relocate the school to Ashland. The college was named for statesmen
John Randolph of RoanokeJohn Randolph , known as John Randolph of Roanoke, was a leader in Congress from Virginia and spokesman for the "Old Republican" or "Quids" faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that wanted to restrict the role of the federal government.-Biography:He was born at Cawsons, Virginia , he was the...
and
Nathaniel MaconNathaniel Macon was a spokesman for the Old Republican faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that wanted to strictly limit the federal government. Macon was born near Warrenton, North Carolina, and attended the College of New Jersey and served briefly in the American Revolutionary War...
. (The original site of Randolph-Macon features a historical marker and ruins of the classroom buildings.)
In 1847, Randolph-Macon College established a relationship with the
Hampden-Sydney CollegeHampden-Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, Hampden-Sydney is the oldest private charter in the South, as well as the 17th oldest institution of higher education and one of only three four-year, all-men's liberal arts colleges in...
. alum
John Peter MettauerJohn Peter Mettauer was an American surgeon and gynecologist. He studied medicine at Hampden-Sydney College and later in Philadelphia. In 1837 he founded a private medical school located between Prince Edward Court House and Kingsville...
. The relationship led to the formation of the Randolph-Macon Medical School, and in 1951 the school was closed.
The college has a historical relationship with
Randolph CollegeRandolph College is a private liberal arts college located in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was founded in 1891 as the women's college Randolph-Macon Woman's College, and assumed its current name on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational.-History:...
(formerly known as Randolph-Macon Women's College) in
Lynchburg, VirginiaLynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 72,596 at the 2008 U.S. census estimate. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills", "The Hill City" and sometimes...
. The former women's college was founded under Randolph-Macon's original charter in 1893 by the then-president William Waugh Smith; it was intended as a female counterpart to Randolph-Macon. The two schools later separated to become distinct institutions governed by two separate boards. Randolph-Macon College became co-educational in 1971 with the enrollment of 50 women and the first full-time female faculty member. (Randolph College became co-educational in 2007.)
In 1892, two
preparatory schoolsA university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education. Some schools will also include a junior, or elementary, school...
— both called Randolph-Macon Academy — were founded. The only one which remains today is
Randolph-Macon AcademyFounded in 1892, Randolph-Macon Academy is a coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades 6-12 and postgraduates in Virginia, USA. The school features both a boarding and day school program. Randolph-Macon Academy is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
in
Front RoyalFront Royal is a town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.-Geography:Front Royal is located at .It is roughly west of Washington, D.C....
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
. Randolph-Macon Academy is today the only co-educational military boarding school in the country affiliated with the
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC).
Randolph-Macon College became the first college south of the U.S. Mason-Dixon Line to require physical education coursework for graduation.
Since 1923, the college has been home to the Zeta chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation's oldest academic honor society. Chi Beta Phi, the national science honorary society, was founded at Randolph-Macon in 1916.
Athletics
Randolph-Macon's
sportsCollege athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
teams are known as the
Yellow Jackets or, more simply, as "The Jackets." Randolph-Macon College plays in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), a member of Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The school's main rival in men's sports over the past century has been
Hampden-Sydney CollegeHampden-Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, Hampden-Sydney is the oldest private charter in the South, as well as the 17th oldest institution of higher education and one of only three four-year, all-men's liberal arts colleges in...
. The football game between Randolph-Macon and Hampden-Sydney dates to the 19th century and is billed as the "Oldest Small-College Rivalry in the South." Randolph-Macon won the first contest 12-6 in 1893. The Yellow Jacket football team is currently coached by Pedro Arruza and won the ODAC championship in 2008. The football team plays its home games at
Day FieldDay Field is a 5,000-capacity stadium in Ashland, Virginia on the campus of Randolph-Macon College where it serves as home to the school's football program.The stadium is named for benefactor Frank L. Day who donated the land it sits on in 1937....
.
R-MC's basketball teams have had numerous successful seasons. The women's basketball team placed second nationally in Division III in the 2004-2005 season. The men's basketball team has been ranked #1 in the country by D3hoops.com, most recently in 2003.
Men's sports: baseball, basketball, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and tennis.
Women's sports: basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball.
The college maintains a Hall of Fame of former specially accomplished athletes based upon their past athletic records.
Notable alumni
- Tony Heldreth, Senior Director, Guilford Performance Tiles
- Macon Brock, co-founder of Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. is an American chain of retail stores headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia. Every item sold in the stores is offered for either $1.00 or less, thus making it a true dollar store....
- Members of the rock band Carbon Leaf
Carbon Leaf is a five-piece rock band from Richmond, Virginia that is known for their Celtic / Bluegrass rock that was featured more prominently on their early releases on their own label, Constant Ivy Music...
, Barry Privett, Terry Clark, Carter Gravatt (and former member Scott Milstead)
- Beth Dunkenberger
Beth Dunkenberger is the head women's basketball coach at Virginia Tech. In three seasons at the helm, she has guided the Hokies to three postseason appearances. The 2006 squad reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, and the 2007 team made it to the third round of the WNIT tournament.From...
, (1988), head coach of Virginia Tech women's basketball team
- Randy Forbes
James Randy Forbes is an American politician who has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the of Virginia ....
, U.S. Congressman
- Jordan Wheat Lambert, introduced Listerine to the marketplace
- Samuel Lander (valedictorian 1852), founder of Lander University
Lander University is a public university located in Greenwood, South Carolina. It is the state's smallest publicly-funded baccalaureate institution.-History:...
(SC)
- Gregg Marshall
Gregg Marshall is the current head basketball coach at Wichita State University.-Education:Gregg Marshall graduated from Randolph-Macon College with a B.A. degree in Economics/Business in 1985...
, (1985), head coach of Wichita State men's basketball team
- Walter Hines Page
Walter Hines Page was an American journalist, publisher, and diplomat. He was the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom during World War I....
, journalist, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom
- Brian Partlow
Brian Partlow is the Offensive Coordinator of the Cleveland Gladiators in the Arena Football League. He is the former Head Coach for the Austin Wranglers where he had a career record of 4-12, including a 0-0 mark in the postseason. He spent the 2006, 2005, and 2004 seasons as the offensive...
, head coach of Arena Football LeagueThe Arena Football League was founded in 1987 as an indoor American football by Jim Foster. It was played indoors on a smaller field than American football, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game...
's Austin WranglersThe Austin Wranglers were an American football team from Austin, Texas in the arenafootball2. They began play as a 2004 expansion team in the Arena Football League.-History:...
- Hugh Scott
Hugh Doggett Scott, Jr. was a politician from Pennsylvania who served in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and who also served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee.-Early life:He was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on November 11, 1900 and...
, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator
- Andrew Sledd
Andrew Warren Sledd was an American theologian, university professor, and university president. Sledd was the first president of the University of Florida , serving from 1905 to 1909, and previously served as the last president of one of its four predecessor institutions, the University of...
, first president of the University of FloridaThe University of Florida is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major research university located on a campus located in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. The university traces its origins to 1853, and has continuously operated on its present Gainesville campus since the fall...
, noted New Testament scholar at the Candler School of TheologyCandler School of Theology, Emory University, is one of 13 seminaries of the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1914, the school was named after Warren Akin Candler, a former President and Chancellor of Emory University and a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South...
- Gregory R. Smith, child prodigy, human rights activist
- Howard Stevens
Howard Melvin Stevens Jr. is a former NFL running back who played for New Orleans Saints and the Baltimore Colts...
, NFL running backA running back is the position of a player on an American or Canadian football team who usually lines up in the offensive backfield...
- Claude A. Swanson
Claude Augustus Swanson was an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Virginia.He served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1893 until 1906, was the Governor of Virginia from 1906 until 1910, and represented Virginia as a United States Senator from 1910 until 1933...
, U.S. Senator, Navy Secretary
- Walter Leak Steele
Walter Leak Steele was a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1877 and 1881.Born near Rockingham in Richmond County, North Carolina, Steele attended common schools near his home and then Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, Wake Forest College, and finally the University of North...
, U.S. Congressman
- Syd Thrift
Sydnor W. Thrift Jr. was an American scout and executive in Major League Baseball who served as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1985 to 1988, and the de facto general manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 1999 to 2002...
, former Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
player, scout, and general manager
- VADM John W. Craine Jr.
Vice Admiral Craine was appointed president of the State University of New York Maritime College on May 27, 2006 after serving as the acting president since June, 2005. He joined SUNY in October, 2001, and served as the interim president of the Maritime College until July, 2002, when he became the...
USN(ret.), President; SUNY Maritime College
- Preston Bryant, Secretary of National Resources under Governor Kaine
Notable faculty
- David Seth Doggett
David Seth Doggett was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, elected in 1866. He was born 26 January 1810 in Lancaster County, Virginia. He was descended from the Rev. Benjamin Doggett, a Church of England immigrant to Virginia about 1650, Rector of White Chapel Church in...
, a professorThe meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual...
in the 1860s and later a BishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, SouthThe Methodist Episcopal Church, South, or Methodist Episcopal Church South, was the so-called "Southern Methodist Church" resulting from the split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church which had been brewing over several years until it came out into the open at a conference...
- Brian Sutton, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and winner of the 2009 Leslie Fox Prize for Numerical Analysis
The Leslie Fox Prize for Numerical Analysis of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications is a biennial prize established in 1985 by the IMA in honour of mathematician Leslie Fox . The prize honours "young numerical analysts worldwide" , and applicants submit papers for review...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Fox_Prize_for_Numerical_Analysis
- Kelly Lambert, Macon and Joan Brock Professor of Psychology - named Virginia Professor of the Year for 2008 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
External links