Dear Faculty and Staff,
With the approach of the holidays our thoughts are turning to celebration, time with family, and a break from the daily work of university life.
Our Longwood traditions have been especially meaningful and joyful this year, from the Grand Illumination in the Rotunda to our vocal groups caroling across campus to the annual Holiday Dinner and Concert—where this year we had a surprise marriage proposal (she said yes!). It’s also a time of reflection on what is most important. So many of us here and across the community are keeping Carolyn Wells and Barbara Smith close to our hearts this holiday season in particular.
Amid the season’s traditions and rhythms, the work of the university continues to progress. Our early action admissions deadline was last week, and I’m happy to report that despite the significant uncertainties that cut across higher education, Admissions leadership is again confident in a strong, talented rising freshman class—with much work ahead as the admission cycle continues through the spring.
There also continues to be strong bipartisan support for higher education in Virginia. As usual, the General Assembly session begins next month, where legislators will meet to discuss and vote on a range of issues. With Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers and a Republican governor, compromise and bipartisan solutions will be the mark of successful initiatives. Part of my job that I enjoy very much is extolling the virtues of Longwood to state officials and sharing stories of our successes.
Those successes are many, in the classroom and beyond. I hope you have seen the video that we shared last week highlighting freshman Martha Bailey Brown ’27, who was locked out of Prince Edward schools from 1959-64, but who is pursuing a college education at long last. A story about her will be in mailboxes soon too in the new Longwood Magazine.
Our basketball teams are making highlight reels at the beginning of their seasons: the Lancer women beat Ohio on the road in thrilling fashion, while the men are enjoying a historic start to their season. If you’re able, I hope I’ll see you Monday for the men’s game against Gallaudet—just show your Longwood ID to attend—and on Dec. 20 for the women’s return home after several road games, against Mid-Atlantic Christian.
I also hope to see many of you at the annual Holiday Luncheon tomorrow starting at 11:30, and then later tomorrow afternoon at Longwood House from 4:30 to 6:00 to toast the end of the semester and enjoy some holiday cheer, like always.
With deep gratitude in the spirit of the season, and all my best to you and your families,
TR