Shenandoah University

Shenandoah University
Former names	Shenandoah Seminary (1875–1925); Shenandoah College (1925–1991); Shenandoah Conservatory (separate institution 1937–1974);
Motto	The Big Little University Rising
Type	Private
Established	1875; 149 years ago
Religious affiliation	United Methodist Church
Endowment	$68.4 million (2020)
President	Tracy Fitzsimmons
Undergraduates	2,267
Location	Winchester, Virginia, United States; [ ⚑ ] : 39°09′58″N 78°09′29″W / 39.166°N 78.158°W
Campus	Small city
\|u}}rs	Red and blue
Nickname	Hornets
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division III
Website	su.edu
	Location in Shenandoah Valley Location in Virginia Location in United States

Short description: Private university in Winchester, Virginia, US

Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools and colleges. Shenandoah University is one of five United Methodist Church-affiliated institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia.^[3]

History

Rev. Abram Paul Funkhouser and Rev. John (Jay) Paul Fries founded the school as Shenandoah Seminary in 1875. At the time, it was located on a 10-acre campus in Dayton, Virginia, and classes were initially held in a two-room lo structure.^[4]^[5] The school had 11 students enrolled in its first year.^[5]

Shenandoah Seminary became a junior college in 1924, changing its name to Shenandoah College the following year. Shenandoah Conservatory became a separate corporation in 1937 and began granting four-year degrees.

In 1960, Shenandoah College and the Shenandoah Conservatory moved to the 126-acre Winchester campus and began offering four-year degrees in 1974 (at which time the college and conservatory corporations were merged). It sold its Dayton campus for $107,875.^[6]

Shenandoah obtained university status on January 1, 1991, and today the student body represents 47 states plus the District of Columbia. The university, as of fall 2023, has 265 full-time and 189 part-time faculty members. The student body represents 42 foreign countries. Over 70 percent of full-time faculty have an earned doctorate (Ph.D. or similar) in their fields or other terminal degree.

Name

According to the university's official history page, the name Shenandoah is derived from the Native American legend of Zynodoa, a brave warrior whose life of strength and courage and his appreciation of beauty resulted in having a river and a valley named for him. Popular myth further ascribes translation of the word "Shenandoah" to mean "daughter of the stars."^[7]

Locations

Photo of the front patio adjacent to the Brandt Student Center

The front patio of the Brandt Student Center.

The university operates in six locations:

Winchester
Loudoun
Downtown Winchester
Health Professions Building on the campus of Winchester Medical Center
Shenandoah River Campus at Cool Spring Battlefield
Inova Center for Personalized Health, Fairfax

The main location of campus is in Winchester near Interstate 81, and the Health Professions Building is located near the Winchester Medical Center. The Loudoun site in Ashburn, Virginia, is home to graduate programs in business, education, leadership studies, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant studies, as well as the accelerated-second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Shenandoah's educational site at the Inova Center for Personalized Health in Fairfax, Virginia, is the location for doctoral-level programs in pharmacy. ICPH, Fairfax, is also where the university offers graduate programs and postgraduate certificates in nursing and supports an online master's degree in public health. There are also a number of satellite offices and facilities located throughout Winchester.

In 2013, Shenandoah University accepted stewardship of 195 acres of land along the Shenandoah River, now known as the Shenandoah River Campus at Cool Spring Battlefield. Purchased by the Civil War Trust in 2012, stewardship of the property transferred to the university in spring 2013 to protect and preserve the former battlefield site. The property now serves as an outdoor classroom and living laboratory for the university community and the general public.

Academics

The Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre (Winchester location), 1998.

Shenandoah offers more than 200 areas of study at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral-degree levels, as well as through undergraduate and graduate certificates, across six schools. Its programming includes Virginia's first bachelor's degrees in virtual reality design and esports management, as well as the state's oldest music therapy program (offered at the undergraduate and graduate levels).

College of Arts & Sciences
School of Business
Shenandoah Conservatory
Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy
Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing
School of Health Professions

Shenandoah University no longer offers a tenure track for new faculty members. Instead, new faculty members undergo a 5-year probationary period, after which they are eligible for 3-year, renewable "career faculty contracts."^[8]

Athletics

Photo of Sarah's Glen which includes the gazebo and grass area.

Sarah's Glen where students can relax and study on campus.

The Shenandoah athletic teams are called the Hornets. The university is a member of the NCAA Division III ranks, primarily competing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) since the 2012–13 academic year. The Hornets previously competed in the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) from 1992–93 to 2011–12.

Shenandoah competes in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

The university announced the creation of a Marching Band in June 2021, which debuted during the Fall 2022 semester.^[9]

In fall 2023, football safety Haley Van Voorhis became one of the first women to play a position other than kicker in an NCAA football game, at any level.

Notable alumni

Carter Beauford, American drummer, percussionist, and founding member of Dave Matthews Band
Stanley Draper, an influential community leader responsible for the development of Oklahoma City^[10]
Kate Flannery, actress, played Meredith Palmer (2005–2013) in the television comedy The Office^[11]
Wendy Gooditis, an American real estate agent, educator, and Democratic politician.
Tiffany Lawrence, a former Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 65th district.
Harold Perrineau, actor, played Link in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions
Carl Tanner, an American operatic tenor
Haley Van Voorhis, current safety for Hornets football and the first woman to play a non-kicking position in NCAA football
Mac Wiseman, Bluegrass music legend
Richard Zarou, a contemporary composer of concert and film music and the host of the new music podcast No Extra Notes

References

Recent graduates at commencement.

↑ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Documents/Research/2020-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL-FEBRUARY-19-2021.ashx. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
↑ "Shenandoah University - Profile, Rankings and Data". 10 March 2016. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/shenandoah-university-3737.
↑ "About Us – Shenandoah University". http://www.su.edu/about-shenandoah-university/united-methodist-church-affiliation/.
↑ "Shenandoah College Will Sell Old Campus". Associated Press. The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia). May 15, 1960. p. 2D.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 "A College Moves 70 Miles". The Daily News Leader (Staunton, Virginia). November 17, 1960. p. 4.
↑ "College Campus, Buildings Sold for $107,875". Associated Press. The Bee (Danville, Virginia). p. 1-D.
↑ Julia Davis, "The Shenandoah", Rivers of America, New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1945, pp. 20–21
↑ "Section 4: Contractual Statement". https://www.su.edu/academics/faculty-handbook/section-4-contractual-statement/. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
↑ "Marching Band" (in en-US). https://www.su.edu/experience/marching-band/.
↑ "Draper, Stanley Carlisle | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=DR001.
↑ "One on One with Kate Flannery – HoboTrashcan". http://www.hobotrashcan.com/2006/04/04/one-on-one-with-kate-flannery/. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

External links

Official website
Official athletics website

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Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenandoah University. Read more

[1] As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Documents/Research/2020-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL-FEBRUARY-19-2021.ashx. Retrieved February 21, 2021.

[auto-2] "Shenandoah University - Profile, Rankings and Data". 10 March 2016. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/shenandoah-university-3737.

[3] "About Us – Shenandoah University". http://www.su.edu/about-shenandoah-university/united-methodist-church-affiliation/.

[willsell-4] "Shenandoah College Will Sell Old Campus". Associated Press. The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia). May 15, 1960. p. 2D.

[70miles-5] 5.0 ^5.1 "A College Moves 70 Miles". The Daily News Leader (Staunton, Virginia). November 17, 1960. p. 4.

[6] "College Campus, Buildings Sold for $107,875". Associated Press. The Bee (Danville, Virginia). p. 1-D.

[7] Julia Davis, "The Shenandoah", Rivers of America, New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1945, pp. 20–21

[8] "Section 4: Contractual Statement". https://www.su.edu/academics/faculty-handbook/section-4-contractual-statement/. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

[9] "Marching Band" (in en-US). https://www.su.edu/experience/marching-band/.

[10] "Draper, Stanley Carlisle | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=DR001.

[11] "One on One with Kate Flannery – HoboTrashcan". http://www.hobotrashcan.com/2006/04/04/one-on-one-with-kate-flannery/. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

v t e Colleges and universities in Virginia
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Defunct	Art Institute of Washington Blackstone College for Girls Elizabeth College Frederick College Gibbs College Marion College Saint Paul's College Sullins College University of Northern Virginia Virginia Intermont College Westwood College
Complete list


Former names	Shenandoah Seminary (1875–1925) Shenandoah College (1925–1991) Shenandoah Conservatory (separate institution 1937–1974)
Motto	The Big Little University Rising
Type	Private
Established	1875; 149 years ago (1875)
Religious affiliation	United Methodist Church
Endowment	$68.4 million (2020)^[1]
President	Tracy Fitzsimmons
Undergraduates	2,267^[2]
Location	Winchester , Virginia , United States [ ⚑ ] : 39°09′58″N 78°09′29″W / 39.166°N 78.158°W / 39.166; -78.158
Campus	Small city
\|u}}rs	Red and blue
Nickname	Hornets
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division III
Website	su.edu

Location in Shenandoah Valley Show map of Shenandoah Valley Location in Virginia Show map of Virginia Location in United States Show map of the United States