Dear Faculty and Staff,
As we approach the final weeks of the semester, I wanted to touch base with a few updates and, as always, words of thanks. Campus is especially beautiful, and the vitality of student and academic life has been especially powerful this spring.
When a great university is in gear, you see a steady stream of confirming evidence, and that is very much the case at Longwood. This afternoon, we shared publicly news of a $1.5 million, 5-year National Science Foundation Noyce Award to support our pipeline of future STEM educators. This is just the latest in a string of good news regarding grant support. It’s also a tribute to the remarkable and committed cadre of faculty mentors who lead this work and profoundly shape the lives and careers of our students, ably shepherded by the Office of Research, Grants, and Sponsored Projects in Academic Affairs.
The students who have flourished under faculty mentorship include Antonio Harvey ’25, a Prince Edward native, graduate of the Longwood Summer Scholars program for high school students, and now a chemistry major who was recently announced as Longwood’s second-ever Goldwater Scholarship recipient. Later this week, we will be sharing more exciting news about a significant national accomplishment for another one of our students – this one unprecedented in Longwood’s long history.
Some of you may have seen my comments to the Richmond Times-Dispatch over the weekend for a story about statewide enrollments, and the impact of voracious growth by the largest institutions. The issue is this: Virginia has very short-sighted policies that prompt our flagship institutions like U.Va. and Virginia Tech to turn away highly qualified out-of-state students. This hurts Virginia as it competes for bright young people with other states, which are doing the opposite and recruiting heavily from elsewhere. It also hurts other Virginia institutions like Longwood, who must compete with one another for a smaller pool of in-state applicants. Unfortunately, the status quo is deeply engrained. But I am seeing greater awareness of the harm it’s causing across Virginia higher education, and I have decided to speak up about it more vociferously both in public and in private conversations in Richmond.
This is one of the challenges institutions like Longwood face these days. We are meeting these challenges, with clear-eyed, disciplined work to ensure our strong financial footing while preserving our characteristic student experience. This does mean tight budgets, and prioritizing spending, and I know it is hard work. Thank you for helping make sure we have a smooth, sustainable engine for a period of shifting demographics.
It is also how we will maintain Longwood’s greatest and most distinctive strengths – especially our strong teaching foundation of tenure-track faculty. Longwood’s proportion of tenured and tenure-track faculty is about twice the national average. Among Virginia 4-year institutions, Longwood has the highest proportion of teaching conducted by faculty who are tenured or tenure-track. Our commitment here is unwavering.
In our 184-year history, there has never been a period when Longwood was free of challenges. As we meet those of the moment, my sources of optimism are many. Our growth in graduate enrollment has provided ballast. State support has been strong. So has philanthropy– as evidenced by last month’s record-shattering Love Your Longwood Day.
With admissions, we are now at the annual April crunch time, but this cycle for Fall 2023 looks encouraging, with applications and deposits on track to meet our goals. These last few weeks approaching May 1 will really matter, like always. Keep showing the welcoming Longwood spirit to any prospective families you encounter, and above all keep on doing what you do so well: showing your dedication to our current students. Word-of-mouth about their distinctive experience in Longwood’s classrooms and beyond is a great strength.
My greatest source of optimism about Longwood is our people, working each day to fulfill our mission, now and into the far future. Thank you again for all that you do, and best wishes in these final, busy weeks of the semester.
TR