From the President

"This time you get to pick where we go since you’ve always followed me," Greg Wolfrey told his wife, Betty Gail Payne Wolfrey ’71, not long ago. Greg was the longtime County Administrator for Goochland, and Betty enjoyed an accomplished career as a teacher, elementary school principal and head of a private school in Richmond.
Now they were seeking the perfect retirement spot where they could keep busy and active, inhabiting a beautiful home in a tight-knit community. They searched all over Virginia and the South, and finally found it: Farmville.
“I really wanted a place where I could walk, where there was painting and culture for me, and sports for Greg,” Betty said recently in the dining room of their new home on High Street, a block from campus. Pomeranians Baby and Cocoa sat in her lap, and Lucy, a Brittany spaniel, hovered nearby. “I really felt like this had it all. We can walk downtown, go to sporting events. We’re auditing classes. The whole experience—we’ve just fallen in love with Farmville.”
I first met the Wolfreys at a basketball game in January, just days after they moved. Their excitement for their already packed schedule was contagious: basketball, baseball and softball games; the musical A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to the Forum in Jarman; the Taste of Farmville food festival and visits to the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts. As a student, Betty took a painting class with Professor Barbara Bishop ’60, then put art aside for more than 40 years. Now she’s reignited a passion for watercolors, which fill her new home.
I’m noticing more and more people—many but not all with Longwood ties— moving to Farmville to be part of this thriving two-college town. One person I see regularly at University Foundation Board meetings and other campus events is David Crute ’81, who, with his wife, Patricia ’80, recently moved from Chesapeake. David grew up in Farmville, and being closer to his son, Patrick ’10, daughter-in-law, Ashley ’10 (who works at Longwood), and their baby girl, Ragan, was part of the appeal. David still works but loves life here.
“Our social calendar is busier now than it’s ever been in our adult life,” David said. There’s just so much going on. Now with all the new restaurants going in, it’s just an exciting place to be.”
This trend says a lot about Longwood and Farmville. Charlottesville, Lexington and Williamsburg demonstrate the appeal for retirees of college towns, with their energy, events, beautiful architecture and interesting neighbors. The difference is those places have already been discovered. Farmville is just now catching on, with this spring’s opening of the high-end Weyanoke Hotel an important milestone.
“I feel like we’re getting in on the ground floor,” said Greg, who is already auditing classes on campus and indulging his love of American history. “This is heaven. This town hasn’t outgrown itself, and it really can be the ideal community.”
I hope the stories of Betty and Greg, the extended Crute family, and others discovering (or rediscovering) this great college town inspire you to visit. You might not want to leave.
W. Taylor Reveley IV
President
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Contrary to Popular Opinion
March 01, 2018
You’ve heard the stereotype: millennials—a population group that includes today’s college students—are “entitled.”
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Curry & Frazer Memories
March 01, 2018
With air-conditioning, spacious closets and a private bath for each two-room suite, curry and Frazer were considered luxurious when they first opened in 1969 and 1970, respectively.
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New Lease on Life
March 01, 2018
Kathy Hansen Fox ’85 was ecstatic when she got the news: Her daughter Reilly had been assigned a room in Curry Hall for her freshman year at Longwood.
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Innovation Inside
March 01, 2018
When members of the Class of 2022 arrive on campus next fall, they will be the first to fully experience Longwood’s unique new core curriculum, with its distinctive focus on democratic citizenship.
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Best All Around
March 01, 2018
It’s a frigid late afternoon in January, and Longwood’s campus sits peaceful and quiet, covered in six inches of snow that has canceled the first day of classes.
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Leading by Example
March 01, 2018
The seven men and women honored this year with awards from the Longwood Alumni Association come from all walks of life.
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Conversation Piece
March 01, 2018
Art is at its best when it begins a conversation, says Rachel Ivers, executive director of the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts.
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Nobody Does It Better
March 01, 2018
For the second straight year, graduates of Longwood’s nursing program have reached rarefied air by recording a 100 percent pass rate on their first attempt.
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Good Neighbors
March 01, 2018
With the November 2017 grand opening of the Barnes & Noble at Longwood bookstore in its new Main Street location, downtown Farmville took another step toward realizing its full potential.
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It’s Not Only Make-Believe
March 01, 2018
He’s training for a career in the world of make-believe, but Aaron Burstein ’19 has already begun to make his mark in the real world.
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Business school accreditation reaffirmed by prestigious agency
March 01, 2018
Longwood’s College of Business and Economics recently extended its accreditation from the most prestigious accrediting agency for schools of business around the world.
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Rolling Along
March 01, 2018
As of late February, Longwood’s new Norman H. and Elsie Stossell Upchurch University Center was 70-75 percent complete and on track for opening during the fall 2018 semester.
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A Great Pairing
March 01, 2018
When Dr. Darrell Carpenter and Dr. Robert Marmorstein sat down to assess the ways the cyber security and computer science programs at Longwood could collaborate more, they decided they needed to do some rewiring—literally.
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Crash Course
March 01, 2018
Though it’s offered through the business school, this course teaches students as much about psychology as it does about business principles, says Melton, an attorney and mediator.
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Ancient Evidence
March 01, 2018
As Longwood students Olivia Mehalko and Cameron Reuss knelt in the dirt and carefully unearthed the remains of a 1,000-year-old Native American hearth, they came across what would seem to be a common find.
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In Concert
March 01, 2018
Performing selections by Kaprálová, Brahms and Dvořák, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra will return to the Longwood campus in April to perform for the seventh year in a row.
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Nature Up Close
March 01, 2018
The Environmental Educational Center at Longwood’s Lancer Park will be “BioBlitz central” on Saturday, April 21.
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All About Networking
March 01, 2018
Whether it’s finding the right internship, getting answers to career-related questions or looking for that first (or second) job, sometimes it takes having the right connections.
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A New Tradition
March 01, 2018
Members of the Gold Society—those alumni who have celebrated their 50th class reunion—are invited to attend Longwood’s second annual Joan of Arc Celebration Sept. 28-29.
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Trending Now
March 01, 2018
You’d have to be living in a cave not to have heard of the Paleo diet craze.
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New Faces, New Responsibilities
March 01, 2018
With several new names and faces and new areas of responsibility, Alumni and Career Services continues to evolve to better meet the needs of alumni and current students.
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Support Group
March 01, 2018
When Rebecca Tres ’93 first joined Wells Coleman in 2006, the Richmond-based accounting, tax and financial consulting firm was looking to start an internship program.
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Alumni Family Game Day wows families in its third year
March 01, 2018
More than 200 alumni and their families braved January’s freezing temperatures to attend the third annual Alumni Family Game Day on Jan. 6.
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Class Notes
March 01, 2018
Ann Ruckman Smith ’60 continues to encourage others to read through the large-print library she organized for the residents at Lakewood Manor, the retirement community in Richmond where she lives.
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Someone To Look Up To
March 01, 2018
Coach. It’s a small word that comes with big expectations and big responsibilities.
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Silver Linings Playbook
March 01, 2018
It was 2015-16, and Damarion Geter ’17 was not having a good year.
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Athletics director shares insights at first event in Lancer Talks series
March 01, 2018
Director of Athletics Troy Austin and members of the athletics department welcomed alumni, fans and friends to the first annual Lancer Talks event in Richmond in February.
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Playing Hardball
March 01, 2018
Coming off a third consecutive Big South Championship, with four championships in five seasons, the Longwood softball team was tabbed by Big South coaches to win a fourth consecutive title in 2018.
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Lifting Their Spirits
March 01, 2018
Longwood athletics hosted the second annual Lancer Invitational, a powerlifting meet for athletes from the Special Olympics, on Feb. 17.
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Keeping Score
March 01, 2018
Longwood’s 200 student-athletes delivered in the classroom as well as on the playing field during the fall 2017 semester, with their highest overall grade-point average in a decade.
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New men’s tennis coach starts out strong
March 01, 2018
Former professional international tennis player Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez was hired as head coach of the Longwood men’s tennis program in December.
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Switch Hitter
March 01, 2018
Scott Abell ’92 was a four-year standout on the Longwood baseball team, but it’s on the gridiron where he has achieved success professionally.
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Polishing a Gem
March 01, 2018
"So far in my study, it looks like the Machodoc River, which we are on, has a population of 100 adult ospreys and approximately 8-10 bald eagles, with two speckled eagles and possibly 8-10 young chicks, also 50-100 osprey chicks."
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24 hours, 1,790 donors is the challenge March 27 for annual day of giving
November 20, 2017
Longwood alumni, friends and employees have the opportunity to “Be Someone’s Hero” on March 27.