History Of Richmond College

Richmond College was founded in 1830 as a small seminary under the sponsorship of the Virginia Baptist Education Society. In that year, the Society accepted thirteen candidates for the ministry and placed them in the homes of ministers. Nine were placed with Rev. Edward Baptist at Dunlora, his home in Powhatan County. Two years later, the Virginia Baptist Seminary was founded with Rev. Robert Ryland as principal and the only teacher. The seminary was a farm, located in Richmond near the present site of Bryan Park. In 1834, the seminary was moved to what was then a western suburb of Richmond, one half mile from the city limits. The seminary located near the present day intersection of Grace and Lombardy Streets remained at this site for eighty years. One of the buildings, Columbia, still stands.

In 1840, Richmond College was chartered as a liberal arts and sciences college for men by the Virginia General Assembly. The first degree was conferred in 1849. At the outbreak of the War Between the States, the college suspended operations. As a result of the war, the endowment, the library and scientific equipment were swept away; nothing was left but the campus and a few badly defaced buildings. The college reopened in 1866. Because of the generosity of the Virginia Baptists, other friends and the faculty, the college was able to survive and slowly regained its strength and stability. For more than twenty-five years the college was administered by the faculty. In 1870, T. C. Williams School of Law was established.

In 1895, Dr. Frederic Boatwright, a twenty-seven year old graduate of Richmond College and a member of the faculty was appointed president. He remained as president for fifty-one years. In 1914, the college moved to its current location and Westhampton College, a college of liberal arts and sciences for women, was established on the same campus. The campus had been a park at the end of the street car line where people came for picnics, boating on the lake and to attend events such as plays. The park and lake were named Westhampton. The original buildings were Ryland Hall, Jeter Hall, Thomas Hall, North Court, the Refectory (Sarah Brunet Memorial Hall) and the power plant, In 1914, Dr. Boatwright appointed Dr. J. C. Metcalf as the first dean of Richmond College.

The Federal Government took over the campus during World War I for use as a hospital. Classes were held on the former Richmond College campus nearer the city. At the conclusion of the war, the colleges returned to the main campus. In 1920, the State Corporation Commission approved a change in the charter changing the name of the institution to the University of Richmond. The Graduate School for advanced study in the liberal arts and sciences was established in 1921. With the onset of World War II, many Richmond College students enlisted and the enrollment declined appreciably until the conclusion of the war, when the enrollment increased with the inclusion of many veterans in the student body. Dr. George M. Modlin became president of the University in 1946 and served for twenty-five years. The E. Claiborne Robins School of Business (1949) and the School for Continuing Studies (1962) were added to the University structure.

In 1969, an alumnus and great philanthropist, E. Claiborne Robins, with his family, gave $50 million as seed money to help make the University one of the most outstanding small, private universities in the nation. In 1970, Dr. E. Bruce Heilman was selected to serve as president and to convert the dream of the Robins family into reality. During Dr. Heilman's seventeen years as president, the University made great strides in achieving that goal. In 1986 Dr. Samuel Banks succeeded Dr. Heilman as president, but was forced to resign within the year because of poor health. Dr. Heilman returned as interim chief executive officer until Dr. Bank's successor was selected. In 1987, Robert S. Jepson, Jr. a 1964 graduate of the University, and his wife, Alice, provided a $20 million gift for the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. In 1988, Dr. Richard L. Morrill became the seventh president of the University. Under his leadership, the University continued to establish itself as a premier small, private University. On May 9, 1998, the Board of Trustees elected Dr. William E. Cooper eighth president of the University of Richmond to succeed Dr. Richard L. Morrill.  On July 1, 2007, Edward L. Ayers, Ph.D., a nationally recognized scholar and educator, became the ninth president of the University of Richmond.

Richmond College and Westhampton College exemplify the philosophy of coordinate education. Coordinate education at the University of Richmond provides for identifiable student bodies, a student government, a dean and some activities for each residential college. On the other hand coordinate education offers the instructional and social benefits of a larger and more diverse student population.

In the educational program the students of Richmond College and Westhampton College are brought together in a coeducational setting. These students pursue degree programs and receive instruction in the School of Arts and Sciences, the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business or the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.

Adapted from a longer article written by Jane Stockman, former Executive Director of Alumni Affairs, University of Richmond.

To view a history of the University of Richmond, click here.