Southern Virginia University
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Former names
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Bowling Green Female Seminary (1867–1920) Southern Seminary (1920–1992) Southern Virginia College (1992–2000) |
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| Motto | Learn that Life is Service |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1867 |
| Endowment | US $1.1 Million (2016) |
| President | Reed N. Wilcox |
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Academic staff
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88 |
| Students | 804 |
| Location | Buena Vista, Virginia, U.S. |
| Campus | National Historic Landmark, Rural, 155 acres (0.63 km2) |
| Colors | Green, White and Black |
| Athletics | NCAA Division III-Capital Athletic Conference |
| Sports | 22 varsity teams |
| Nickname | Knights |
| Website | www.svu.edu |
Southern Virginia University (SVU) is a liberal arts college located in Buena Vista, Virginia. The school, though not officially affiliated with a particular faith, embraces the values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1867 as a school for girls, and is now a private four-year coeducational institution.
While the majority of students are members of the LDS Church, students of all faiths are welcome on campus and are encouraged to be active in their own faith. The university is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; prior to receiving regional accreditation the school was nationally accredited by the American Academy for Liberal Education. The campus consists of more than 155 acres (0.242 sq mi; 0.63 km2).
The school was founded as a for-profit institution in 1867 during Virginia's post-Civil War era when Alice Scott Chandler established the Home School for Girls in Bowling Green, Virginia, later renamed the Bowling Green Female Seminary. In 1883, Edgar H. Rowe purchased the school and operated it with Mrs. Chandler as principal. Dr. Rowe moved the school to Buena Vista in 1900, and changed its name to Southern Seminary. It was located in the splendid Buena Vista Hotel, which had been built 10 years earlier to accommodate the large numbers of land speculators investigating the town's iron ore deposits. The iron boom was short-lived, however, and Rowe purchased the hotel. The original hotel still serves as Main Hall, the university's principal building, and holds a place of distinction on the National Register of Historic Places and listed as the Southern Seminary Main Building.
In 1919, Robert Lee Durham, former dean of Martha Washington College, bought a half-interest in Southern Seminary and became the resident head of the school. An educator, lawyer, engineer, author and inventor, Durham strengthened the school's academic program. In 1922, Durham's daughter, Margaret, married H. Russell Robey, who purchased Rowe's remaining interest in the school and became its business manager and treasurer. Durham and Robey added college-level courses to the school's curriculum, and the first class of the new junior college program graduated in 1925. The period of greatest physical growth of the school, by then called Southern Seminary and Junior College, occurred during the presidency of Margaret Durham Robey, who succeeded her father upon his retirement in 1942. Facilities for art, early childhood education and home economics were added.
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