Bridgewater College
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Bridgewater College is a private liberal-arts college in Bridgewater, Virginia. Established in 1880, Bridgewater College admitted both men and women from the time of its founding and was the first four-year liberal arts college in Virginia to do so.<ref name="History of Bridgewater College">Template:Cite web</ref> Approximately 1,800 students are enrolled.<ref name="Peterson's Bridgewater College - College overview">Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Bridgewater College was established in 1880 as "Spring Creek Normal and Collegiate Institute" by Daniel Christian Flory. Nine years later, the school was named "Bridgewater College" and chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia to grant undergraduate degrees. Bridgewater conferred its first Bachelor of Arts degree on June 1, 1891. In 1895, the Chairman of the Faculty, Walter B. Yount, a graduate of what would become Juniata College and the University of Virginia was named the college's first President. After his retirement in 1910, John S. Flory (an early Bridgewater graduate who also received degrees from other institution and had served on the faculty and as vice-president) succeeded him as the college's president.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bridgewater College became the first senior co-educational liberal arts college in Virginia and one of the few accredited colleges of its type in the South.
The oldest portion of the Bridgewater College campus, consisting of five brick collegiate buildings constructed before 1911, is included in the Bridgewater Historic District.<ref name=VAnom>Template:Cite web and Accompanying photo</ref> It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.<ref name="nris">Template:NRISref</ref>
2022 shooting
On February 1, 2022, 55-year-old campus police officer John Painter and 48-year-old campus safety officer J.J. Jefferson were shot and killed on campus after being called to investigate a suspicious person on campus. The shooter, a 27-year-old former student named Alexander Wyatt Campbell, was later apprehended after a manhunt and suffered a gunshot injury at some point during the incident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In February 2024, Campbell plead guilty to murdering both officers and was sentenced to life in prison.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Repatriation of Native American items
The college is returning sacred funerary belongings and remains that were donated to the college. These items are protected by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Academics
Bridgewater offers more than 60 majors and minors, awarding the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. Bridgewater students have the opportunity to study abroad through the BCA Study Abroad program and May Term Travel Courses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bridgewater also offers the Flory Honors Program. Flory Fellows gain access to many opportunities and benefits, including honors sections of general education courses limited to 15 students each, housing within the honors community, and more.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bridgewater was ranked #229 in national liberal arts colleges based on the U.S. News & World Report.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Student life
Traditions
Annual events at Bridgewater College celebrate tradition, community, alumni, and culture. Founder's Day observance at Bridgewater commemorates the April 3, 1854, birth of Daniel Christian Flory, who began Bridgewater College in 1880, at the age of 26.
Homecoming weekend in October welcomes alumni back to the college with class reunions, outdoor festivities, a home football game and the annual Athletic Hall of Fame banquet.<ref>"Alumni and Friends" Template:Webarchive Retrieved on 2015-07-28.</ref>
Athletics
Template:Main Bridgewater College is a Division III member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Its teams are members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), which has 14 member institutions.
Notable people
Alumni
- G. Steven Agee, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia and now a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Pasco Middleton Bowman II, Senior federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- David Branshaw, professional golfer.<ref>David Branshaw at PGATour.com</ref>
- Ray Bussard, former NCAA Championship (1978) winning Men's Swim Coach at University of Tennessee from 1968 to 1989
- Moses H. W. Chan, Physicist elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2000<ref name="Moses H. W. Chan">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Wolfgang Drechsler, German social scientist and government adviser
- Phil Eyler, Canadian politician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Jacob A. Garber, U.S. Representative, 1929-1931<ref name="Jacob A. Garber">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Nathan H. Miller, politician
- Richard D. Obenshain, politician
- Chris Obenshain, politician
Faculty
- Carl Bowman, sociologist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
External links
Template:Colleges and universities in Virginia Template:Old Dominion Athletic Conference navbox Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- Bridgewater College
- Private universities and colleges in Virginia
- Universities and colleges affiliated with the Church of the Brethren
- Universities and colleges established in 1880
- Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
- Education in Rockingham County, Virginia
- Buildings and structures in Rockingham County, Virginia
- 1880 establishments in Virginia