Earthquake Drill

The national Earthquake Drill has begun. This is only a drill. In an actual emergency, drop, take cover, and hold on.

Timely Warning 9/14/20

Longwood University Police are investigating a report of a non-stranger sexual assault at an off-campus, Longwood-managed apartment complex on Sunday evening. A person of interest who is not a Longwood student and lives outside the area has been identified in the case. Police believe the person is not a continuing threat to campus. If you have any information that could be helpful to police, please call LUPD at 434-395-2091.

Longwood’s Title IX Coordinator is Sasha Johnson. She can be reached at 434-395-2751 or titleix@longwood.edu. To report a sexual assault, call the Longwood University Police Department at 434-395-2091, the Title IX office, or 911.

Recent police activity near campus

Longwood community, In the past two days, non-LUPD police have been involved in two vehicle chases adjacent to campus. - The first, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, involved two suspects wanted in North Carolina. Farmville Police followed the suspects westbound on Buffalo Street and eventually made an arrest near Industrial Park Road, on the outskirts of Farmville. - This afternoon, Sept. 10, a Virginia State Police trooper attempting a routine vehicle stop followed a car up High Street adjacent to campus before making an arrest on Rt. 460 near Prospect. Both situations are resolved, and the suspects in both cases are in police custody.

Recent police activity near campus

Longwood community, In the past two days, non-LUPD police have been involved in two vehicle chases adjacent to campus. - The first, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, involved two suspects wanted in North Carolina. Farmville Police followed the suspects westbound on Buffalo Street and eventually made an arrest near Industrial Park Road, on the outskirts of Farmville. - This afternoon, Sept. 10, a Virginia State Police trooper attempting a routine vehicle stop followed a car up High Street adjacent to campus before making an arrest on Rt. 460 near Prospect. Both situations are resolved, and the suspects in both cases are in police custody.

Notification

Police: No evidence of gunshots on Virginia Street. Farmville PD concluding investigation.

Notification

Police responding to a report of a gunshot in vicinity of Virginia Street off campus. Please avoid area.

Longwood announces leadership team to help prepare campus to re-open safely this fall

President W. Taylor Reveley IV announced Thursday the creation of a cross-university team of leaders and experts to look at all aspects of campus life to help Longwood prepare to safely re-open for in-person learning in the upcoming fall semester. Read the full announcement >>

Message to students from President Reveley regarding Commencement

The country and world are navigating historic times, and my thoughts are constantly with you.  The challenges are really hard, and these are days you will remember throughout your lives.  Of course, this beautiful spring should be a time when we are all together here, but Covid-19 has morphed this semester into this surreal, shared but distant moment.

I know you’re dearly missing routines and friends, and struggling with new obstacles even as we meet our obligations for the common good.  I know online learning is challenging, and leaves behind so many of the rhythms and traditions we cherish.  I hope you’ll keep working hard.  Draw strength from your Longwood friendships, and support one another, as best you can.  We are dearly missing you.

I promised last month that the Class of 2020 would walk for in-person graduation, and that I’d be in touch again by this week in April. Since then, we’ve been working with government officials and campus and community leaders to identify a date as soon as possible that is also as reliable as can be. We have a date — Commencement for the Class of 2020 will be on the weekend of October 9^th & 10^th.  As would have been the case this May, the graduate ceremony will be on the Friday evening, October 9^th, and the undergraduate ceremony will be on the Saturday, October 10^th, during the day. It will be a full weekend of celebration – with plenty of opportunity over the course of the weekend for you to celebrate and reconnect.

Campus and Farmville are so beautiful in the fall, and earlier dates which we explored so closely continued to have real risk of disruption by this crisis.  We’ll have more precise details regarding exact times and logistics in the weeks ahead.  (And be assured that by finishing your academic requirements you still officially become a Longwood graduate in May; we’ll explore ways to mark that occasion too, without taking anything away from October.)

More broadly, I also want all of you to know that Longwood fully intends to return to in-person learning here on campus in the fall.  No one can predict exactly what the weeks and months ahead in this historic and challenging time may hold, but I am in regular touch with the other Virginia college presidents and state officials as we begin preparing for a return to normalcy.  It may require us to do some things differently on campus, at least for a while, including additional steps to protect public health.  We’re already working on that.  But we have every expectation of being back next fall. When we are, we’ll be all the more appreciative of what it means to be in this special place.

During this strange interlude for now, take care of yourselves, and of one another. Check in on friends and classmates.  Keep the spirit of Longwood strong until we are back together — and stay well.  Thank you so deeply.

Lastly, there is something I came across recently from the Class of 1943 that resonates with this moment and that I wanted to share. The Class of 1943 also lived through an historic and uncertain time, and even during the great turmoil of WWII found strength in this place we cherish, already over a century old in their day.  Here is what they wrote:

There is something about the campus and the buildings here in Farmville that make us love the school always, from the first time we come up the short walk to the Rotunda.  Perhaps it is the calm, quiet appearance of the long, low, red-brick buildings beneath the shade of tall maple trees. Perhaps it is the worn doorsill of the ever-busy Rotunda and the way the steps wind up to the second and third floors inside.  Or it could be something in the atmosphere that makes us realize how many through the years have entered these buildings with a feeling of awe and left them with a heart full of devotion for this, their Alma Mater.  We are proud to be among them.

All my best, always,

President Reveley

Message to students with COVID-19 updates

I wanted to be in touch—and first say how much you all are missed here on campus. Despite the challenges we are all facing, I’ve seen some inspiring things over the last few weeks: students everywhere, both through their organizations and individually, are drawing strength from each other as we look forward to returning to campus in the fall. I am constantly amazed by the Longwood spirit.

I also wanted to update you on several topics I know are on your minds.

Bonus Dollars

If you are a continuing student, your unused bonus dollars will be rolled over for use in the 2020-21 academic year. If you are graduating, you will receive a refund in July of any remaining bonus dollars.

Please remember, the housing and dining refunds announced last month are being split into two payments to you—one now, and one in July.  The first set of housing and dining refunds has been mailed and should soon be arriving at your home address. If you have questions, please email questions@longwood.edu.

Parking 

If you are a continuing student with a valid parking pass for the Spring 2020 semester, you will have a $50 credit applied to your account in July. If you are graduating and had a valid parking pass for the Spring 2020 semester, your July refund check will increase by $50.

If you have remaining charges on your student account, they will be deducted from the July refund. If you have questions, please email questions@longwood.edu.

Commencement for the Class of 2020

With Gov. Northam’s executive order in place until June, Commencement as originally scheduled the weekend of May 16 cannot go forward. President Reveley has been working to identify the best possible option for the Class of 2020 for an in-person ceremony— a date as soon as possible, but one we can be confident can happen. He will be in touch with students about this in a separate email within the next few days.

As long as you have met the requirements for May graduation, be assured your degree will be officially conferred and you will be considered a Longwood graduate by May 16, even though our official ceremony will come later. Diplomas will be mailed to your home in early summer. This applies to undergraduate and graduate students. Soon you will receive an email confirming the name to appear on your diploma and mailing address.

Move-Out

Longwood-managed housing remains closed to students who haven’t been granted an emergency exemption while the governor’s order is in place. Any student who left belongings in their room can be assured that those items are safe and secure. Once the stay-at-home order is lifted, we will share the process we will use to bring you safely back to campus and move your belongings. If you have an item in your residence hall that you need urgently, please contact the Housing office at housing@longwood.edu or 434-395-2080.

In keeping with the Governor’s stay-at-home order, we are asking students not to travel to campus to take graduation photos until further notice.

Take care during this challenging time.

Dr. P

Dr. Tim James Pierson
Vice President for Student Affairs

Academic update for students

In my email on March 23, I promised that we would continue to communicate with you about academic decisions that have been made. Below I will give you a summary of those decisions, and you can find more detailed information at the University COVID-19 FAQs.

Alternate Pass/Fail option – Undergraduate students now have the option to choose an alternate Pass/Fail grading scale for any course that had been face-to-face but moved online for the rest of the semester. This is not a decision to rush into, which is why you have until Friday, April 24 to submit your decision to the Registrar’s office. You must consult with your academic advisor about this decision and fill out a form.

The new grading option includes the following grades:

• PV denotes work at the C- level or better.
• DV denotes work at any “D” grade level (D+, D, D-).
• FV (Fail) denotes failing work.

For more detailed information on how to select this option, visit the University COVID-19 FAQs.

Depending on the academic program, these grades can fulfill program requirements. These grades will not be computed in your Spring 2020 semester GPA. Graduate courses and courses that started online at the beginning of this semester are not eligible for the alternate pass/fail grading scale option.

Withdrawal deadline extension – The withdrawal deadline for courses has been extended until Friday, April 24. Please be aware that course withdrawals may affect your financial aid. You should contact the staff in the Financial Aid Office if you have any questions.

These are important decisions that encompass a lot of factors, including your academic major or minor program requirements, and you do not have to make them alone. Reach out to your academic advisor or other faculty and staff for advice. We are here to help you make the most informed choices possible and to help you finish the semester during this unprecedented and stressful time. You and your education are important to us.

Best wishes,

Larissa M. Smith, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs