Virginia Military Institute, founded in 1839, is the oldest state supported military college in the nation. Its mission is to provide an undergraduate educational program of the highest quality within a military environment. During the Civil War on May 15, 1864 the VMI Corps of Cadets was engaged as a unit in a pitched battle at New Market, Virginia. They won credit for helping turn the tide in favor of the Confederate forces there. In retaliation, on June 11, 1864 most of the Institute was shelled and burned by Union forces under the command of General David Hunter. Stonewall Jackson was a professor at VMI for ten years prior to the Civil War. Matthew Fontaine Maury, called the "Pathfinder of the Seas," taught physics and astronomy at VMI from 1868 to 1872. General George C. Marshall, World War II Army Chief of Staff and author of the Marshall Plan, was a 1901 VMI graduate. VMI‘s Cadet Barracks has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Full dress parades on the 12-acre parade ground take place most Friday afternoons in the fall and spring when weather permits.

Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 464-7207

Washington and Lee University was founded in 1749. It is a four-year liberal arts college with a well-respected law school. George Washington endowed the school with 100 shares of James River Company stock in 1796. This gift saved the school from closing. Robert E. Lee became president of the college after the Civil War in 1865. Because of his prestige and influence it became a university of national stature. After his death in 1870 it was renamed in recognition of his devotion and service. The Lee House (1869) on the Front Campus was designed by General Lee to be the home of the president of the school. The neoclassical front campus of the university was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. The Department of the Interior characterized W&L as "one of the most dignified and beautiful college campuses in the nation."

Washington & Lee University
Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 463-8400

Southern Virginia University began as Bowling Green Female Seminary in 1867. At that time, "seminary" referred to a school for girls. In 1900, the school moved to a resort hotel in Buena Vista and changed its name to Southern Seminary. The hotel, built in 1890, is now Main Hall and is listed on the National Register as a National Historic Landmark. From 1922 to 1996, the school operated as a junior college until declining enrollments and financial instability threatened to close its doors. In 1996, a group of Latter-day Saint educators and businessmen assumed responsibility for the College, converting it into a four-year liberal arts college. That fall, the "new" Southern Virginia College enrolled 76 students. It has since grown dramatically, enrolling 592 students in the fall of 2004. The name was changed to Southern Virginia University to reflect growth of the curriculum and the rapidly increasing size of the student body.

Southern Virginia University
Buena Vista, Virginia 24416
(800) 229-8420