A new head coach for men’s basketball | Business dean steers toward the future
A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY
SPRING 2025
in
Strength Numbers
Five years after Covid hit higher education, Longwood is thriving— and proud of how it preserved the in-person college experience
We are always looking for more ways to connect our students with our alumni.’
—DR. KHAWAJA MAMUN, DEAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
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22 She’s Not Horsing Around Love of animals inspires alumna’s business.
President’s Message
Welcoming a new head coach for men’s basketball.
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Leaps and Rebounds
Record-setting season nets WNIT berth for women’s basketball.
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23 Funny Name, Unbreakable Bonds
The Sloth Sisters love sloths—and each other.
26
‘Love Is Blind’ star taps former professor to officiate his TV wedding.
Candid Camera
A Good Sense of Direction
Longwood’s new business dean sets a course with students top of mind.
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Standing Fast
Five years later: how Longwood stayed strong during Covid.
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29
Eye of the Beholder Photographer who sees the art in nature wins cover of calendar.
Safe Harbor Vast sheet music collection from bygone era finds new life.
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Off the Clock
Editor steps down after 37 issues of Longwood magazine.
On the Cover
Five years after Covid hit, Dr. Kim Little, professor and chair of nursing, and several other faculty, alumni and staff reflect on the positive impact of Longwood’s commitment to an in-person college experience. Page 8
A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY
SPRING 2025
Editor Sabrina Brown
Graphic Design
Rachael Davis
Associate Editors
Gina Caldwell, Matthew McWilliams, Lauren Whittington
Photographer
Courtney Vogel
Contributors
Michael Adelman; Alexandria, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office; Jennifer S. Altman; Rohn Brown ’84; Paulette Walsted Courington ’90; Trevor Dickerson/RVAhub.com; TheFarmville Herald; Fian Arroyo Illustration; Lalisha Flitchett ’00, M.S. ’03; Greg Kahn Photography; Dana Guthrie/TheTrucker.com; Ted Hodges ’85; Erica Inman/1851franchise.com; Victoria Kindon; Kyle Laferriere Photography; Meghan Marchetti/ Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources; Clint Mooney ’15; NewRiverValleyNews; Nicole Perkins ’05; Justin Pope; Paula Prouty ’85; Rice University; Dr. Chuck Ross; Jason Snyder; Texas A&M University Athletics; TheWinchesterStar
Advisory Board
Wade Edwards, Larissa Smith, Courtney Hodges, Victoria Kindon, David Locascio, Justin Pope
Board of Visitors
Ronald O. White, Rector Midlothian, Virginia
Fabiola Aguilar Carter Richmond, Virginia
Vellie Dietrich-Hall Charlotte Court House, Virginia
Kathleen M. Early ’92 Richmond, Virginia
Charles Fagan ’87 Manakin-Sabot, Virginia
Nadine Marsh-Carter Richmond, Virginia
Jeffrey Nottingham Raleigh, North Carolina
Kristie Helmick Proctor ’04 Mechanicsville, Virginia
Ricshawn Adkins Roane Great Falls, Virginia
Kathryn Roberts ’97 South Boston, Virginia
David Rose Richmond, Virginia
Brian Schmalzbach Midlothian, Virginia
Shawn L. Smith ’92 Richmond, Virginia
Editorial offices for Longwood magazine are maintained at the Office of University Marketing, Communications and Engagement, Longwood University, 201 High Street, Farmville, VA 23909. Telephone: 434-395-2021; email: browncs2@longwood.edu. Comments, letters and contributions are encouraged.
Printed on recycled stocks containing 100% postconsumer waste.
To request this magazine in alternate format (large print, braille, audio, etc.), please contact Longwood Disability Resources, 434-395-2391; TRS: 711.
Published April 2025
FROM THE PRESIDENT
This issue of the magazine looks back five years to a challenging period for all of American higher education—but one that also revealed Longwood at its best. The Covid pandemic threatened everything essential about our campus. And yet, as the cover story demonstrates, it also validated Longwood’s most essential qualities while demonstrating yet again our greatest strength: our people.
The university draws strength most especially from a cadre of faculty and staff who build their careers here. The fact that so many stay for the long haul ensures excellence, experience, continuity and stability during turbulent times. Above all, it serves our students well. Unlike at so many places, they are taught by full-time faculty, who get to know them over four years. They are mentored by staff who know them from their time as prospective students through their transition to alumni.
This spirit of continuity and commitment is much apparent in the promotion of one of our own, Ronnie Thomas, as our new head men’s basketball coach—announced just as this issue was heading to press. Griff and Julie Aldrich, now headed for UVA, built a remarkable foundation for our program during their seven years in Farmville, and we’ll miss them deeply. But happily, we are passing the torch to someone already well-established at Longwood. Ronnie, a Virginia native and assistant coach since 2020, is a familiar face around Farmville, often seen out walking with his dogs, Theo and Piper, and his wife, Brittany, and young daughter, Charlotte. He is a fierce competitor as well as a great person, and he will make you proud in the years to come.
Amidst choppy seas in the wider world, Longwood is thriving. As always, come visit campus and see for yourself. And whatever challenges may lie ahead, the strength we draw from coaches and educators like Ronnie—choosing Longwood as the place to pursue their life’s vocation—is what sets us apart and gives me every confidence for the future.
All my best,
W. Taylor Reveley IV President
Ronnie Thomas (left), the new head men’s basketball coach, with President Reveley. Thomas steps into the team’s top leadership position after serving as an assistant coach since 2020.
Remembering John Feinstein
John Feinstein, the best-selling author of more than 40 books and full-time color analyst for men’s basketball broadcasts on ESPN+ for the 2024-25 season, passed away suddenly in March. Feinstein is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame and the U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame. He wrote about Longwood men’s basketball in his book The Back Roads to March: The Unsung, Unheralded, and Unknown Heroes of a College Basketball Season.
At Longwood, he found great joy in co-teaching a Cormier Honors College seminar on profile writing. In 2023, a year before making Farmville his home, he served as undergraduate Commencement speaker, where he told graduating seniors to “get a job that makes you think about one thing that inspires you. And, if you can do that, you’re going to be happy. I know I have been.”
A Giant Leap Forward
Women’s basketball caps a memorable season with a run to the Big South championship game
For Longwood women’s basketball, the 2024-25 season was more than a step forward. It was a giant leap.
A defense that nearly led the nation in steals. Twenty-plus wins for just the second time in two decades. A No. 2 seed and run to the championship game of the Hercules Tires Big South Championships tournament.
Not bad for a team that won just nine games a year ago and was picked to finish seventh in the conference pre-season poll.
The Lancers had the Big South Coach of the Year in Erika Lang-Montgomery and the Big South Defensive Player of the Year in Kiki McIntyre ’25. During the season, McIntyre set the team’s single-season record for steals as well as the Big South single-season record for steals.
The run to the Big South title was stopped in the Big South championship game, but the team did qualify for a postseason berth in the WNIT, where they again showed they belonged in a thrilling game at Duquesne that ended on a buzzer beater against the Lancers.
“Obviously things didn’t go the way we wanted them today, but nonetheless … I am still incredibly proud of the young women that I get to coach every single day,” Lang-Montgomery said after the Big South championship game.
That leaves Lancer nation proud of a team that finished its Big South and WNIT run 22-13 (11-5 Big South) during a season of tremendous growth.
“I have a bunch of young women who love to compete. I love their competitive spirit,” Lang-Montgomery said. “I love who they are as people. These are high-character women.”
The impressive contributions of the Lancer women to an era of winning Lancer basketball gives them much to celebrate. Taken together, the men’s and women’s programs have given current Longwood seniors the opportunity to cheer on the Lancers in four Big South championship games as well as three NCAA Tournament appearances: the men and women in 2022, and the men again in 2024.—Sam Hovan
above The Lancer bench celebrates a Longwood 3-pointer. Kiki McIntyre ’25 (center) leads the celebration. right Frances Ulysse ’27 shoots a layup against High Point in the championship game.
DIRECTION A GOOD SENSE OF
New business dean assesses where the CBE is, where it needs to go and how to get it there
BY LAUREN WHITTINGTON
SINCE ARRIVING ON CAMPUS LAST SUMMER, DR. KHAWAJA MAMUN HAS SETTLED COMFORTABLY INTO HIS ROLE AS DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS (CBE) AND BECOME A RECOGNIZABLE FACE WELL BEYOND THE CONFINES OF HINER HALL.
He eats lunch in the dining hall with the other college deans regularly. He has basketball season tickets to cheer on the Lancers in the Joan Perry Brock Center. He can even be found in the classroom—teaching a section of Principles of Microeconomics and getting to know Longwood students.
He was drawn to the university in part due to the strong sense of community and welcoming feeling he got when he first stepped on campus. A self-described very outgoing person, the accomplished scholar has had a lot of conversations—and made a lot of connections—in the semester and a half he’s been in Farmville.
We sat down with Mamun to learn about his vision for the CBE and what he’s come to appreciate about Longwood.
A:Q:To start, could you tell us about your background and the journey that led you to Farmville?
I was born in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and grew up in what would be considered a housing project here. We had a lot of gang violence, and I had friends who got caught up in that. But my mother kept pushing me to study and focus on school. If I was out playing at night, she would come get me. That paid off because I went to the University of Dhaka and graduated with my master’s in economics. My parents didn’t have a university education, but I had a good group of friends who helped guide me through. In 2000, I came to the United States to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where I earned my Ph.D. in economics.
Before I came to Longwood, I spent 19 years at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. It’s a small, private Catholic college, but it’s not traditional because it is run by laypeople. I wore a lot of different hats there. I was an assistant professor and then associate professor of economics, then department chair of economics and finance. Then I became the inaugural associate dean of the college for the School of Computer Science and Engineering. In that role I developed a master’s program in business analytics, which grew into the second-largest master’s program at the university. Later I became associate dean of the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology. It was a great learning experience because I got to work with deans who had both academic and corporate backgrounds. When this opportunity at Longwood came along, I realized it was a really good match.
left, top Dr. Khawaja Mamun (left), dean of the College of Business and Economics, meets frequently with Dean of Admissions Jason “Ferg” Ferguson, M.S. ’12, to discuss student recruitment. left, bottom A few members of the Student Investment Fund give Dean Mamun an update on the fund’s performance, including Oriana Izarra Vera ’26 (left), a business/ management major, and fund manager Joshua Burton ’25 (second from right), a business/ accounting major. Decisions about fund investments are made independently by student members, and each member has a voice in the process.
Q: What drew you to Longwood, and why did you see it as a good fit?
A:It was important for me to go somewhere where I can make my mark—where I can make a difference. I always say that, as professors, we have the best job because we can actually see our impact on the students. As a dean, you can have a much bigger impact. I’m very proud of the business analytics program at Sacred Heart because I created something that brought over 1,000 students to the job market and helped them get the skills to be successful.
When I look at the College of Business and Economics, I see a fantastic group of faculty and enormous potential for the college to grow in new and exciting areas—but they need someone to say, “This is where we’re going.” I have many new ideas and a vision for where the college should be in five or 10 years. When I came to Longwood for a campus visit, I asked students to tell me what brought them here and what made them stay. Very interestingly, they all mentioned family and community. These words kept coming from the students, and also from the faculty. I could see myself as part of this cohesive community and working to achieve my vision. I liked the energy of the other deans and the entire CBE team. Also, I was impressed by the vision of the leadership when I met with President Reveley and Provost Lara Smith. I actually joke that Lara sealed the deal when she made coffee for me during my interview. No provost had ever made coffee for me.
Q: Can you tell us more about your vision for the College of Business and Economics?
A:
The vision I have is always student-oriented—that’s the north star. It has three pillars: prioritizing student success, as our No. 1 goal, increasing the CBE’s reach and reputation, and expanding our offerings with a focus on technology.
I’ll talk about them one by one. Student success means that all our students get a quality, affordable education and are well-prepared to compete in the job market. Obviously, we have Civitae, which teaches civic engagement, civility
above Gatherings prior to basketball games in the Joan Perry Brock Center are one way Dean Khawaja Mamun encourages alumni, including Matthew Radcliff ’91, to engage with the college. right One of Dean Mamun’s first priorities was to meet individually with all CBE faculty members. Here he chats with Dr. Meg Michelson, associate professor of marketing, and Dr. Darrell Carpenter, director of the Center for Cyber Security and chair of the Department of Accounting, Economics, Finance and Information Systems.
and how to have a discussion. At the College of Business and Economics, we’re teaching students overall business competencies and skills, but especially critical thinking and emotional intelligence. I have a very good student success team that advises students, helps get them internships and really prepares them for a job.
The second part of my vision is to make the CBE better-known. I’ve heard that we are a best-kept secret in Virginia—I don’t want to be secret anymore. We’ve started doing lots of outreach, added an official LinkedIn account for the college and are working on other initiatives to get our name out to a broader audience.
The last part of my vision is to expand our offerings. Right now we have our undergraduate programs and our online MBA program. I want to have more technology-oriented business programs as well. We’ve added a new track in the MBA program called technology management. In the future, we might have an information technology master’s program, but it has to be business-oriented. Business and technology go hand in hand. We need to stay ahead of emerging and changing fields and add new areas that are in demand, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics.
Q:After almost a full academic year on campus, what have you found that makes Longwood and the CBE unique?
A: Definitely the faculty and staff and their connections with students. When I came here, I immediately noticed the dedication of the faculty and staff. During my campus visit, the faculty were talking about their students by name. It showed that they really knew them. The 20 students I teach, I know all of them by their first names. That’s one of the benefits of having smaller class sizes. Students are not a number, they’re a name and a person. That’s very unique for a public school. Our faculty really take time to interact with the students and engage them. Another aspect that makes us unique is that all our faculty are tenure-track or tenured. At bigger schools, many classes are taught by graduate students. You’re not getting that here.
I can’t stress enough the things that our CBE faculty and staff do, not only in the classroom but outside the classroom, to help our students. The administrative folks are very dedicated to preparing students for their careers. That includes helping them find an internship, which is required in the CBE.
Q:How important are the relationships you are building, not just within the CBE but across campus? How do alumni fit into your vision?
A:We started a new practice here—the deans eat lunch together in D-hall every other Wednesday. It’s important for us to discuss what’s happening in our respective colleges and brainstorm ways we can collaborate. In the CBE, I met with all my faculty individually, one-on-one. I’ve also made the rounds introducing myself to stakeholders around campus and thinking about new ways we can form partnerships, working with everyone from the library staff to Admissions.
I’ve settled in and become part of the community very quickly, especially with my colleagues. People are very friendly, and it didn’t take long for me to feel like
I was part of the group, not an outsider. The other deans and the provost really encourage me. It’s easy because we are all working toward the same goal, which is that everyone wants Longwood and our students to be successful.
In my vision, alumni play a vital role in the CBE and its future success. One of my focuses has been on engaging with more alumni and getting their input.
We hosted two alumni events at home basketball games this winter. We have a very good board of advisors made up of alumni and corporate partners. There are opportunities for our alumni to get engaged, not only through our board but also by visiting campus—including for career events and alumni talks.
We are always looking for more ways to connect our students with our alumni. It might be as simple as alumni letting us know when they have job openings or internship opportunities. You need what I call an entire village to make sure students are successful. Our alumni are a big part of that village.
Q: Can you talk about the success of the MBA program and how it factors into the future of the CBE?
A: Before I got here, the MBA program moved to a fully online model. That really opened it up to a wider audience. We are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which means that we have to maintain a high quality. I was very pleased our MBA program ranked No. 135 nationally (out of 355) on U.S. News & World Report’s list earlier this year based on the strength of our faculty and affordability. We actually ranked No. 1 in the category “Faculty Credentials and Training.” It
In my vision, alumni play a vital role in the CBE and its future success. … You need what I call an entire village to make sure students are successful. Our alumni are a big part of that village.’
— DR. KHAWAJA MAMUN
is a high-quality online program where faculty connect with and give regular one-on-one attention to students online because it’s an asynchronous model.
We are still in the early stages of planning the expansion of our offerings, but adding new tracks and programs are certainly part of the vision. The technology management track in the MBA program will be online this fall. We are also in the planning phase for additional in-demand MBA tracks and innovative graduate programs to serve our adult learners. Our potential for growth is very exciting.
The academic deans meet in the dining hall for lunch every other Wednesday to brainstorm ways to collaborate. Enjoying a recent lunch session were (clockwise from left) Dr. Angela McDonald, dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Services; Dr. Chris Kukk, the Wilma Register Sharp and Marc Boyd Sharp Dean of the Cormier Honors College; Dr. Khawaja Mamun, dean of the College of Business and Economics; Dr. Brent Roberts, dean of the Greenwood Library; Dr. Jeannine Perry, dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies; and Dr. Roger Byrne, dean of the Cook-Cole College of Arts and Sciences.
Five years after the Covid crisis in higher education, two things are clear. Longwood handled things differently then—and is better for it today.
STANDING FAST
BY JUSTIN POPE
N
ursing Professor Dr. Kim Little stared at the email hawking a “skills simulator”—a $100 kit college nursing programs could ship to students stuck at home, which they could use to video themselves practicing critical skills.
It was that hard spring of 2020, and, like her colleagues across higher education, Little was desperate to keep students on track. Many campuses were closed or teaching entirely online. But Little knew her students were preparing to perform procedures like nasogastric tube insertions on real people, who would suffer if teaching corners were cut. The dynamic Longwood classroom experience at the heart of her program couldn’t be replicated by a cardboard box.
“They need to put their hands on the actual equipment, to exercise that psychomotor form of learning,” she recalls thinking. “It’s just one-way communication.”
Little also knew something else: No less than the curriculum, the mental wellbeing of her close-knit department of faculty and students also depended on finding a way to continue learning together, in person.
So Little and her colleagues set to work, reorganizing classroom spaces to ensure in-person learning returned for the fall 2020 semester. It wasn’t necessarily the norm across higher education. And it definitely wasn’t easy. Success required a new approach to classroom logistics, quickly deploying new technologies—and, in nursing’s case, a herculean effort to ensure clinical rotations moved forward in person as well.
But Little was at the right place. The rest of Longwood was also moving forward with mostly in-person instruction. Across the university, with encouragement from the top, faculty and staff implemented thorough precautions—for the purpose of enabling the in-person experience to continue as much as possible.
“We never stopped doing what we know works best,” said Little, winner of the 2025 State Council for Higher Education in Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award.
“We never had to change the basic way we teach nursing.” Since then, Longwood nursing’s licensing exam results have been among the very highest in the state, even the nation. Says Little: “I really do feel we can attribute that to remaining in person during those first years of Covid.”
Seth Seward ’23 was among those students and also the battalion of Longwood nursing students who administered thousands of vaccines in the community. Now a cardiothoracic surgical nurse at VCU, he sees clearly today how much his professors’ efforts mattered.
“I have co-workers in my unit who were at the end of their programs and had to do simulations on a computer,” said Seward. “It was a huge learning curve, almost an impossible one, when they transitioned from being a student to being a real nurse.”
We never stopped doing what we know works best. We never had to change the basic way we teach nursing.’
—DR. KIM LITTLE CHAIR AND PROFESSOR OF NURSING
I HAVE CO-WORKERS IN MY UNIT WHO WERE AT THE END OF THEIR PROGRAMS AND HAD TO DO SIMULATIONS ON A COMPUTER. IT WAS A HUGE LEARNING CURVE … WHEN THEY TRANSITIONED … TO BEING A REAL NURSE.’
—SETH
SEWARD ’23 CARDIOTHORACIC SURGICAL NURSE, VCU
Kyle Laferriere Photography
STILL TO THIS DAY, IT’S ONE OF MY PROUDEST MOMENTS: PLANNING SENIOR WEEK AND MAKING IT SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD
TO.’
—EMMANUEL DIALA ’21 ACCOUNT MANAGER, TUBI NEW YORK CITY
Jennifer S. Altman
By contrast, “I knew what I was doing because I’d done all this on real people.”
Seward also remembers it was during this time that the human-scale culture of Longwood truly revealed itself. “[Faculty] would say, ‘Before we go over this last test, how are you doing? These are scary times—are you doing OK? Are you getting your food? That was every single professor,” said Seward, whose fiancée, Rebecca Chung ’24, is also a Longwood nursing graduate. “Every single one saw the person in the student and not just the student. That’s what made Longwood’s program very special.”
By no means have Longwood graduates forgotten the challenges. But five years removed from the pandemic, alumni in a range of fields report similar feelings of appreciation for the efforts that helped get them through.
They credit the things that make Longwood Longwood—its human scale, its flexibility and common-sense problem solving, and above all its dedicated faculty and staff.
And at a time when much of higher education continues to reel from the pandemic and its aftermath, those traits have continued to prove their worth. They are the reason why Longwood, now at a challenging juncture for the world, is stronger than ever.
A LEADER EMERGES
When Covid struck in March 2020, Longwood, like almost every campus, was forced to suspend in-person classes for the spring semester.
From the start, however, Longwood approached the pandemic differently. For one thing, there was a strong, early commitment to restart on campus that fall. In fact, Longwood played a key behind-the-scenes role in Richmond developing the statewide preparedness system that allowed all Virginia’s public universities to reopen.
Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV “really led the charge on that,” recalled Fran Bradford, then Virginia’s deputy secretary of education. “He was focused on the entire state and realized somebody really needed to lean into understanding what all the institutions, but also what the state and the public, needed to reopen.” In a time of crisis, Longwood stood out for working through the challenge without being paralyzed by uncertainty. “Longwood was not an institution asking for help,” she said. “They were solving their own problems.”
‘
Even after most Virginia institutions reopened, the student experience wasn’t the same everywhere. At Longwood, Dr. David Shoenthal, associate provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Lori Blackwood, associate vice president for facilities, led an extraordinary effort that completely reorganized classroom spacing over the summer of 2020. The result: A greater proportion of Longwood classes met in person that semester than at the vast majority of institutions. Almost 70 percent of Longwood students had no more than one fully online class, and 90 percent had no more than two.
Longwood was not an institution asking for help. They were solving their own problems.’
—FRAN BRADFORD FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
[Students] were really determined to keep Longwood feeling as normal as possible.’
—CHERYL STEELE ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND INITIATIVES
Kinzer, professor of music. She was on speed dial with Shoenthal, working to keep music classes and rehearsals together, eventually relocating many gatherings to an improvised space in what used to be the Longwood bookstore across Main Street. “There was no one in our department who didn’t want to do that,” she said. “We just knew the value of teaching music face to face.”
Tyler Cosley ’23 appreciated that sentiment at the time—and appreciates it even more now as a music teacher and band director for Cumberland County public schools.
“I was really thankful for the opportunity to keep playing music,” he said. “Otherwise, I would not have been in the same place musically by senior year. Quite honestly, I felt bad for a lot of my peers at a lot of other schools that were online and weren’t doing anything. The music major was really doing almost everything in person. I really felt like I had a college experience. People [elsewhere] feel like they were robbed of something, but I felt super grateful.”
Kinzer understood firsthand how different things were elsewhere. Her daughter, a student at the University of Virginia, was home that semester, trying to complete her coursework online.
“It was awful,” Kinzer said. “I was so proud of us for keeping going for students because I could see what was happening with my own child.”
The pride in those efforts among music faculty—and the university community more broadly—persists even today.
“Anybody in our department would tell you it was a real time of working together,” Kinzer said. “It came from the encouragement of our leadership. I think President Reveley recognized the challenge of what we were trying to do and the value of it.” Shoenthal’s efforts were also critical, along with those of colleagues including Dr. Roland Karnatz, associate professor of music, who brought technical expertise to bear. Some of the experiments back then endure, such as classroom livestreaming capabilities.
“So much of the DNA of Longwood is that the on-campus community is so important,” Kinzer said. “Just because it’s possible to do something online doesn’t mean it’s desirable. I think we did better than manage. I think we thrived.”
“I’m biased because I’m Longwood’s No. 1 fan—it’s my favorite place in the world,” said Cosley. “But I will say the draw to Longwood for a lot of people is that it’s a smaller community. Everything’s a 10-minute walk; your professors know who you are. That is what allowed us to get creative. A larger music department might have just shut down and not even tried.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that we all jumped on board,” said Dr. Pam Tracy, director of the Center for Faculty Enrichment, which supports teaching on campus. “We kept that connection together. Faculty scrambled. Because we’re a smaller place, we were able to connect with students in that way during those times. My guess is that at a UVA or Virginia Tech or Ohio State it was a profoundly different experience.”
PRESERVING CAMPUS LIFE AND TRADITIONS
BIn some fields, the puzzle was especially challenging.
“It was completely unprecedented. We were making things up as we went along,” said Dr. Lisa
eyond classrooms, Longwood faced the huge challenge of preserving its famously vibrant campus life and traditions. All were disrupted, to great frustration at times. But again, Longwood’s special attributes were what ultimately served to preserve them.
One asset was the Honor Code—something that still exists, at least in the form that endures at Longwood, at only a few dozen institutions nationally. Generations of Longwood alumni will tell you the code is more than just a tool to prevent cheating. It’s an ethos that allows a community to presume from others honesty and goodwill, which proved exceptionally useful in 2020.
“The heart of the culture that our Honor Code creates is about trust. It’s about looking out for one another; it’s about being mindful of the responsibility that we have as citizens in this environment,” said Cameron Patterson ’10, M.S. ’17, Longwood’s vice president for student affairs. Patterson recalled the hesitation in the community when Longwood announced students would return. So did the Farmville Herald, predicting in an editorial that December that “the odds appeared long for any institution of higher learning looking for a return to normalcy.” Yet the newspaper concluded after that first semester: “As it turned out, we could learn a few things from the students.”
‘
THE MUSIC MAJOR WAS REALLY DOING ALMOST EVERYTHING IN PERSON. ... PEOPLE [ELSEWHERE] FEEL LIKE THEY WERE ROBBED OF SOMETHING BUT I FELT SUPER GRATEFUL.’
—TYLER COSLEY ’23
BAND DIRECTOR AND MUSIC TEACHER, CUMBERLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Ted Hodges ’85
I think we did better than manage. I think we thrived.’
—DR. LISA KINZER PROFESSOR OF MUSIC
Students indeed took it upon themselves to keep Longwood’s traditions alive. “They could have just folded up and said we’re not going to do it, let’s put this on the shelf for a year, and they didn’t,” said Cheryl Steele, associate vice president for student engagement and initiatives. “They were really determined to keep Longwood feeling as normal as possible. And we were determined to do as much as possible to help.”
“My hat’s off to people like Cheryl Steele, Jonathan Page, Quincy Goodine, Larry Robertson—so many people who played a pivotal role in helping students,” said Emmanuel Diala ’21, now living in New York City, where he works as an account manager at Tubi. “As somebody who was heavily involved in leadership, I would look to them for guidance—‘What can I do as a student leader, as a civic leader, to keep morale up?’”
Another asset was Longwood’s strong tradition of student government. SGA Presidents Brandon Bowen ’21 and Anne Patterson ’22 accepted that their role as crisis leaders would be different from that of their predecessors. Sometimes they were meeting with President Reveley weekly.
“To be that bridge between the administration and campus, I felt a lot of responsibility,” Patterson said. “There were definitely challenging moments,” but also transparency overall and a culture of respect that “speak to the size of our school and the close-knit relationships people had,” she said. “Through it all there was still this sense of community. I don’t think every school was like that.”
POMP DESPITE CIRCUMSTANCES
At no point were Longwood’s traditions—and creativity—tested more than around the graduation seasons of 2020 and 2021. When the May 2020 Commencement ceremony had to be cancelled, Reveley promised the class that somehow it would get an opportunity to graduate in person. On Oct. 9, 2020, with 50-person outdoor gathering limits in place, Reveley and Board of Visitors leader Pia Trigiani gathered in regalia at Longwood House to conduct a series of commencement ceremonies. To accommodate everyone while honoring the gathering size requirements, they repeated the ceremony 17 times, from morning through dusk.
“I’ve worked and talked with a lot of people who graduated that same year from a lot of universities, and they didn’t get any graduation ceremony,” said Reilly Fox ’20, now an outpatient recreational therapist working with veterans in Richmond. She recalls the pouring rain, but above all the effort that allowed her to graduate with her closest friend and a small group of family. “It was still a very uncertain time, and just having that be a light was really important,” she said. “I’m so thankful we were able to have that ceremony and put that final stamp on Longwood.”
The following spring, in 2021, despite tight state restrictions placed on graduation ceremonies, Commencement returned to Wheeler Mall. The famed “Joanie on the Stony” statue made a surprise appearance on stage. Longwood was one of just four Virginia public institutions where the senior class graduated together.
“Still to this day, it’s one of my proudest moments: planning senior week and making it something to look forward to,” Diala said. Earlier, he’d told Senior Director of Alumni Engagement Nicole Perkins ’05 that his dream was for the seniors to enjoy fireworks. “She tried everything, but the fire marshals weren’t giving her the green light,” recalled Diala. But one night shortly before graduation, Perkins asked Diala to summon the class outside. He was expecting a speech. “I got everyone out, and we look up—and she got us fireworks,” Diala remembers. “It was like a movie. We had folks who were saying they didn’t have much hope; they were just going to go home for Senior Week. It felt like a fairy-tale ending.”
There was no single moment when Longwood’s Covid chapter officially ended. Graduation was one milestone. So was cheering on the men’s and women’s basketball teams to the 2022 NCAA Tournaments. But as campus life returned to normal, there was satisfaction that traditions and learning endured and would be passed down.
At one point during the worst of the crisis, Longwood’s leaders had paused to consider their goals. Someone asked how, years down the road, the university might measure whether it had succeeded.
In her interview five years later, Anne Patterson, the former SGA president, unknowingly gave the answer the university decided it someday most hoped to hear.
“When I think back about college, I don’t think about Covid,” she said. “I think about my experience and how much I learned and grew at Longwood. Covid was a part of that journey, but it doesn’t come top of mind. And educationally, I don’t think I learned any less either.”
WHEN I THINK BACK ABOUT COLLEGE, I DON’T THINK ABOUT COVID. I THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH I LEARNED AND GREW AT LONGWOOD.’
—ANNE PATTERSON ’22
POLICY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONSULTING WASHINGTON, D.C.
Greg Kahn Photography
ENDURING DIVIDENDS
Like so many, Longwood faculty and staff have hard memories from that time, particularly balancing personal and family challenges with their vocational commitment to students. Nobody would suggest Longwood did everything perfectly or that students went through unscathed. And Longwood faculty and staff are still very much seeing the effects on current students, who were middle- and high-school students at the time.
Still, dividends from the experience continue. Classroom technology. Emergency practices that are now standard practice. A renewed appreciation for the value of in-person learning.
There is also a cadre of faculty and staff who were tested, rose to the occasion, and built confidence and flexibility that endure.
While Longwood made use of a “Covid team” that helped coordinate efforts, unlike many institutions Longwood primarily worked through existing structures, looking to everyone to do their jobs as best they could. There were, however, plenty of Longwood leaders who were especially tested but shone brightly. The University Health Center tirelessly served students. There were also remarkable stalwarts in Student Affairs: Jennifer Fraley, an indefatigable source of help and comfort for anxious students who was later promoted to dean of students, and Matt McGregor, now vice president for administration and finance.
“It was a moment that forced you to work together,” Cameron Patterson said. “Longwood is a collegial place; we work well across divisions. But Covid really reinforced that mindset.” He rattled off a long list of colleagues who rose to the occasion, including McGregor, who as much as anyone served as Longwood’s Covid point person. “All of us in Student Affairs knew who Matt was and what he brought to the table,”
It was still a very uncertain time … . I’m so thankful we were able to have that ceremony… .’
—REILLY
FOX ’20 OUTPATIENT RECREATIONAL THERAPIST, RICHMOND
Patterson said. “But I think that was a moment when the campus as a whole got to see his leadership.”
Longwood’s people have proved to be the university’s greatest strength in the years since the pandemic, when higher education has continued to be tested. They are the reason a place that handled Covid with confidence and success is also navigating the latest crosswinds.
A few before-and-after snapshots offer indicators of a strengthening institution.
Since 2019, Longwood’s total enrollment has grown from 4,468 to 4,612. The endowment has increased from $71.3 million to $102.2 million, even while providing millions annually to support financial aid. Love Your Longwood Day raised $325,000 that year; this spring it topped $900,000. And of course, there were those combined three magical NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament appearances.
Beyond the numbers is the sense of both continuity and progress, something that struck Diala last November, when he was back on campus for the first time since graduation. “It just felt like home,” he said. “Sometimes home changes: It’s evolving. It’s being innovative. But you know what walking on Brock Commons feels like. It’s not like any other place.”
There isn’t a college in America that doesn’t carry some regret over the pandemic’s disruptions. But Diala said Longwood’s determination to preserve its spirit shaped his view of his alma mater forever—a place big enough to do big things in a challenge, but small enough not to lose itself in the process.
“It really showed me that Longwood was a place that really wanted to go the extra mile,” he said. “Just hearing other friends who went to big college campuses—they didn’t have the experience we had. You would think it was the opposite, that a place with 50,000 students would have the resources to do more. But I always wear with pride my time at Longwood and Farmville, a small town with a big heart. I feel like we were blessed, in going through it all, that we experienced it as a family.”
above The in-person college experience is the heart of Longwood. The university’s commitment to that ideal helped it navigate through Covid and remains central to why Longwood is thriving today. left Reilly Fox ’20 (center) and her parents, Kathy Hansen Fox ’85 and Doug Fox, were among those who attended one of the 17 consecutive in-person commencement ceremonies in October 2020 that observed gathering size requirements.
Under the care of Greenwood Library—and now with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities—a vast and important collection of sheet music from a bygone era is coming back to life
BY SABRINA BROWN
a RBOR
n Greenwood Library’s dim and mazelike basement, 77 large cardboard boxes rest silently on utilitarian metal shelves. Given the contents of the boxes, it is ironic they have been housed for a decade in a place almost devoid of sound and activity—a far cry from the movie theaters, dance halls, dinner-and-dancing nightclubs and radio stations where the contents of the boxes once regularly were found.
If you haven’t already guessed, we’re talking about sheet music—in this case, reams and reams of it comprising a vast collection amassed by Jacob “Jake” Kaminsky (1908-1972) during his career as one of Richmond’s best-known and hardest working musicians and bandleaders. The collection came to the Greenwood Library in 2015, after Dr. Roland Karnatz, associate professor of music, heard that the Richmond Public Library no longer had room to house it. He suggested that Longwood give it a home.
‘University libraries play a vital role in preserving significant and historical materials that might otherwise be lost. At Longwood, perfect examples of this include the Kaminsky Collection and our collection documenting the history of Longwood.
‘The Kaminsky Collection is not only extensive but also eclectic. It includes band arrangements of early jazz and popular music—Goofus and The Cincinnati Dancing Pig, for example—as well as orchestral arrangements of popular classical music. In all, there are about 6,000 pieces of music, including scores and individual parts for various instruments. Many of the arrangements were performed live to accompany silent movies and as selections on Richmond radio programs, said Karnatz.
Librarian Tammy Hines (left) and music professor Dr. Roland Karnatz examine music from the Kaminsky Collection with Heather Hendry from the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts. Hendry’s campus visit was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
—DR. BRENT ROBERTS, DEAN OF GREENWOOD LIBRARY
With music by com posers ranging from Leonard Bernstein to Felix Mendelssohn and compositions encompassing everything from Goofus to classical music, the Kaminsky Collection is both wide-ranging and eclectic.
Tammy Hines, head of collections and information services at Longwood’s library, was working at the library when the collection arrived.
“When the boxes first got here, if you touched them, your hands turned black from the dust that had accumulated,” she said. Dusty or not, this is an important collection, she added, noting that some of the music is available in only one or two other places in the world.
Hines has been working for years to secure funding to give the collection the care it deserves, and recently her efforts were rewarded with a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to assess its physical condition.
LISTEN TO A FEW SELECTIONS FROM THE COLLECTION PERFORMED BY FACULTY (STARTING AT 1:09:45)
Providing accessibility to the music is another priority, and an inventory seemed the best place to start. Several years ago, Hines enlisted the help of some of the library’s student workers to create a searchable database that would not only provide the details of individual pieces but also their locations within the 77 boxes. When student workers who were music majors got involved, they expanded the database to include much more detail.
“Once they got involved, the inventory went to the next level. The spreadsheet expanded from three columns of information to 15 columns,” said Hines, adding that about 20 students had meticulously gone through each envelope in all 77 boxes and recorded information about each piece of music.
Among those students was Amani Hinton ’26, a music education major who worked on the inventory for a year.
“I was extremely interested in how many different composers and styles of music are included in the collection,” she said. One of her favorite discoveries was an arrangement of selections from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story Hinton emphasized the importance of including as much information as possible about each piece in the inventory so that, if the music is ever played, there are no copyright issues and composers get appropriate credit.
“I think the most amazing outcome of this collection would be to have a wider range of music for students to study, play and analyze,” she said.
During the decade the collection has been at Longwood, there have been some exciting developments.
One was when Kaminsky’s relatives read that Longwood had acquired the collection and donated the scrapbooks where Kaminsky kept mementos and newspaper clippings from his career, documenting the many venues throughout central Virginia where the bands and orchestras he put together had performed.
Another was the NEH grant, which made it possible for Heather Hendry, a senior paper conservator with the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, to travel to Longwood in January to work with the collection for three days.
“The collection is in very good condition overall,” she said, adding that getting it into the hands of students and other musicians depends on more than that. “With my recommendations, Longwood can design an ongoing project of remediation and/or replacements of problematic housings [envelopes and boxes] to prevent future damage; intellectual control and
‘ I think the most amazing outcome of this collection would be to have a wider range of music for students to study, play and analyze.
‘
— AMANI HINTON ’26
cataloging to allow searching; and digitization to share the contents and reduce handling of the originals.”
Hines said she hopes that the recent NEH grant is just the first in a long line of grants aimed at bringing those goals to fruition. She plans to submit another grant proposal in the near future.
“We’ll keep chiseling away at it,” said Karnatz, who, while acknowledging it’s a massive project, is already doing his part to bring some of the music back to life: He included several selections from the Kaminsky Collection in the annual Fools of April Faculty Recital this year.
Goofus and The Cincinnati Dancing Pig live on.
Pond Star
Clint Mooney ’15
earned the cover of the 2025 Virginia Wildlife calendar with this dramatic shot. Page 29
Clint Mooney ’15
1950s
Jean Elizabeth Hogge Shackelford ’50, a tireless advocate for music and the arts and a longtime music educator, died Jan. 6, 2025, at the age of 95. A music major at Longwood, she served as a music teacher and administrator in the Portsmouth (Virginia) Public Schools for 35 years, inspiring countless students— but that was just one aspect of her multifaceted and impactful professional life. House Joint Resolution No. 742 of the General Assembly of Virginia in 1997 recounted the high points of her career, including her contributions over 30 years to developing curriculum and guidelines for music education with the Virginia Department of Education; her work as the government relations chair for the Virginia Music Educators Association and as the legislative liaison for the Virginia Fine Arts Leadership Coalition for Education; and her service on the Portsmouth Museum and Fine Arts Commission. Her obituary noted, among many other accomplishments, that she had earned a master’s degree from the College of William & Mary; served on the founding board of the Virginia Governors School for the Arts; that she was involved for 33 years with Young Audiences of Virginia, including serving on its board of directors and as president; and that she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award and Distinguished Service Award from the Virginia Music Education Association, as well as with two Longwood University Alumni Awards.
Nancy Birdsall Bain ’55, who worked several decades as a civilian employee at Fort Gregg-Adams (formerly Fort Lee), died Oct. 11, 2024. She was 90. During spring break of her last year at Longwood, Bain took the civil service exam, aced it and went to work on the base for the United States Army Quartermaster Corps, the Army’s oldest logistics branch, just days after graduation. She had been retired only one month when she was asked to return to work as vice president for administration for the Army Quartermaster Foundation, a fundraising organization that also
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Anecdotal Evidence
Trip to France provides chance to connect with Joan of Arc
While visiting Rouen, France, Sallie Gibbs Adelman ’70 made sure to find Old Market Square. It had special meaning because it was where Joan of Arc, Longwood’s patron hero, was executed in 1431 for heresy, part of the case against her being that she had blasphemed by wearing men’s clothing, including pants.
Sallie’s husband, Michael Adelman, shared with Longwood magazine that his wife also once had a run-in with “authorities” for wearing pants, still not considered completely appropriate attire for a young woman even in the late 1960s. “Sallie was referred to House Council [at Longwood] for a violation hearing as she was wearing pants off campus after 6 p.m. while shopping in Farmville,” he wrote.
Adelman shared another anecdote about his wife and Longwood, this one on a happier note. “In 1971, while being interviewed for a job in Pennsylvania, Sallie stated she was a graduate of Longwood. The district administrator had not heard of the college and asked if it was accredited. He then called the State Department of Education to check; his contact there told him, “Hire her now!”
Sallie, who was an elementary education major at Longwood, went on to have a long career as an educator in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and finally Arkansas, where she volunteered for 11 years at a school that served abused and neglected preschoolers.
Sallie Gibbs Adelman ’70 visited Place de Vieux Marché in Rouen, France, the site of Joan of Arc’s execution.
Courtesy of Michael Adelman
supports a museum preserving the history of the corps. The museum is visited each year by more than 70,000 people, including thousands of soldiers required to pass through as a way of appreciating what it takes to keep them fed, clothed and on the move. In 2014, Bain was inducted into the Quartermaster Hall of Fame, and she received Longwood’s Humanitarian Alumni Award in 2015. She studied business education at Longwood.
Fay Salmon Clark ’59, who had a distinguished career as an educator, died Jan. 21, 2025. Her Longwood degree was in elementary education, and she later earned a master’s degree in education from the College of William & Mary. Honored in 1988 as the National Distinguished Elementary School Principal for Virginia by the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals, Clark retired in 2001 after serving as a principal at Grafton Bethel and Mount Vernon elementary schools in York County.
1980s
Rohn Brown ’84 celebrated the 100th episode of his Lancers Past podcast in December 2024. The independent podcast started in May 2020 with interviews from Longwood student athletes, coaches and administrators. The podcast has generated close to 1,000 downloads and featured Longwood Hall of Famers including Tina Barrett ’88, Dennis Hale ’91, Kathy Idleson Noftzger ’82, Doug Toombs ’83, Michael Tucker ’93 and Tim White ’82, as well as tributes to the late Hall of Famer Jerome Kersey ’81/’06. Lancers Past is the longest running podcast focused on Longwood alumni and athletics.
Jackie Raye Cooper ’89, a PreK5 literacy coach in Henrico County Public Schools, earned the designation of National Board Certified Teacher. Describing the certification process as “the hardest goal I have accomplished to date,” Cooper added
Touchdown. Scott Abell ’92 was named the Dunlevie Family Head Football Coach at Rice University in Houston, Texas, in November 2024. It is the latest milestone in a long and successful coaching career. He joined Rice from Davidson College in North Carolina, where he was the winningest coach in school history and posted winning seasons in each of his seven years at the college. Previously he coached for six years at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where, after being promoted to head coach, he won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship three times. Also in November 2024, he was inducted into the Amherst County (Virginia) Sports Hall of Fame for his distinctive football coaching career at Amherst High School, including back-to-back state champion teams in 2006 and 2007. His Longwood degree is in physical education.
Courtesy of Rohn Brown ’84
Courtesy of Rice University
She’s
Not Horsing Around
Alumna celebrates 10th anniversary of business inspired by her love of animals
Equine and canine health and well-being is a serious business for Paulette Walsted Courington ’90.
She is currently celebrating her 10th anniversary as the owner of Zion’s Touch, where she offers training, massage and Reiki, a Japanese energy healing technique traditionally used on humans, to horses and dogs.
After earning her biology degree form Longwood, Courington studied forensic science for a year at VCU and worked for a time in a laboratory setting. But her lifelong love of animals, especially dogs and horses, called her to a different type of career.
She took classes in Reiki, a technique that uses energy and noninvasive touch to promote balance and relaxation, and eventually became a Reiki Master. She later earned certification in equine sports massage therapy and canine massage therapy through Equissage, an international leader in training animal massage therapists. She added two more certifications— Pet Dog Trainer and Canine Conditioning Coach—and brought them all together in Zion’s Touch, located in Henrico, Virginia.
Sharing my gifts through my company with fellow dog and horse lovers fills my heart.’
— PAULETTE WALSTED COURINGTON ’90
Her massage subjects range from family pets to highly trained animals in performance sports such as agility dogs and show jumpers. As a dog trainer, she helps owners train their pet companions in basic manners, life skills and some tricks. “Sharing my gifts through my company with fellow dog and horse lovers fills my heart,” said Courington. “Seeing the results in the pets from my training, massage or Reiki is such a wonderful and indescribable feeling.”—Sabrina Brown
that it has had an “overwhelmingly positive” impact on how she teaches. “I follow up every lesson with a quick informal assessment of student learning,” she said. “After analyzing their learning of the skill, I ask myself, ‘How do I need to design the next lesson so that the students who did not get the concept master the skill? How can I create the next lesson so that the students who learn differently understand what I am teaching?’ I have learned that constant reflection is key to all students’ success.” To earn certification—which was not required for her job—she created a portfolio demonstrating her teaching practice, including videos and written analysis of student work samples. The final component was a rigorous exam. “This was a chosen goal,” she said. “I wanted to be up-to-date on best practices in instruction and literacy to impact student learning to the best of my ability.” Cooper, whose degree is in elementary education, also shared that she is a proud Lancer mom. One of her sons graduated from Longwood in 2020; another is set to graduate this May.
1990s
Mark Jenkins ’91 is the lead pastor at Mountain View Community Church in Culpeper, Virginia. His Longwood degree is in physics. He also studied at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Certified in equine sports massage, Paulette Walsted Courington ’90 brings a horse to the point of ‘releasing,’ which means ‘he is really enjoying the massage,’ she says.
H. “Wyatt” Flippen ’93 was named CEO and a member of the board of directors of Global Technologies, Ltd., a multioperational company that drives innovation and sustainable growth across the technology and service sectors. A company press release stated that Flippen “brings to Global Technologies a wealth of experience as a dynamic leader with a proven ability to drive growth and build impactful brands. With an extensive background spanning finance, technology and entrepreneurship, Mr. Flippen has successfully guided teams through transformative growth in diverse industries.” Global Techologies’ portfolio includes its flagship subsidiary, 10 Fold Services, a strategic consulting and procurement agency specializing in go-to-market planning and execution for companies in the health and wellness industries, and GOe3, its electric vehicle charging subsidiary. With an extensive background spanning finance, technology and entrepreneurship, Flippen most recently served as co-founder and CEO of a holding company managing innovative marketing and consulting ventures. His Longwood degree is in business administration/marketing.
Michael Koch ’93 is serving a three-year term as chairman of the board for Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union in Petersburg, Virginia. As chairman, he ensures the board fulfills its fiduciary duties to protect members’ interests and maintain the credit union’s financial health and integrity. Additional responsibilities include working with
(continued on Page 24)
Courtesy of Paulette Walsted Courington ’90
What’s In A Name?
An unbreakable bond, unwavering mutual support and a little humor
Agroup of sloths is called a snuggle.
That’s one reason a group of close-knit Longwood alumnae who have regarded each other as family for the last 47 years recently dubbed themselves the Sloth Sisters. (“We’re also getting older and slower,” they say, laughing.)
It all started in the fall semester of 1977, when freshmen Vicki Glover (now Robinson) and Pam Wagner (now Carpenter) arrived on campus early to start their jobs in the dining hall. The Cunningham residence halls were mostly empty when they moved in, so they decided to share a room until their roommates got there.
The two quickly became friends, and the group grew from there, the connections bringing together a dizzyingly complex combination of roommates, childhood friends, suitemates, across-the-hallneighbors and friends of friends. The bond the women formed was almost instantaneous.
“Freshman year we were always together,” said Melody Crawley Margrave. All members of the Class of 1981, they had balloon fights and double-dated. They went skiing and traveled to Washington, D.C., to see the cherry blossoms. They shared meals in the dining hall or, when the menu there was less than appealing, at Vicki’s parents’ nearby farm.
“Bless Mrs. Glover’s heart for welcoming a carload (or two) of girls to her kitchen table for dinner when it was Polish sausage and meatloaf night in the dining hall!” said Robyn Black Eaton.
Understandably, the group spent less time together as they chose
different areas of study and extracurricular activities. Then came graduation, marriage and family obligations. But whatever the stage of their lives, the Sloth Sisters made sure not to lose touch with each other.
“I had many college friends, but this group was my college ‘family,’” said Carpenter. “I think that was the beginning of keeping us together after college.”
Margrave feels the same closeness.
“Anytime something goes on in my life, I will call one of my sisters to say, ‘You won’t believe this … ,’” she said. “And I don’t think I could have made it through my husband’s funeral if they hadn’t been there for me.”
They might call themselves the Sloth Sisters, but these women can put it into high gear. Recently they took a four-day trip to Boston via train, and all but two of them traveled to campus for Homecoming in November 2024.
They also put considerable energy into group projects aimed at helping others.
They make blankets and stuffed animals for a UVA Medical Center program whose mission is to improve the quality of the dying experience for terminally ill patients and their families.
In the last two years, the Sloth Sisters have made and donated more than 30 blankets and 10 stuffed animals.
They also make care packages to give to current Longwood students in lieu of the gifts they traditionally had exchanged with each other at alumni reunions. Through friends and coworkers, they get the names of current Longwood students, research the students’ likes and dislikes, and distribute a shopping list.
At Homecoming this year, the group got together Friday afternoon with their purchases and put the care packages together. Hand-delivering them to the students was the best part, they said.
“I don’t know who got a bigger kick out of the care packages—the students or us!” said Eaton, adding, “I am so grateful for this group of women. I would never in a million years have believed that the girls I met when I arrived at Longwood in 1977 would still be a part of my life 47 years later.”—Sabrina Brown
The Sloth Sisters, a close-knit group from the Class of 1981, have been regular participants in reunions and now Homecoming. Six of them traveled to campus for Homecoming 2024: (from left) Pam Wagner Carpenter, who majored in social sciences/education; Melody Crawley Margrave, English/journalism/education; Terry Keesee, physical education; Robyn Black Eaton, business administration; Suzanne Birdsall Joyner, biology; and Vicki Glover Robinson, social sciences. Not present were Andree Barsony Oldershaw, elementary education, and a member who transferred to another university after freshman year and preferred not to be named in this story.
Sabrina Brown
(continued
other leadership to set strategic direction and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and overseeing development and implementation of policies. Koch earned a degree in mathematics at Longwood.
Linda Bolling Caulder ’94 and her husband, Lee Caulder, just marked the one-year anniversary of opening their own franchise of Seniors Helping Seniors, a company whose mission is to deliver in-home care that advocates high-quality, independent senior living. The Caulders’ franchise is located in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. “[H]elping people stay in their homes as long as possible and providing genuine care really resonated with us,” said Linda, who earned a therapeutic recreation degree from Longwood.
Jon D. Mulholland ’96 was promoted to assistant vice president of Human Resources Services at CarMax in September 2024. In this expanded role, he is responsible for helping shape the company’s human resources strategy and leads the execution of the company’s critical human resources programs, processes and priorities for CarMax’s home office; CarMax Auto Finance in Atlanta, Georgia; and contact centers nationwide. Mulholland joined CarMax in 2004, initially as a member of the Talent Acquisition Department before joining HR Services in 2009. His Longwood degree is in business administration/management. He also earned a master’s degree in human resources management from VCU.
Megan Martin Magin ’98 died Oct. 7, 2024. Her obituary recounts that, “in her short life, Megan wore many hats and juggled countless roles. She was a wife and mother … . With a degree from Longwood, she started her career as an English teacher at the middle- and highschool levels. She was a staple in the Farmville hospitality industry and a respected business owner. … Alongside her husband … she developed the concept for and started what is currently The Virginia Tasting Cellar. She worked tirelessly [there] … and at Charley’s Waterfront Cafe, its sister restaurant. The employees there, especially those who were students from nearby Longwood, often referred to Megan as ‘Mama,’ as she loved, taught and mothered them.”
2000s
Trudy Bell Berry ’01, announced her candidacy for the Virginia House of Delegates seat representing District 50, which includes Charlotte, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Prince Edward and a portion of Halifax counties. She is running as an independent because voters are “frustrated with the two-party system … tired of political infighting and angry that nothing gets done … ,” she told The Farmville Herald. Primaries will be held in June 2025, with the general election in November. Berry’s Longwood degree is in sociology and criminal justice.
Bucket List Basketball
has always taken center court for this alum
There’s a song that advises, “Do what you love, and call it work.” Vince Walden ’01 seems to have achieved that goal.
A four-year letter winner in men’s basketball at Longwood, he turned that passion into a career as a high-school and college coach. In fall 2024, Walden was promoted to assistant coach of the men’s
coaching and administrative duties, providing scouting reports on opponents, and analyzing film and advanced metrics. His previous experience in college basketball includes three seasons as an assistant coach at Liberty University and two seasons as assistant coach at Arkansas State.
He also brought his coaching talents to high-school basketball at IMG Academy, a
Vince has been with us since we arrived in College Station and has been a phenomenal teammate from the start.’
—BUZZ WILLIAMS, HEAD MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
program at Texas A&M, a member of the Southeastern Conference, where he had been a staff member since 2019.
“Vince has been with us since we arrived in College Station and has been a phenomenal teammate from the start,” said head coach Buzz Williams. “He has had an unofficial role in many components of the program on and off the floor. He has earned this promotion, and we are excited for what the future holds.”
With his promotion, Walden added off-campus recruiting to his responsibilities, while retaining a variety of day-to-day
preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida. As national team head coach from 2006-12 and 2015-17, he produced winning teams at IMG, scoring a No. 1 ranking in the Max Preps poll in 2016-17 and a combined record of 201-68.
In addition, Walden has coached or developed more than 50 professional players, including 2014 second-round NBA Draft picks Dwight Powell and DeAndre Daniels.
Walden earned a degree in social work at Longwood.
Vince Walden ’01 has coached or developed more than 50 professional players, including 2014 second-round NBA Draft picks Dwight Powell and DeAndre Daniels.
Courtesy of Texas A&M University
Trish Broome ’01, an award-winning poet, was invited to read a selection of her work at the 25th annual Baltimore Book Festival in September 2024. She was among several Baltimore women writers selected to read their contribution to Yellow Arrow Publishing’s 2024 Vignette Series, which celebrates women writers. Yellow Arrow Publishing was one of the sponsors of the festival. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share the stage with other female creatives,” said Broome. “I am honored to be part of this diverse collection of voices, and I’m proud it is happening in the heart of Baltimore.” Broome’s poetry is featured in “You Might Need to Hear This,” “Half and One,” “Cure Today” and the forthcoming Kinsman Avenue Quarterly and SLAM! Anthology. She is also a contributor to the book A Letter To My Mom. After earning her degree in English from Longwood, she went on to complete an M.A. at Loyola University Maryland. She currently resides in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.
Staci Lampkin Longest ’02, director of finance for the King William County (Virginia) Public Schools, was awarded the School Business Administrator Certificate from the Southeastern Association of School Business Officials (SASBO). SASBO is a regional organization of more than 4,000 members in 12 states, providing networking and professional development to those supporting education in business and administrative services. The School Business Administrator Certificate is awarded to members who are leaders in their professions at the national, regional and state levels.
Kathryn Starke ’02, M.S. ’09 (education/ literacy and culture), is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her company, Creative Minds Publications (CMP), in a creative way. This year, Creative Minds Publications will publish 20 new books from new manuscript submissions, with one of those books selected to be
A True Calling
Virginia Beach’s
Citywide
Teacher of the Year reflects on what being an educator means to her
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“The incredible potential of my students inspires me. Witnessing their growth—academically and as individuals—brings me immense joy.”
These are the words of Lalisha Fitchett ’00, M.S. ’03 (education/ elementary curriculum), an English teacher at Brandon Middle School in Virginia Beach, written as she reflected on being named the 2026 Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) Citywide Teacher of the Year.
In announcing her selection in December 2024, VBCPS superintendent Dr. Donald E. Robertson highlighted Fitchett’s unwavering dedication to her students and her positive influence on the school and community.
And, in her own words: “Teaching has always been more than a profession; it is my calling and my opportunity to shape the future. [My students’] resilience, creativity and curiosity remind me why I chose this path. I believe that every student deserves to feel valued, secure and understood, and I work tirelessly to foster a classroom environment that reflects these values. … My ultimate goal is to help them grow beyond academics, building their character, confidence
Fitchett added that Longwood played a key role in the type of educator she has become.
“Longwood University … instilled in me a deep commitment to lifelong learning and a passion for education. The rigorous coursework and field experiences at Longwood prepared me to be an effective, compassionate and reflective teacher.
Additionally, the relationships I built with professors and peers reinforced my belief in the transformative power of education. Longwood provided the foundation that has allowed me to excel in my profession and make a difference in the lives of my students.”
Courtesy of Lalisha Fitchett ’00, M.S. ’03
Candid Camera
Professor is tapped by former student to officiate at his ‘Love Is Blind’ wedding as millions watch
It’s not unusual for someone to ask a close friend to officiate at their wedding.
But if that wedding is going to be the focus of the finale of “Love Is Blind,” a top-rated Netflix series viewed by millions of people around the world? That’s unusual.
Nevertheless, that is what happened when Season 7 “Love Is Blind” heartthrob Garrett Josemans ’14 asked his former physics professor Dr. Chuck Ross to officiate at his wedding to Taylor Krause, the woman he fell in love with on the show.
“Garrett called and said, ‘I’m engaged. I’m getting married in about two weeks. Can you do it?’” Ross recalled. Of course, Ross wouldn’t have been tapped for the honor if he were only the groom’s former professor.
“When Garrett was a student, we worked together extensively on a couple of research projects, one of them in the Caribbean, so we spent a lot of time together,” said Ross. “Eventually, he and my wife, Julie, and I formed a friendship that went beyond the student-professor connection. He really became like another son.”
Josemans, who majored in physics and mathematics at Longwood, agrees that the friendship runs deep.
“Chuck always said to me that he wished I would find a partner like he has
Garrett Josemans ’14 (left) shared the ‘Love Is Blind’ spotlight with his former physics professor Dr. Chuck Ross, who officiated at Josemans’ wedding, which was part of the Season 7 finale of the top-rated Netflix series.
So to have Chuck officiate that moment and be such an integral part of it felt like the perfect fit and gave me more confidence and comfort during such a chaotic and crazy time.’
— GARRETT JOSEMANS ’14
in Julie—someone to share life’s beauty. So to have Chuck officiate that moment and be such an integral part of it felt
like the perfect fit and gave me more confidence and comfort during such a chaotic and crazy time,” he said.
Josemans and Krause (both changed their last names to Josemans-Krause after the wedding), said “I do” on Nov. 13, 2023, in front of 60 friends and family—as well as hundreds of TV cameras and Netflix crew members. Because the show is filmed far in advance, the “will-they-orwon’t-they?” suspense for fans continued from the opening episode on Oct. 2, 2024, through the Oct. 23 release of the finale, which featured the ceremony.
Viewers heard Ross say these words, which he had written for the ceremony and which were left unedited by the producers: “Taylor and Garrett, as scientists you have just conducted the most important experiment of your lives. In a laboratory of double-blind pods, you compressed years of dating experience
into an accelerated search for your perfect mate. The results of those efforts brought you to each other, and today bring you here to be married.”
Ironically, Garrett almost let the whole experience slip through his fingers. He turned down not one, but two invitations to appear on “Love Is Blind.” (Participants don’t apply; they are recruited.) Luckily, fate stepped in with one more call from the recruiter.
Today Garrett and Taylor are approaching their 18-month anniversary and fielding requests for endorsements, commercials and celebrity appearances. Garrett also is balancing all that with his responsibilities as a technical program manager for IonQ, where he works with teams of scientists and engineers to build production-level quantum computers for commercial use.—Sabrina Brown
Courtesy of Dr. Chuck Ross
published at zero cost to the author. The other 19 selected submissions will receive a discounted collaborative publishing agreement from CMP. “Everyone has a story to tell, and we want to help everyone bring their story to life,” said Starke. “We aren’t looking for a particular celebrity writer, a person with a huge following or an individual with a perfectly curated social media presence. We are simply looking for great stories.” Also to commemorate the anniversary, an updated version of Starke’s first published book, Amy’s Travels, will be released. Creative Minds Publications is an independent publishing and literacy consulting company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The company’s children’s books and educational resources are used in schools, homes and events in more than 26 countries on six continents.
Dr. John Murray ’03 was appointed the su perintendent of Chesterfield County Pub lic Schools in January 2025 after a nationwide search. An alumnus of the Chesterfield Coun ty Public Schools from elementary school through high school, Murray has held in creasingly responsible positions in the sys tem throughout his career, starting in 2004 as an American history teacher at Falling Creek Middle School and progressing through posi tions as assistant principal, principal, deputy superintendent and interim superintendent. Chesterfield County Public Schools is the largest school system in central Virginia and the fifth-largest in Virginia, with more than 64,000 students attending 67 schools. Mur ray’s Longwood degree is in liberal studies.
Scott Morris, M.S. ’04 (education admin istration and supervision), was one of eight high-school athletics directors from around the country honored in December 2024 by the National Federation of State High School As sociations, which advocates for high-school athletics and performing arts. Since 2004, Morris has coached and been director of stu dent activities at Fluvanna County High School in Palmyra, Virginia. Over the past 20 years, he has implemented several new sports
Badge of Honor. The more you know about Carlos Cañas ’17 (left), a deputy with the Alexandria, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office, the more you understand why he was chosen as the American Legion’s 2024 Virginia Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Cañas, shown below with Sheriff Sean Casey, signed on with the sheriff’s office in 2019. He is currently the gang and intelligence investigator, and a member of the Honor Guard and the Civil Disobedience Unit. President of his academy class, he is a state-certified field trainer, general instructor and control tactics instructor. But that’s only one side of his job. The sheriff’s office views Cañas, who played soccer at Longwood and is fluent in Spanish, as a “tremendous asset in recruiting efforts and in community relations, particularly in youth outreach.” One example: He coaches soccer as part of a summer program for teenage Latino boys sponsored by the Capital Youth Empowerment Program. Cañas earned a degree in criminology and criminal justice at Longwood.
Courtesy of the Alexandria, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office
Invaluable Truths. John Leder ’15, a psychology major at Longwood, followed his interest in human health to a master’s degree in kinesiology and then to a career as a nurse. Here are some of the thoughts he shared about his path. “Although I earned my entry-to-practice nursing degree through community college, Long-
wood prepared me with the foundations needed to succeed. Two years of training and competing for Longwood University on their cross-country team taught me the value of discipline and the importance of teamwork to achieve shared goals. [Today] I am a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at the University [of Virginia] Medical Center in Charlottesville and am completing my R.N.-BSN through James Madison University. … Many of the patients I care for have just returned from open-heart surgery; many are stable and much further along in the process of returning to normal function; several hope to lead new lives but suffer a series of devastating biological and surgical consequences. I collaborate with physicians, physical therapists, social workers, patient-care technicians and others to coordinate interdisciplinary communication. As nurses, we wear many hats, have a high level of autonomy and are held responsible for our clinical judgments. I never planned to be a nurse … but this career has taught me invaluable truths and has reinforced that what I do matters.”
RYAN CAREY ’19 and JOHN SOMERS ’18 were married Sept. 21, 2024, at Culpepper Barn in Virginia Beach. Present at the ceremony, in addition to several members of the family who are Longwood alumni, were 43 friends of the couple who are Longwood alums. During the reception, guests shared the dance floor with a Longwood flag. Ryan, a nursing graduate, works in the critical care unit at VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia. John, who majored in criminology and criminal justice, works as an analyst at Citizens Bank. The couple lives in Midlothian with their dog, Barkley.
and activities at the 700-student school, including soccer, girls lacrosse, boys lacrosse, boys and girls swimming, field hockey, Esports, and speech and debate. He was named the Virginia State 3A/4A Athletic Director of the Year in 2017.
LONGWOOD’S 1 HOUR
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Melissa Mayberry Brown ’08 was promoted to vice president of The Bank of Charlotte County in January. Brown, who previously was branch manager of the Brookneal office, continues in those duties there, which include overseeing lending in the South Boston/ Halifax County market and managing various compliance-related areas. “It gives me tremendous satisfaction to see Melissa named as a vice president in our company. Melissa is an incredibly talented community banker who is loyal to our company and our customers,” said Dexter Gilliam, Bank of Charlotte County chairman, president and CEO. A business administration/management major at Longwood, Brown graduated from the Virginia Bankers Association School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia in 2023. She and her husband have two daughters.
2010s
Stephanie Van Petten ’10 has taken on the Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s future success as a personal cause. Her official title at NNSY is management and program analyst in the Business and Strategic Planning’s Business Operations Division, but an important part of her job is focused on recruiting young people to fill positions that will ensure the shipyard’s stability and health far into the future. “NNSY is a perfect place for students around Hampton Roads who are career-ready and looking for employment as opposed to college,” she said. “A lot of students have no idea of the opportunities here. A common misconception is to work at the shipyard you have to be in the military.” She’s doing her best to change those perceptions and get the word out, recruiting at high schools in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Currituck for all-entry level positions at NNSY. Van Petten can thank her
Eye of the Beholder
Photographer who sees the art in nature claims cover of wildlife calendar
When an email showed up in Clinton Mooney’s inbox informing him that his photo had been selected for the cover of the 2025 Virginia Wildlife calendar produced by the Department of Wild life Resources, he couldn’t quite believe it.
He called Molly Kirk, editor of Virginia Wildlife magazine, to confirm that he really won.
“I was like, ‘I’m about to cry right now. This is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.’ I’ve been shooting photography for so long and I never thought something like this would come from it,” said Mooney ’15.
His striking photo of a green frog (Lithobates clamitans) floating in water was selected for the calendar cover from more than 1,000 photos submitted to the 2024 Virginia Wildlife Photography Showcase. Traditionally, the photos used in the calendar are sourced from top wildlife photography professionals, but for the 2025 calendar, Kirk decided to give the cover spot to an image entered in the Photography Showcase, which appears annually in the July/August edition of Virginia Wildlife.
A photographer and realtor in Farmville, Virginia, Mooney is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast. He recalls a childhood wading in the Bush River and hunting white-tailed deer with his family. Nearly 15 years ago, he was in a car accident that left him paralyzed and without the use of his legs. Despite this sudden challenge, Mooney wasn’t deterred from continuing to spend time in nature. In fact, he said that the wheelchair gives him
I think if you’re going to be a wildlife photographer, you need to enjoy nature. And that doesn’t always mean you have to have your camera with you everywhere you go.’
— CLINT MOONEY ’15
“an advantage of being calm and patient” while hunting. What’s more, Mooney said, his journey as a photographer actually started with the wheelchair.
“I was spending a lot of time after hunting season just sitting in a field, and my mom decided to get me a Canon Rebel T3 with a few lenses,” he said. “Then hunting season turned into sitting
out there in the summer and taking pictures.”
Since then, Mooney has acquired a diverse camera collection, including a drone that he flies for photographing landscapes and building interiors.
Perhaps surprisingly, he emphasizes the importance of sometimes leaving the camera at home. “I think if you’re going to be a wildlife photographer, you need to enjoy nature,” he said. “And that doesn’t always mean you have to have your camera with you everywhere you go. Just sitting there in a field and watching nature do its own thing is valuable.”
He relishes the challenge of trying to photograph a wide variety of species, from large mammals to small invertebrates.
“I think the reason I really enjoy [photographing] the smaller species is you can blow them up in a photograph, and you notice details on [them] that are a lot harder to see just using your eye,” he said. One of Mooney’s favorite photo subjects is a tunnel spider inside its circular web glistening with water droplets after a rain, which is the star of his published photo in the Photography Showcase.
When he’s not outside, Mooney is busy building his photography website so he can sell prints of his beautiful photographs. As a passionate scuba diver, he also hopes to merge his passions and take up underwater photography. Between his aerial drone and handheld Canon, Mooney said, “I’ve got the air. I’ve got the ground. Now I just need to get into the sea.” —Andrea Naccarato/Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources; excerpted with permission from Virginia Wildlife magazine
Clint Mooney ’15 captured the most coveted spot on the Virginia Wildlife calendar with his photo of a green frog floating on the surface of the frog pond on the property where he lives. ‘I felt really lucky to get that [photograph] because typically there’s a lot of leaf litter or things that you can see reflecting on the surface. This just happened to be a really calm day. I had cleaned the pond out, so it was really clear. And [the frog] had just perched himself perfectly at 180 degrees facing me and didn’t move. I love the reflection that he allowed me to capture.’
Meghan Marchetti/Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
In Memoriam
1940s
Audrey Hudson Grinstead ’47 Oct. 8, 2024
Jean Babb Blackwell ’48 Sept. 28, 2024
Jacqueline Seymour Carter ’48 Jan. 30, 2025
Louise Brooks Howard ’48 Oct. 5, 2024
Barbara Wiley Lucas ’48 Sept. 3, 2024
Dorothy Poarch Williams ’49 Jan. 18, 2025
1950s
Jeanette Hobbs Alton ’50 Dec. 13, 2024
Mary Jane Hite Banning ’50 Sept. 26, 2024
Jean Hogge Shackelford ’50 Jan. 6, 2025
Charlotte Jones Barnes ’51 Oct. 7, 2024
Lester H. Smallwood Jr. ’51 Nov. 28, 2024
Peggy Harris Ames ’52 Nov. 9, 2024
Patricia Lee Mathews ’52 Dec. 25, 2024
Betty Abbitt Holland ’53 Aug. 1, 2024
Audrey Calhoun Collins ’54 Dec. 27, 2024
Johanna Biddlecomb Shahan ’54 Jan. 7, 2025
Wanda Doll Shoemaker ’54 Nov. 18, 2024
Nancy Birdsall Bain ’55 Oct. 11, 2024
Judith Cable Funk ’55 April 7, 2024
Jean Parker Harrell ’55 Sept. 23, 2024
Ellen Thomas van Valkenburgh ’56 Oct. 16, 2024
Louise Brothers Birdsong ’56 Dec. 20, 2024
Joan Harvey Edwards ’56 Oct. 15, 2024
Margaret Bullard Lowry ’56 May 8, 2024
Minerva Myers Walters ’56 Jan. 10, 2024
Elinor Everett Benton ’57 June 18, 2024
Josephine Hillsman Winters ’57 Nov. 28, 2024
Carolyn Ward Fronfelter ’58 Dec. 30, 2024
Josephine Maxey White ’58 April 28, 2024
Doris Clapp Bean ’59 Jan. 9, 2024
Jeri Smithson Bell ’59 Dec. 3, 2024
Fay Salmon Clark-Kelsch ’59 Jan. 21, 2025
Carolyn Lewis Copeland ’59 Dec. 13, 2024
Sandra Fitzgerald Tarter ’59 June 27, 2024
Sylvia Bivens Hall ’59 Jan. 22, 2025
Linda Miller Harper ’59 Dec. 5, 2024
Anne Keziah Mullis ’59 Sept. 14, 2024
Emily Johnson Walker ’59 Jan. 3, 2025
1960s
Mary Anne Montague Davis ’60 Nov. 10, 2024
Alice Raines Joyner ’60 Dec. 1, 2024
Frances Tune Herrington ’61 Oct. 5, 2024
Nancy Moran Swann ’61 Nov. 19, 2024
Anne Mayo Council ’62 Nov. 21, 2024
Jane Pennington Guthrie ’62 Nov. 4, 2024
Carolyn Hughes Loritsch ’62 Oct. 19, 2024
Elizabeth Dozier Meeks ’62 Oct. 15, 2024
Joan Barnett Link ’63 Nov. 25, 2024
Elizabeth Printz Wells ’63 Nov. 12, 2024
Shirley Dunnavant Spencer ’64 Dec. 3, 2024
Virginia Gilmore Walker ’64 Jan. 16, 2025
Carol Miley Clarke ’65 Dec. 24, 2024
Carolyn Anderson Coleman ’65 Nov. 1, 2024
Jimmy Floyd Kindle ’65 Sept. 18, 2024
Mary Jones Woodard ’65 Nov. 4, 2024
Betsy Stuart North ’66 Nov. 16, 2024
Jackie Schmidt Davis ’66 Nov. 22, 2024
Sandra Tutwiler Mitchell ’66 Dec. 9, 2024
Frances Heath Scott ’66 Dec. 30, 2024
Nancy Hopkins White ’66 Oct. 19, 2024
Linda Georgie Sharff ’67 Nov. 18, 2024
Vannie Gunter Pirkey ’68 Oct. 18, 2024
Ann Bowles Staples ’69 Nov. 15, 2024
JoAnn Cumbia Williams ’69 Feb. 3, 2024
1970s
Judith Phillips Allen ’70 Dec. 27, 2024
Carolyn Weiss Richardson ’70 Jan. 18, 2025
Donna Rilee Ohmberger ’70 Oct. 9, 2024
Susan Braswell Seamster ’73 Jan. 11, 2025
Diane French Ward ’73 Oct. 9, 2024
Linda Roberts Lewis ’74 Dec. 21, 2024
Deborah Blick Smith ’74 Jan. 22, 2025
Marylynn Stahling ’74 Sept. 1, 2024
Diane Gresham Williams ’76 Jan. 29, 2025
Burton Whitley Hancock Jr. ’77 Dec. 16, 2024
Susan Goudey Hahn ’78 July 10, 2024
1980s
Dawn Legg ’80 Dec. 2, 2024
Donna Louise Daily ’82 Nov. 14, 2024
Michael John McGeehan ’82 July 15, 2024
Lawrence A. Cromer ’83 Sept. 17, 2024
Gary Lee Stoots ’83 Dec. 16, 2024
Rodney Harold Cullen ’84 Jan. 25, 2025
Patti Lynn Tyler ’84 Dec. 8, 2024
Dee Booker Campbell ’86 Feb. 1, 2025
Charles E. Freeberg ’88 Sept. 29, 2024
1990s
Ronald Bruce Roussel ’90 Feb. 10, 2024
James Terrance Wright ’92 Oct. 28, 2024
Sheilah Ott Wakefield ’96 Nov. 20, 2024
Jana Marie Wiggins ’96 Oct. 8, 2024
Megan Martin Magin ’98 Oct. 7, 2024
2000s
Adam Michael Buro ’01 Nov. 28, 2024
Barthelia Ann Taylor ’06 Dec. 7, 2024
Chad Michael Roberson ’08 Dec. 19, 2024
2010s
Ashleigh Nichole Bowling ’11 Sept. 28, 2024
2020s
Danielle Nicole Eskow ’22 Nov. 14, 2024
Faculty, Staff and Friends
Shirley Greenquist Barall Oct. 14, 2024
Marvin L. Bigelow Nov. 18, 2024
Joe Marvin Bowman Jan. 14, 2025
John W. Hackney Jan. 4, 2025
Robert Bowers Mayo Jan. 25, 2025
Elisabeth R. Moore Oct. 13, 2024
Bonnie V. Smith Nov. 25, 2024
Virginia Stanton Jan. 13, 2025
Shirley C. Whaley Jan. 19, 2025
Nancy Lucy Williams Nov. 1, 2024
Pam Arkin
Jan. 5, 2025
A longtime and beloved theatre professor, Arkin directed more than 30 Longwood Theatre productions over her tenure. She frequently took students abroad to perform internationally and was awarded by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
Arthur William Byrd Jr.
Oct. 31, 2024
A professor of sociology for two years at Longwood, Byrd was the university’s first full-time Black professor. During his two years at the university, he helped found the Social Work Student Coalition. He spent his career in higher education, working at J. Sargent Reynolds Community College for four decades.
Dr. Robert D. Gibbons
Jan. 24, 2025
A longtime professor of education, Gibbons taught at Longwood from 1969-97, serving as coordinator of student teaching and later as department chair. A dedicated mentor and leader, he shaped generations of educators through his commitment to teaching and service.
Dr. Gilbert John “Jack” Millar
Dec. 5, 2024
A Scottish-born professor of history and scholar of the Tudor militaries in 15th- and 16th-century England, Millar started teaching at Longwood in 1972 and retired in 2001. Notoriously tough, he inspired many future history teachers in his 30-year tenure.
uncle, an employee at NNSY, for introducing her to career possibilities there even though it took her a while to realize it was right for her. After earning her liberal studies/elementary education degree at Longwood and working for a decade in the Virginia Beach schools to promote college and career readiness in the middle- and high-school curriculum, she was looking for a change and thought of the shipyard. She signed on as an administrative assistant and then was promoted into her current position, where she is still using her experience as an educator to help high-school students find rewarding careers.
Heather Cox Gwaltney ’12 was chosen as the 2026 Teacher of the Year for Clarksville (Virginia) Elementary School. An art teacher in the Mecklenburg County Public Schools for the past eight years, her colleagues described her as having a genuine passion for art and the ability to work successfully with a diverse range of students. She earned a BFA in art at Longwood.
Dr. Nick Snead ’12 was a guest conductor at the Newport News Public Schools All City Music Festival on Jan. 17, where more than 600 students from area elementary, middle and high schools had the experience of performing in a major venue, CNU’s Ferguson Center for the Arts. Snead conducted the high-school band ensemble concert at the event. He currently is an assistant principal at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Virginia, and previously was an administrator and the director of bands at Powhatan (Virginia) High School.
Lily Franklin ’15 is hoping the second time is a charm, announcing her candidacy in November 2024 to represent Virginia’s 41st District in the House of Delegates. Franklin, a political science major at Longwood, ran for the same seat in 2023, losing in a tight race where she pulled in 49.6 percent of the vote compared with her opponent’s 50.3 percent. “I’m running because Southwest Virginians deserve the resources to thrive in all stages of life—from a world-class education for our children to well-paying jobs for working families to dignity and security for our seniors,” Franklin was quoted in the New River Valley News as saying at the announcement.
Christine Bottles Suders, M.S. ’16 (reading, literacy and learning), chair of the English Department at Hermitage High School in Henrico, Virginia, was named the 2025 Henrico County Teacher of the Year in December 2024. “I’m just so thrilled to be the face of a much bigger community,” Suders said at a surprise announcement in her classroom. “I don’t see this as a reflection of me so much as Hermitage. It’s a win for all the hard work this community does.” Suders, who joined the school’s faculty in 2019, serves on the instructional leadership team and is co-sponsor of the Hermitage chapter of the National Honor Society. She started an annual community lit-
eracy night festival at the school, and, in 2023, was recognized by her peers with the school’s Golden Apple Award for her leadership and support of other staff members.
Do you know a Longwood alum who deserves to be recognized for their good works? Nominate them for an Alumni Award at go.longwood.edu/ alumniawards
David Glasscock ’10, M.S. ’11 (special education), was named the principal of Frederick County Middle School in Winchester, Virginia, in December 2024. He previously had been an assistant principal at Millbrook High School, also in Winchester, since 2019. Glasscock’s undergraduate degree from Longwood is in liberal studies/special education.
2020s
David Benjamin Holt ’20 graduated from the Elon University School of Law in December 2024. His Longwood degree is in political
Dana D. Joss ’20, MBA ’21, joined the Williams Mullen real estate practice as an associate in its Norfolk, Virginia, office. Joss focuses her practice on commercial and multifamily real estate transactions, including acquisitions, lending, development, leasing and dispositions. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the College of William & Mary School of Law. Her undergraduate degree from Longwood is in history.
Danielle Eskow ’22, a nursing graduate who began her career as an R.N. in the Acute Pulmonary Unit at INOVA Fairfax (Virginia) Medical Campus, died Nov. 14, 2024. Her many passions included turtles, candy, University of South Carolina Gamecock football, Taylor Swift, gymnastics and country music.
Shannon Sharpe, MBA ’22 (real estate), is a multistate licensed broker specializing in residential and commercial sales, property management and real estate investing. She posts regularly on HousingWire.com about a variety of real estate topics.
Cierra White ’23, the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) spring 2025 intern, is working to help the organization achieve its goal of educating, organizing and advocating to ensure decent, affordable housing for everyone. White, who earned degrees in political science and sociology at Longwood, also is a first-year student in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C., where she is pursuing a master’s degree in justice, law and criminology. The summer after graduating from Longwood, White joined some of the best and brightest students in Virginia for a unique, behind-the-scenes opportunity to learn about state government through the Governor’s Fellows Program.
Tameika Serrano, MBA ’23, program manager at the Old Dominion University Women’s Business Center, was honored by Inside Business in December 2024 as one of 15 influential women business leaders in the Hampton Roads region. At the center, she leads initiatives that empower women entrepreneurs to launch and grow successful businesses, with responsibilities that include overseeing program development, team leadership and community partnerships; strategic planning; one-on-one coaching; ensuring compliance with SBA and funding guidelines; and marketing. She is the former community troop and grants manager of Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast.
Aubrie Ellis, education administration endorsement ’21, was named the 2025 national outstanding assistant principal by the Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals. Ellis is the assistant principal of Mountain View Elementary in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, which is headquartered in Soldotna, Alaska. Prior to beginning her service there in 2023, Ellis taught as part of the Department of Defense in Germany. She also taught in England and Virginia.
Taylor Jennings Martin ’21 and her husband, Kurt Martin ’20, welcomed a daughter, Layney Gray Martin, on Dec. 12, 2024. Taylor earned a degree in criminology and criminal justice at Longwood; Kurt, a degree in communication studies. “We are excited for her to be a Lancer one day as well!” the new parents report.
Sarah Hammons ’24 is membership coordinator for the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), where she serves as a liaison between TCA staff and the associate members. “I help out wherever I am needed. I’ve helped with marketing, and I took over the booth sales for our annual safety convention,” she told Dana Guthrie with TheTrucker.com. Hammons, who earned a degree in kinesiology at Longwood, had several years of experience in the health-care field when she graduated and was looking for a change. The time she had spent working in alumni relations turned out to be a great fit for the TCA job—and she said the MBA she’s working on now also will be an asset in her new career path. .
Layney Gray Martin
Sabrina Brown
Grammar guardian, violinist and bleeding heart animal lover
Sabrina Brown, assistant vice president for marketing communications, wears many hats. She’s been the editor of Longwood magazine for 14 years—that’s 37 issues counting this one. She’s the unofficial guardian of grammar for the marketing and communications staff that she helps lead. She’s our resident violin virtuoso. Now, after a remarkable and meaningful career, she is stepping down as editor and easing into retirement.
I WAS BORN IN Marshall, Texas, but I grew up the daughter of what I jokingly call an “itinerant journalist and college professor,” so we lived in Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Louisiana and Tennessee. I’ve also lived in California, Pennsylvania and Mississippi.
MY FIRST JOB was working at a Robert Hall clothing store, where it seemed to me that the clock was going backward. In college, I taught violin lessons.
IS IT A FIDDLE OR A VIOLIN? I call it a violin, but my teacher, a very accomplished classical violinist and music professor at Memphis State, always called it a fiddle.
MY FAVORITE SONG TO PLAY ON THE VIOLIN IS “Maiden’s Prayer.” It’s a beautiful piece of music originally written for piano that Bob Wills turned into a fiddle solo.
I’M VERY GOOD AT making a story better while still preserving the voice of the original writer.
I’M HORRIBLE AT cleaning my house.
THE GRAMMATICAL MISTAKE THAT REALLY MAKES ME CRINGE is when people use the past participle of a verb instead of the past tense. I have literally heard a radio DJ say, “I seen a cardinal yesterday.” I am proud that I resisted the urge to call the radio station and point this out.
MY FAVORITE SPOT ON CAMPUS IS the large space in Wygal Hall where the Chamber Orchestra rehearses. I really enjoy being a part of that group and getting to know the students.
WHAT IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL THING YOU HAVE FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? When my grandfather retired in the 1970s, he traveled extensively and brought me back
THE HARDEST THING ABOUT PUTTING TOGETHER A MAGAZINE IS getting people to meet their deadlines without making them extremely annoyed with me. It’s a delicate balance, and I can’t say I’ve always been successful.
They keep the lights on, the syllabi current and so much more— seen and unseen— around campus. The faculty or staff member featured here in each issue calls Longwood home—and not just during working hours.
THE THING I ENJOY MOST ABOUT PUTTING TOGETHER A MAGAZINE is the collaboration between the editor, the writer, the designer and the photographer. It’s fun figuring out how to make a story not only a good read but also visually interesting.
IF I DIDN’T WORK IN COMMUNICATIONS, I WOULD HAVE BEEN an animal behaviorist. I am fascinated by animal intelligence and behavior. My friends call me a “bleeding heart animal lover.” I’m OK with that.
IN RETIREMENT, I’M HOPING TO volunteer at a place like Head Start where I can read to very young children. It makes me sad to think of all the children who don’t get the advantages that come from being read to when they were little.
ON MY TOMBSTONE, I want it to say: “She finally missed a drop-dead deadline.”
jewelry from all over the world. My favorite is a silver bracelet with a charm from every country in South America.
Illustration by Fian Arroyo
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Boxed Set. With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Greenwood Library and the Department of Music are bringing back to life a vast collection of historic sheet music. Seen here on the green shelves in the background are just a few of the 77 boxes full of music that make up the collection. Page 16.