Randolph College

The college was founded by William Waugh Smith, then-president of Randolph-Macon College, under Randolph-Macon's charter after he failed to convince R-MC to become co-educational. Randolph-Macon Woman's College has historic ties to the United Methodist Church. After many attempts to find a location for Randolph-Macon Woman's College, the city of Lynchburg donated 50 acres[2] for the purpose of establishing a women's college. In 1916, it became the first women's college in the South to earn a Phi Beta Kappa charter.[3] Beginning in 1953, the two colleges were governed by separate boards of trustees.

Main Hall, built in 1891, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[4]

In August 2006, only a few weeks into the academic year, Randolph-Macon Woman's College announced that it would adopt coeducation and change its name. Former Interim president Ginger H. Worden argued in a September 17, 2006 editorial for The Washington Post that,

today, the college is embarking on a new future, one that will include men. Yet that original mission, that dedication to women's values and education, remains. The fact of the marketplace is that only 3 percent of college-age women say they will consider a women's college. The majority of our own students say they weren't looking for a single-sex college specifically. Most come despite the fact that we are a single-sex college. Our enrollment problems are not going away, and we compete with both coed and single-sex schools. Of the top 10 colleges to which our applicants also apply, seven are coed. Virtually all who transfer from R-MWC do so to a coed school. These market factors affect our financial realities.[5]

The decision to go co-ed was not welcomed by everyone. Alumnae and students organized protests which were covered by local and national media.[6] Many students accused the school of having recruited them under false pretenses, as the administration did not warn new or current students that they were considering admitting men.[7] Lawsuits were filed against the school by both students and alumnae.

It was renamed Randolph College on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational. The ensuing period of integration was, perhaps unsurprisingly, difficult. The first full-time male students saw their mailboxes and doors vandalized, and were quickly polarized. The last class to have the option to receive diplomas from Randolph-Macon Woman's College graduated on May 16, 2010. A period of over ten years has greatly eased the tension, and the percentage of male students has increased. While there is virtually no animosity towards current male students from their female counterparts, some have noted a less-than-favorable treatment from recent alumnae.

Randolph College is named after John Randolph of Roanoke, Virginia. Randolph (1773-1833) was an eccentric planter and politician who, in his will, released hundreds of slaves after his death and once fought a duel with Henry Clay.[8]

Randolph College's Maier Museum of Art[12] features works by outstanding American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. The College has been collecting American art since 1920 and the Maier now houses a collection of several thousand paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs in the College's permanent collection.

The Maier hosts an active schedule of special exhibitions and education programs throughout the year. Through its programs, internships, museum studies practicums, and class visits, the Maier Museum of Art provides valuable learning opportunities for Randolph students and the community at large.

In 2007, there was some controversy when Randolph College announced that it would sell four paintings from its collection.[13]

• Official website
• Official athletics website