| Motto | Building Extraordinary Futures |
|---|---|
| Type | Privateliberal arts college |
| Established | 1830; 195 years ago (1830) |
Religious affiliation | United Methodist Church |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $215.9 million (2024)[2] |
| President | Michael E. Hill |
Academic staff | 112 (93FT)[3] |
| Undergraduates | 1,543 (2020)[4] |
| Location | , U.S. 37°45′47″N77°28′37″W / 37.763°N 77.477°W /37.763; -77.477 |
| Campus | Suburban, 116 acres (47 ha)[5] |
| Newspaper | The Yellow Jacket |
| Colors | Black and Yellow |
| Nickname | Yellow Jackets |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference Continental Volleyball Conference |
| Website | rmc.edu |
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Randolph–Macon College (RMC or, colloquially,Macon) is aprivateliberal arts college inAshland, Virginia. Founded in 1830, the college has an enrollment of more than 1,800 students. It is the second-oldest Methodist-run college in the country, and the oldest in continuous operation. The college primarily offersbachelor's degrees.
Randolph-Macon was founded in 1830 byMethodists Hekeziah G. Leigh andJohn Early[6] andStaten Islander Gabriel Poillon Disosway. It was originally located inBoydton, near theNorth Carolina border, but as the railroad link to Boydton was destroyed during theCivil War, the college's trustees decided to relocate the school to Ashland in 1868. The college takes its name from Virginia statesmanJohn Randolph and North Carolina statesmanNathaniel Macon.
The original site of Randolph–Macon features a historical marker and ruins of the classroom buildings. The original campus became the home of theBoydton Academic and Bible Institute, a Christian school forAfrican Americans which operated from 1878 to 1935.
In 1847, Randolph–Macon College established a relationship withHampden-Sydney College. The relationship led to the formation of the Randolph–Macon Medical School, which closed in 1851.[7] Its presidentWilliam A. Smith delivered a set of lectures advocating slavery in 1856 and 1857.[8]
The college has a historical relationship withRandolph College (formerly known as Randolph–Macon Woman's College) inLynchburg, Virginia. The former women's college was founded under Randolph-Macon's original charter in 1893 by the then-president William Waugh Smith; it was intended as a female counterpart to the then all-male Randolph-Macon. The two schools later separated to become distinct institutions governed by two separate boards. Randolph-Macon College becameco-educational in 1971 with the enrollment of 50 women and the first full-time female faculty member. (Randolph College became co-educational in 2007.)
In 1892, twopreparatory schools — both called Randolph–Macon Academy — were founded. The only one that remains today isRandolph–Macon Academy inFront Royal,Virginia. Randolph–Macon Academy is today the only co-educational military boarding school in the country affiliated with theUnited States Air ForceAir Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC). Currently, there are no formal relationships or agreements between Randolph-Macon Academy and Randolph–Macon College aside from the shared names, mascots, and school colors.
Randolph-Macon College became the first college south of theMason–Dixon line to require physical education coursework for graduation. The old gym, built in 1887, was the first structure in the South to be constructed solely for instruction in physical education.[9] Randolph-Macon is considered to be the first college in theSouth to offer English as a full discipline and to develop biology as a distinct study.[10] Its computer science department is one of the oldest in the country associated with a liberal arts school; in the 1960s, when the program was established, many academics believed computer science to be more appropriate for a commercial trade or secretarial school than a traditional four-year institution.
Since 1923, the college has been home to the Zeta of Virginia chapter ofPhi Beta Kappa society, the nation's oldest academic honor society.Chi Beta Phi, the national science honorary society, was founded at Randolph-Macon in 1916.[11]
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Randolph-Macon offers three undergraduate degrees: thebachelor of arts, thebachelor of science, and the bachelor of nursing. All students must satisfy the general collegiate curriculum, which requires them to take courses pillars that span the curriculum, as well as courses that enhance communication and encourage wellness. All students complete a capstone, which may be an internship, research project, or field study. Randolph-Macon's most popular majors, based on 2023 graduates, were:[12]
The institution began providing a master of science program in physician's assistant studies in 2023.[13]
Randolph–Macon College Buildings | |
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| Location | Randolph–Macon College campus,Ashland, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°45′39″N77°28′47″W / 37.7609°N 77.4797°W /37.7609; -77.4797 |
| Area | 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) |
| Built | 1872 |
| Architect | B.F. Price; William West |
| Architectural style | Gothic, Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 79003044[14] |
| VLR No. | 166-0002 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 19, 1979 |
| Designated VLR | April 17, 1979[15] |
Randolph-Macon College has over 65 academic, administrative, athletic, and residential buildings on its campus of 116 acres (0.47 km2) located in the heart of Ashland, Virginia. The oldest building is Washington-Franklin Hall, built in 1872, soon after the college moved to Ashland from Boydton. It was the first brick building in Ashland, and its construction was funded by the students. Renovated in 1987, Washington-Franklin Hall now houses the history department. Pace-Armistead Hall was built in 1876 (renovated 1997) and originally housed the chemistry department. Today, it is home to the studio art department. The original Duncan Methodist Church was built in 1879 and was renovated to include classrooms and offices for the music and arts departments. All three buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and collectively they make up "Historic Campus."
Copley Science Center is the largest academic building on campus, and is connected to Macon Brock, Jr. Hall. Together, they house programs in biology, chemistry, physics/astrophysics, engineering, environmental studies, computer science, cybersecurity, psychology, behavioral neuroscience, data science and mathematics. Just north of Copley isKeeble Observatory, which includes a 12" Cassegrain reflector optical telescope, and tworadio telescopes. Randolph-Macon has been repeatedly featured on Princeton Review's "Best Science Lab Facilities" list.[16]
Randolph-Macon has one main library: McGraw-Page Library. Formerly, the library was located in Peele Hall, which is now the main administrative building on-campus.
There are 12 residence halls on campus. The seven halls on the north end of campus are collectively known as the Village. Many of the college's freshmen live in one of those halls. The four located near the center of campus house upperclassmen and the remaining freshmen. These include the two oldest residence halls – Thomas Branch Hall and Mary Branch Hall. The college also owns most of the fraternity and sorority houses, other houses devoted to special interest groups, and on-campus townhouses and apartments (usually reserved for seniors). Andrews Hall, named after former dean of students Rev. Ira Andrews, opened in fall 2011. The newest residence hall, Birdsong Hall, named for Constance and Thomas Birdsong '49, opened in fall 2014. Birdsong Hall provides housing for upperclassmen, including common areas, study rooms, and laundry facilities. In 2025, the college opened the Spotswood Village apartments, on the west side of the train tracks.[17]
The college completed a capital campaign in 2018, which exceeded its $100 million goal. A large portion of those funds went toward enhancing facilities, including two new residence halls, new football and baseball fields and stadiums, additions and renovations to the McGraw-Page Library and Copley Science Center, and the student center, Brock Commons, which was rebuilt in 2013. Subsequent fundraising efforts went to completing three additional buildings: Payne Hall, opened in 2020 and home to RMC's nursing program, Duke Hall in 2023, home to a master's degree program in Physician Assistants Studies as well as enhanced athletic facilities, and the enlarged and renovated Center for the Performing Arts.[18]
The main north–south railroad line for the east coast runs through the campus. Most of the campus is located to the east of the railroad, but a handful of college offices, special interest houses, and athletic fields are located to the west of the tracks. The Ashland train station (not part of the RMC campus) is directly across from the southern entrance to the campus.
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Randolph–Macon athletic teams are the Yellow Jackets (or more simply, as "The Jackets"). The college is a member of theDivision III level of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in theOld Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) since the 1976–77 academic year.
Randolph–Macon competes in 20 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis and volleyball (which was added in 2019); while women's sports include basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis and volleyball; and co-ed sports include dance/cheer and equestrian.
The Hampden–Sydney vs. Randolph–Macon rivalry is asports rivalry between theHampden–Sydney CollegeTigers and the Randolph–Macon CollegeYellow Jackets. Thecollege football rivalry between the NCAA Division III schools, often known simply as "The Game", dates to 1893 and has been called the oldest small-school rivalry in theSouthern United States. The rivalry now crosses all sports, with themen's basketball series in particular gaining national attention.[19][circular reference]
Randolph-Macon won its first national championship in 2022 in basketball, defeatingElmhurst University with a score of 75-45.[20]
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