Founded in 1839 as the Farmville Female Seminary Association, the institution had a series of names over its early history, becoming Longwood College in 1949 and turning fully co-educational in 1976. In 2002, Gov. Mark Warner signed legislation designating Longwood a university. In 2007, Longwood began competing in NCAA Division I athletics. Among Division I schools, Longwood is among the 50 oldest institutions in the country. The university is a member of the Big South Conference.
Longwood students are known for their commitment to campus leadership in extracurricular life. There are more than 125 campus organizations, including active programs in sports and the arts, and a vibrant, service-oriented Greek system (four national sororities were founded at Longwood). Most students live on or close to the university’s bucolic central campus, which – combined with the relatively small scale of about 1,100 students in each entering class – contributes to the look and feel of a private college with the cost and scope of a public institution. Underscoring its commitment to affordability, in 2014 Longwood announced a 2.1 percent tuition increase, its lowest in 14 years and the lowest of any 4-year public university in Virginia since 2001.
