Location & Contact Information

Address:
1500 North Lombardy Street
Richmond, Virginia 23220
Main Phone: (804) 257-5600 or 800-368-3227
Main Contact: James Edwards
Website:http://www.vuu.edu/

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Virginia Union University

     Virginia Union University was founded in 1865 to give newly emancipated slaves an opportunity for education and advancement. The University is the result of the merger of four institutions: Richmond Theological Seminary, Wayland Seminary, Hartshorn Memorial College, and Storer College.
     Richmond Theological Seminary held classes in Richmond, Virginia at Lumpkin’s Jail, a former holding cell for runaway slaves. During the same time, Wayland Seminary was founded by the American Baptist Home Mission Society in Washington, D.C. Two years later in 1867, Storer College was founded in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, and in 1883, Hartshorn Memorial College opened its doors in Richmond as the first college for African American women.
     After three decades of operating independently, Richmond Theological Seminary and Wayland Seminary merged on February 11, 1899 to form Virginia Union University. Later, in 1932 and 1964, respectively, Hartshorn Memorial College and Storer College became part of this UNION.

Quick Facts

Undergrad Population: 1303
Graduate Population: 25
Student Body: Coed
In State Tuition: $14630
Out of State Tuition: $14630
Room & Board: $7174
Applications Due: June 1st ($25)
 Conference: Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Mascot: Panther
Accreditations: SACS,
Online Classes: no
Percent Men: 44%
Percent Women: 56%

Online Admissions Application:

http://www.vuu.edu/admissions/applying_to_vuu.aspx
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Majors Offered

Evelyn Reid Syphax School of Education
-Elementary Education (K-6)
-Special Education (K-12)
-Biology
-Business
-Chemistry
-English
-History
-Mathematics

Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology
-Master of Divinity
-Master of Arts in Christian Education
-Master of Divinity/Master of Social Work
-Master of Divinity/Master of Science in Patient Counseling
-Doctor of Ministry

School of Arts and Sciences
-Biology
-Chemistry
-Criminal Justice
-Computer Information Systems and Cyber Security.
-English
-Social Work and Sociology
-Fine Arts
-French
-Mass Communications
-Math
-Political Science
-Psychology

Graduate, Global Campus & Professional Education
​

Sydney Lewis School of Business
-Accounting
-Business and Information Technology/ Secondary Education
-Entrepreneur Management
-Finance and Banking
-Marketing

School of Latin American & Carribean Studies

Sports & Extra Curricular Activities
Choral Groups, Fraternities, Jazz Band, Marching Band, Radio Station, Sororities
College History
     The American Baptist Home Mission Society founded the school in 1865 shortly after Union troops took control of Richmond, Virginia, at the end of the American Civil War. Approximately 4 million former African American slaves, or freedmen, were to become citizens, although many had been deprived of formal education and prevented from becoming literate by Southern state laws. Southern states were in upheaval after the war. Both planters and freedmen were trying to figure out what a free labor market would entail.
     Members of the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) proposed a "National Theological Institute" to educate freedmen wishing to enter the Baptist ministry.Soon, the proposed mission was expanded to offer courses and programs at college, high school and even preparatory levels, to both men and women. This effort was the beginning of Virginia Union University.
     Separate branches of the National Theological Institute were set up in Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, with classes beginning in 1867. In Washington, the school became known as Wayland Seminary, named in commemoration of Dr. Francis Wayland, former president of Brown University and a leader in the anti-slavery struggle. The first and only president was Dr. George Mellen Prentiss King, who administered Wayland for thirty years (1867–97). Famous students there included Dr. Booker T. Washington and Dr. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr.
     In Richmond, the efforts were more difficult. Beginning in 1867, Colver Institute, a VUU predecessor school, was housed in a building long known as Lumpkin's Jail, a former "slave jail" owned by Mrs. Mary Ann Lumpkin, the African-American widow of the deceased white owner. In 1899, the Richmond Theological Institute (formerly Colver Institute) joined with Wayland Seminary of Washington, D.C. to form Virginia Union University at Richmond.
     In 1932, the women's college Hartshorn Memorial College, established in Richmond, Virginia in 1883, became a part of Virginia Union University. Storer College, an historically black Baptist college in West Virginia (founded in 1867), merged its endowment with Virginia Union in 1964.
More Campus Photos
Unique Programs
News and Upcoming Events at Virginia Union University

Virginia Union University Welcomes Lori White as Director of Purchasing for Business Affairs
Virginia Union University is announcing new leaders in its academic and administrative teams. “Accomplished people build top-tier universities,” s ...
Virginia Union University Welcomes Altovise Hester-Canady as Alumni Affairs Manager
Virginia Union University is announcing new leaders in its academic and administrative teams. “Accomplished people build top-tier universities,” s ...
Virginia Union University Welcomes Dr. Barringer-Brown as Dean of The Evelyn Reid Syphax School of Education
Virginia Union University is announcing new leaders in its academic and administrative teams. “Accomplished people build top-tier universities,” sa ...
Virginia Union University Welcomes Chanel Derricott as Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Housing
Virginia Union University is announcing new leaders in its academic and administrative teams. “Accomplished people build top-tier universities,” ...
Virginia Union University Appoints Tunesha Witcher as Director of VUU Global and Online Learning
Virginia Union University is announcing new leaders in its academic and administrative teams. “Accomplished people build top-tier universities,” ...
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