VIRGINIA INTERMONT COLLEGE

'Virginia Intermont College' is a small private Baptist liberal arts college in Bristol, Virginia. It was founded in 1884 by a Baptist minister who wanted to establish educational opportunties for women. The school has been coeducational since 1972.

Contents

History

Campus

Organization

Sports, clubs, and traditions

Athletics

Student clubs

School traditions

Noted alumni

References

External links

History

Reverend J.R. Harrison, a Baptist minister, envisioned bringing higher education opportunities to women in southwest Virginia and saw it come to fruition when the 'Southwest Virginia Institute' in Glade Spring, Virginia opened on September 17, 1884. Instructing both boarding and day students, the school steadily grew until it outgrew its facilities in less than ten years.
The college began moving to a new site in Bristol, Virginia in 1891, completing its relocation with the beginning of classes on September 14, 1893. Shortly after the move, the name was changed to 'Virginia Institute'. A reorganization of the curriculum in 1910 brought the college in line with the junior college movement and the college became the first two-year institution to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school's name changed to its present name, 'Virginia Intermont College', in 1922. "Intermont", meaning "among the mountains", is evocative of the college's location in the mountains.
The 1960s saw construction of five buildings on campus to accommodate the school's growth. In May of 1968, the college's Board of Trustees approved a plan for the development of a four-year institution.^[2] 1972 ushered in two major changes at Intermont, the awarding of the school's first baccalaureate degrees and the admission of men.
On April 3, 2007, it was announced by the college's administration that the financial situation at the college has declined to critical levels and the college lacked the funds to offer faculty members contracts for the 2007-08 academic year, prompting pleas for donations and talk of merger with another college.^[3] On June 18, 2007, the college president announced that enough funding had been secured to extend faculty contracts for the 2007-08 school year. This was done when Bristol business leader Bill Gatton donated a large sum of money and challenged other community business leaders to do the same.^[4]
As of June 21, 2007, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges has placed the college's accreditation status on probation for six month. The commission will review the college again in December 2007.^[5]

Campus

The original campus buildings built between 1891 and 1893, now known as Administration, West and Main Halls, were added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 1984.^[6]

Organization

The school is governed by a president, provost and a Board of Trustees. Some of the trustees are nominated by the Baptist General Assembly of Virginia.
The school's programs fall under four divisions: Arts and Sciences, Fine Arts, Professional Studies, and Public Service and Leadership. Four-year programs of study leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree, Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Bachelor of Science degree, Bachelor of Social Work degree, and two-year programs leading to the Associate in Arts degree are offered.

Sports, clubs, and traditions

Athletics

The Virginia Intermont Cobras compete in Division II of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Teams compete in baseball, basketball, men's golf, softball, and volleyball.
Virginia Intermont fields equestrian teams in competitions affiliated with the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, the Intercollegiate Dressage Association, and the International Intercollegiate Equestrian Association.

Student clubs

★ Admissions Ambassadors

★ Alpha Chi National Honor Society

★ Alpha Sigma Lambda

★ Aikido Club

★ Black Student Alliance

★ Business Organization for Student Success

★ Christian Student Union

★ Cyber Cobras Club

★ Dance Club

★ Equestrian Club

★ Fellowship of Christian Athletes

★ International Club

★ Lambda Alpha Epsilon – American Criminal Justice Association

★ Psychology Club

★ Social Work Club

★ Southern Historical Society

★ Student Activities Committee

★ Student Government Association

★ Student Publications

★ Student Virginia Education Association

★ Venturing Club

★ VIC Culinary Club

★ Virginia Intermont Choir

★ Virginia Intermont Law Club

School traditions

The college's long-held tradition of May Day is now celebrated as May Court, a time to recognize seniors who have been selected by their classmates for an honor court which occurs each year during graduation festivities.
Another spring tradition is the Torchlight ceremony, which takes place after baccalaureate. Graduates march around the campus and one by one has a torch lit by the president. The group then forms the college below Harrison-Jones Memorial Hall and sings the college song, "Nil Sine Numine."
The college's official song, "Nil Sine Numine", was written by students in 1952 as part of a tradition for students of writing and competing with a song demonstrating pride in the institution. The music for the song was taken from a song called "The Gaudeamus" which was sung in the musical ''The Student Prince''. The school songwriting tradition ended when the school became coeducational in 1972.

Noted alumni

★ David A. Douglas (1981), artist

★ Robert Ssejjemba (2004), professional soccer player

References

1. Virginia Intermont College - College Overview
2. Va. Intermont Adds 2 Years
3. Virginia Intermont almost out of money, can't offer faculty contracts
4. Puglisi: All full-time faculty contracts extended Amy Hunter
5. Commission on Colleges (2007-06-28). Disclosure Statement Regarding the Status of VIRGINIA INTERMONT COLLEGE. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Inc.
6. NRHP building number #84000032.

External links

★ Virginia Intermont College official website

★ National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form for Virginia Intermont College