Shenandoah University marked its 149th birthday with a Founders’ Day celebration on Monday, Feb. 12, that featured a glance into SU’s history, beginning with its founding in 1875, courtesy of Adjunct Associate Professor of History Jonathan Noyalas ’01, M.A.
The celebration, attended by over 80 members of the Shenandoah community in Smith Library, showcased Shenandoah pride with a marching band performance and remarks from university leadership as SU prepares for its sesquicentennial celebration.
“I’m so proud to be part of this amazing institution,” said Shenandoah President Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., “and I look forward today to celebrating with you as we begin, of course, not just celebrating our Founders’ Day, but soon enough we’ll be celebrating Shenandoah’s sesquicentennial – our 150th anniversary, which will be 18 months of cookies and parties and dances and celebrations and amazing fundraising campaigns as we launch Shenandoah into the next 150 years.”
Among those in attendance were Wilbur Dove ’59 and his wife Clare, whose name graces the “Dove’s Nest” and “Dove’s Nest II” residence halls on Shenandoah’s main campus in Winchester, Virginia. Wilbur Dove graduated from Shenandoah the year before Shenandoah College and Shenandoah Conservatory of Music – two institutions that would later merge and eventually become Shenandoah University – moved from Dayton, Virginia, to Winchester in 1960.
Noyalas, a Shenandoah graduate and director of the university’s McCormick Civil War Institute, took those in attendance on a trip through the university’s history, beginning with SU’s founding as Shenandoah High School in a two-room log building in Dayton. Noyalas highlighted the contributions of Shenandoah leaders throughout its first 149 years – whose names adorn buildings throughout main campus – and pointed to key moments in time that tested the institution’s resiliency.
As Shenandoah looks to its sesquicentennial next year and beyond – history, what I firmly believe is our greatest teacher, reminds us that so long as Shenandoah maintains its historic abilities to adapt and evolve, recognize the value of change, and maintain our determination to overcome challenges, Shenandoah will always continue to be ‘the big little university rising.’”
Jonathan Noyalas ’01, M.A., director of the McCormick Civil War Institute and adjunct associate professor of history at Shenandoah University
James Imoh, chair of Shenandoah University’s Board of Trustees, kicked off the Founders’ Day celebration with opening remarks during which he recited the university’s mission statement and lauded students’ impact on the community and across the globe.
“I want us to honor our past and celebrate our present, but also envision an even brighter future and all of the impacts we’re going to make here on the community, the nation and the world,” Imoh said.
Additional Founders’ Day celebrations took place at Shenandoah’s locations in Loudoun and ICPH, Fairfax, as well as the Health Professions Building in Winchester.
