Longwood University Selected To Host Vice-Presidential Debate on October 4, 2016

Longwood University Selected To Host Vice-Presidential Debate on October 4, 2016

Farmville, Va.—The eyes of the nation will turn to Longwood on October 4, 2016 when the historic Virginia university hosts the lone vice-presidential debate of the general election.

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Longwood’s selection on Wednesday, along with three other sites that will host presidential debates. The vice-presidential debate will take place in Willett Hall on Longwood’s central campus.

“I believe that no campus in America could be more fitting for this remarkable and great responsibility in our democratic process,” said President W. Taylor Reveley IV in a message to the Longwood community. “The energy of this event will run through and invigorate everything we do in preparing the next generation of citizen-leaders for the historic years ahead, which the 2016 election will do so much to shape. This is a proud juncture for our great university.”

Additional information about Longwood and the debate is available at debate.longwood.edu.

Recent colleges and universities to host vice-presidential debates include Centre College, Washington University in St. Louis, Case Western Reserve University and Georgia Tech.

The 2012 vice-presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky. attracted 51.4 million viewers nationally and countless more around the world. Typically, several thousand journalists travel to the debate site to cover the presidential and vice-presidential debates.

“For Longwood students, the chance to experience a debate on campus will be a part of their college experience they will never forget,” said Joan Neff, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “The debate itself will be the culmination of a series of events and activities—on-campus and beyond, and tied closely to our mission of cultivating citizen-leadership—that will engage our students, faculty, staff and alumni over the course of the coming year.”

In preparation to host this debate, Longwood received strong support from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the entire Virginia Congressional delegation, and the town leadership of Farmville, one of America’s oldest two-college communities (Hampden-Sydney College is nearby).

“Longwood’s selection for the 2016 vice-presidential debate is a genuine game-changer for Farmville and the heart of Virginia,” said Farmville Mayor David Whitus, a 1983 Longwood graduate. “It’s a yearlong opportunity to showcase our community and turn a spotlight on our unique, powerful history and vibrant downtown that serves as a true regional hub. We have much to offer and welcome the chance to shine.”

The non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates has sponsored and produced every presidential and vice-presidential debate since 1988. Information about the 2016 debates and site selection process can be found at www.debates.org.

Founded in 1839, Longwood is among the nation’s hundred-oldest institutions of higher learning, and the third-oldest public institution in Virginia, behind William & Mary and the University of Virginia. With an enrollment of approximately 5,100 students, its distinctive mission is to prepare students for a life of citizen-leadership.

Longwood’s campus stands at a remarkable historical crossroads, playing at one end a key role in the conclusion of the Civil War and at the other in the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant first proposed surrender terms to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee steps away from the north end of campus, while a historic student strike in 1951 over conditions at the all-black R.R. Moton High School at the south end of campus culminated in a lawsuit that became part of the historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision.

“There is a common theme to our history: we are a place where leadership has been forged in reconciliation,” Reveley said. “I believe that such a message resonates especially powerfully with the country today. And of course it is also fitting that the third-oldest public university in Virginia should host a debate in 2016—the ‘Mother of Presidents’ is certain to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the coming election.”