Finnegan inaugurated as Longwood president

October 2011

Patrick Finnegan was inaugurated Oct. 21 as Longwood’s 25th president.

Finnegan, a retired Army brigadier general, became president July 1, 2010, after serving as chief academic officer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, his alma mater. The inauguration ceremony in Jarman culminated a two-day event that also included service projects on- and off-campus, a concert in Finnegan’s honor, a lecture series, a campuswide picnic and a black tie dinner to raise funds for the future student center.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a West Point classmate and longtime friend of Finnegan’s, was the keynote speaker for the inauguration, which was attended by alumni representatives from the classes of 1943 through 2011 and delegates from about 40 academic institutions. For the inauguration’s theme, Finnegan chose “Scholarship. Service. Standards.”

Student team wins computer programming contest

October 2011

A Longwood student team won a computer programming contest that featured 16 teams from eight Virginia colleges.

Teammates Jeff Anway and Chris Thatcher, both juniors, and sophomore Nick Pastore placed first in the first-time invitational contest held Oct. 22 on campus, which featured teams from William & Mary and Washington & Lee. The contest was co-sponsored by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and Longwood’s chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

In the contest, students worked in teams of three to design programs that solve challenging mathematical and practical puzzles. The goal was to correctly solve the most problems in four hours. The winning Longwood team solved five problems correctly.

The participants included “some of the most talented programmers in the state,” said Dr. Robert Marmorstein, assistant professor of computer science and adviser to the Longwood ACM chapter.

Police Department among top security programs in nation

November 2011

Longwood’s Police Department was ranked among the top 500 security programs in the nation for the third consecutive year, according to Security Magazine.

The November 2011 issue of the publication ranked Longwood 17th out of the 31 schools in the education/university category. Longwood was the only university police department from Virginia to be recognized. Security Magazine is designed and written for business-minded executives who manage enterprise risk and security.

Professors co-edit issue of national publication

November 2011

Longwood professors Dr. Audrey Church, associate professor and coordinator of the School Library Media Program (SLMP), and Frances Reeve, associate professor in the SLMP, were co-editors of an issue of a national publication for librarians.

They co-edited the November/December 2011 issue of Knowledge Quest, a publication of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), which is a division of the American Library Association. The issue featured a blog post by Reeve and a podcast by Church, who presented a webinar on “The Solo Librarian” for AASL members on Dec. 13. Knowledge Quest offers substantive information to assist building-level school librarians, supervisors, library educators and other decision makers concerned with the development of school library programs and services.

The School Library Media Program is a graduate-level program in the College of Education and Human Services.

Students work with street children in Uganda

December 2011

Eight Longwood students and a staff member spent part of the 2011-12 winter break in Uganda on a mission trip.

Working through Abaana, a charity organization for the children of Uganda, the Longwood team worked with some of the more than 2,000 street children in Kampala, the capital. They provided healthy meals; worked with boys in New Life Homes, an orphanage/group home; and distributed toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, protein bars, athletic shoes, children’s books and movies. Items were donated by members of the Longwood and Farmville communities.

The Longwood team, which was in Uganda for 17 days, had to raise $50,000 to cover the expenses of the trip. They were joined in the east African nation by students from Virginia Tech and colleges in Tennessee and Georgia.