Environment and History

The University of Richmond campus consists of about 50 major buildings of Collegiate Gothic architectural style set amid 350 acres of lawns, lake, and woodlands. The beautiful and harmonious setting has been recognized nationally by college guides. Richmond’s history began almost two centuries ago with Richmond College, founded in 1830 by Virginia Baptists as a college of liberal arts and sciences for men. Around this nucleus were established the T.C. Williams School of Law (1870); Westhampton College, a college of liberal arts and sciences for women (1914); the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, for advanced study in the liberal arts and sciences (1921-2009); the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, for undergraduate and graduate study in business (1949); University College, University College, now known as the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, for evening, summer, and continuing education (1962); and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the first school of leadership studies in the United States (1992). In 1992, the academic missions of Richmond College and Westhampton College were combined in a separate school, the School of Arts and Sciences. Richmond College and Westhampton College provide special programming and leadership opportunities in student life.

Richmond benefits from a heritage of ethical and religious values, a residential character, and a commitment to liberal and general education through intimate schools and colleges joined into a substantial whole.