Hollins University

Nestled in the once-popular holiday retreat, Botetourt Springs, blossomed the university we now know as Hollins. Let me take you back in time to 1842, to where it all began. Reverend Joshua Bradley had lofty ambitions when he established the coeducational Valley Union Seminary, dreams that would start to take shape as one Charles Lewis Cocke took the helm in 1846.

Can you believe that Cocke decamped to this random spot with his wife, Susanna, 16 slaves, and an unwavering belief in education? Not only did he head the seminary, Cocke put into motion the first school for enslaved individuals in Roanoke. The same slaves often found themselves working in the then-seminary, a groundbreaking accomplishment in that era.

A big leap change came about in 1851 as Cocke decided to close the doors for men. The following year saw its transformation into the Roanoke Female Seminary. Now, remember the name – John, and Ann Halsey Hollins. Their generous donation in 1855 bestowed the sincere seminary its present name, Hollins Institute, and later became Hollins College in 1911.

While Cocke saw Hollins as a perfect nurturing ground for 'southern sensibility', where women are trained to be subordinate, he never skimped on intellectual superiority. "Young women require the same thorough and rigid mental training as that afforded to young men," he famously said, ushering in an era of rigorous academic training in Hollins. No wonder the alumni from this period recall the 'serious instruction' and 'high standards'.

The unique vision of Cocke, however, harboured its own constraints. His interest in educating only women from Southern states limited Hollins's adaptability to professional grooves. Despite this challenge, the last two decades of the 19th century saw a steady increase in the number of women thronging to receive higher education.

What would you say if I told you that Cocke did not draw a salary for all the years he was at Hollins? He chose to let the trustees channel the earnings back into the institution until 1900, debting them so much that they had to deed the school to him and his family.

On Cocke's demise in 1901, Hollins found a new leader in his daughter, Matty Cocke. But don't be mistaken, she wasn't your average college leader. Miss Cocke left the financial complexities to her nephews and remained focused on preserving an atmosphere of 'genteel'. She didn't believe in the activism for women's education, her priorities lay in 'grace and refinement'.

Though the school belonged to the Cockes, it struggled to amass an endowment or recruit high-quality faculty due to monetary constraints. This made attaining accreditation an arduous task. It took an intervention from alumni Eudora Ramsay Richardson and presidents of Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr in 1932 to speed up the process.

Does your university host the first graduate program focussed on the writing and study of children's literature? Hollins does, since 1993. Their Quadrangle is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places! Hollins College became Hollins University in 1998. In 2017, Pareena Gupta Lawrence, an economist and an Asian-American immigrant, became the twelfth president, proving that Hollins is a place that respects and encourages diverse perspectives.

Hollins reaffirmed its commitment to acknowledging past mistakes and rectifying them when it temporarily removed four volumes of the university yearbook from the library's digital commons due to the infamous blackface controversy in 2019. However, they were restored just a week later with accompanying educational content on the history and practice of blackface.

Now, Hollins is under the leadership of Mary Dana Hinton as its thirteenth president since August 1, 2020. She remains the first African American president in Hollins history, reflecting its ongoing commitment to educational equity. Who would have thought the quaint resort town would develop into such groundbreaking cultural and educational hotspot? It's proof that ambitions and education can shape the world.