Shenandoah University

The university was founded as Shenandoah Seminary in 1875 in Dayton, Virginia, by Rev. Abram Paul Funkhouser and Rev. John (Jay) Paul Fries. Shenandoah Seminary became a junior college in 1924, changing its name to Shenandoah College the following year. Shenandoah Conservatory became a separate corporation in 1937 and began granting four-year degrees. In 1960, Shenandoah College and the Shenandoah Conservatory moved to the 126-acre Winchester campus and began offering four-year degrees in 1974 (at which time the college and conservatory corporations were merged). Shenandoah obtained university status on Jan. 1, 1991, and today (as of fall 2020) the student body represents 47 states plus the District of Columbia. The university, as of fall 2020, has 267 full-time and 197 part-time faculty members. The student body represents 50 foreign countries. Seventy-seven percent of full-time faculty have an earned doctorate (Ph.D. or similar) in their fields or other terminal degree.