Virginia Union University

Virginia Union University is a private historically Black university located in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1865 to educate newly emancipated African Americans, it is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in liberal arts, business, education, theology, and other professional fields. Virginia Union University is known for its historic campus, including Hovey Field, one of the oldest college football stadiums still in use, and for its longstanding role in advancing educational access in the post–Civil War South. It attracts students seeking a faith-based environment, small class settings, and an institution rooted in African American history and community engagement.

Virginia Union University was founded in 1865 in Richmond, Virginia, shortly after the end of the Civil War, to provide education for newly emancipated African Americans. Supported by the American Baptist Home Mission Society, its earliest predecessor institutions included Richmond Theological School for Freedmen. In 1899, several related institutions were formally united, and the first classes under the Virginia Union University name were held that year on a newly developed campus. Malcolm MacVicar served as the first president of Virginia Union University. In 1932, Hartshorn Memorial College, a women’s college founded in 1883, merged with the university, expanding its academic scope. Throughout the 20th century, Virginia Union University developed undergraduate and graduate programs while maintaining its historic mission. Today, Virginia Union University remains a private historically Black university with deep roots in Richmond and a continuing commitment to higher education access.