“I am honored and, frankly, I am thrilled to be the next president of Shenandoah University,” Dr. Tracy Fitzsimmons said on the day the board of trustees announced she would succeed President James A. Davis. In fact, Dr. Davis and, now, Dr. Fitzsimmons stand on the shoulders of all the visionaries, leaders and educators who came before - although it is unlikely A. Paul Funkhouser and Jay Newton Fries could have imagined in 1875 their school would become the university it is today, with undergraduate and graduate students from across America and around the world.

Shenandoah Seminary was founded in 1875 in Dayton, Va., by Dr. Abraham Paul Funkhouser and Professor Jay Newton Fries. Shenandoah began an affiliation with the United Brethren of Christ Church, which later became the Evangelical United Brethren Church and finally the United Methodist Church - Shenandoah University’s present-day affiliation.

In 1925, the institution’s name was changed to Shenandoah College, and in 1937 Shenandoah Conservatory of Music became a separate corporation; the institution operated as two entities under one administration through the 1940s. By the 1950s, Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music began to fall on hard times. Administrators became acquainted with a group of businessmen in Winchester, Va., who believed an institution of higher education would be beneficial to their growing community. Shenandoah opened its doors in Winchester in the fall of 1960.

The institution thrived in its new location, becoming Shenandoah University in 1991. Today, there are more than 3,300 students in undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs in six schools: College of Arts & Sciences, Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business, Shenandoah Conservatory, School of Education & Human Development, School of Health Professions and Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy.