But hundreds of young church members start college here, at a private Mormon school in the middle of heavily Protestant western Virginia. Southern Virginia College, the only college east of Utah to align its curriculum with the Book of Mormon, has grown sixfold since it opened in 1996 on a 150-acre campus about 160 miles southwest of Washington. It wasn't a money-making venture. Rather, he said, the intent was to create an institution of higher education on the East Coast where young Mormons could surround themselves with their faith. About 98 percent of its students and 75 percent of its faculty are Mormon.
Professors regularly entwine church teachings with academic material and lead students in prayer.
The approach is working, especially for students who grew up in communities with few Mormons. So this is great. I always wanted to share the same values and morals with others around me. Southern Virginia College has been a school of one name or another for nearly 135 years. For much of that time, it operated as a private women's school.