Shenandoah’s story begins on Feb. 12, 1875, with a small group of 11 curious students and one forward-thinking educator in the Shenandoah Valley village of Dayton, Virginia. 

The Rev. Abram Paul (A.P.) Funkhouser continued to instruct the students through the summer. Soon, the group had become a school, chartered under the name Shenandoah Seminary. 

Almost 150 years later, Shenandoah – now a university – is still nurturing students to help them develop the skills needed to succeed in a world of constant change. We’re a little bigger now – our student body has surpassed 4,300 and we offer 200+ areas of study – but certain elements remain intact from the Shenandoah’s earliest days, including a fearless, bold, and compassionate spirit. This is the spirit that propelled the school’s 1960 move to Winchester, Virginia, and continues to reveal itself with every new program or initiative that benefits our growing student student body and society at large. 

Founders’ Day, too, is a part of the Shenandoah experience. Over the years, it’s a day when we’ve taken time to honor the people who built Shenandoah, celebrate what the university is today, and look forward to an ever-brighter future.