Apostles of Self-Help & Independence: Chronicles of History

When Virginia Seminary opened its doors in January of 1890, there were a total of 33 students and one main building. From these humble beginnings, the institution grew into a mecca of religious learning and black leadership in Central Virginia. During the school's formative years, the administration faced a serious crossroads-accept financial assistance from Northern white philanthropists and be indebted to them and their wishes, or raise the necessary funds themselves and within the black community and chart their own destiny. The administrators of Virginia Seminary chose the latter path and decided to make the institution an organization independent of outside influences and control. This initial act set a precedent of self-help that would come to be Virginia Seminary's trademark-the concept of initiating change rather than waiting for society to change.

About the Author Ralph Reavis, born in 1940, is a native of Lawrenceville, Virginia, where he graduated from James Solomon Russell High School. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Virginia Seminary and College in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1962, a master of divinity from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia in 1966, a Master of Sacred Theology from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, in 1972, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1989.
Dr. Reavis currently resides in Richmond, Virginia, where he serves as professor of Historical Studies and Missions, The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia. He also served as associate visiting professor of religious history at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Howard University Divinity School in Washington, D.C. More recently, he was appointed as the sixteenth president of Virginia University of Lynchburg, Virginia (formerly Virginia Theological Seminary and College).
Dr. Reavis enjoys reading, writing, hunting, fishing and collecting antiques.