Having only recently moved to the Farmville area, my family and I already feel at home here, and we are grateful for the community’s warm welcome. While serving as president of Hampden-Sydney College (H-SC) fills my days, my wife, Lesley, is volunteering at the local library, and our children are thriving at Prince Edward County High School.

When I share conversations with residents, I am often asked about the college and our plans for its future. From the start, I’ve emphasized that our goal must be to double-down on our longstanding mission and commit ourselves to offering young men the finest college experience possible.

Since 1775, H-SC has had as its mission “to form good men and good citizens.” This mission is embodied in our outstanding academic program and our talented and highly dedicated faculty.

Character development is an essential component of a Hampden-Sydney education. And, Hampden-Sydney offers young men a rich brotherhood, a brotherhood that extends far beyond the four years they are on our campus to include our 10,000 alumni who live and work throughout the world.

We are carrying out our mission very well. Ninety-four percent of our graduates complete their degree in four years, and we were recently cited as having the eighth best alumni network among the top 300 colleges in the country.

Our graduates not only obtain jobs and entry to outstanding graduate and professional schools, but they enjoy lifetime incomes that place them in the top 20 percent of all wage earners.

And, more importantly, our alumni become leaders in their families, in the organizations where they work and in the communities they call home.

No organization can afford to be complacent. Even as we take pride in the educational experience we offer, we have ambitious academic and student life planning processes underway that will strengthen and improve the educational experiences we offer students. The completely renovated Brinkley Hall will house the Joe Viar and Bonnie Christ Center for the Arts, providing faculty and students new studio, exhibition and performance spaces.

The Brown Student Center will be a hub of activity when it opens next fall, housing our career education center, the Tiger Inn, spaces for student programs and many inviting spaces for gathering, relaxing and studying. The Brown Student Center will also house our entrepreneurship center, which fosters our students’ interests in creativity and innovation.

We also have plans to expand the offerings of the Wilson Center for Leadership so that more of our students will be able to participate in its leadership development opportunities. And, we are also eager to find ways for our young men to deepen their faith and engage in community service.

Dr. Larry Stimpert is the 25th president of Hampden-Sydney College. His email address is lstimpert@hsc.edu.