2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 13
Commending Hampden-Sydney College.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 5, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, February 12, 2026
WHEREAS, November 10, 2025, marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of Hampden-Sydney College, among the nation's oldest colleges and oldest privately chartered college in the southern United States; and
WHEREAS, Hampden-Sydney College traces its roots to the early 1770s, when members of the Hanover Presbytery in Virginia envisioned an academy to serve the growing Presbyterian community between the James River and the Blue Ridge Mountains; and
WHEREAS, Hampden-Sydney College was named for John Hampden and Algernon Sydney, members of the Parliament of England in the 17th century and prominent advocates for representative government and civil and religious freedom; the activism of Hampden and the writings of Sydney were influential among many of the nation's and the College's founders, including Patrick Henry and James Madison; and
WHEREAS, Hampden-Sydney College was established in 1775 on the eve of the American Revolution with a mission “to form good men and good citizens” who would be equipped to lead a new republic guided by the principles of the institution's namesakes; and
WHEREAS, since that time, countless students have earned degrees in a wide range of subjects, and many other esteemed institutions, including Union Theological Seminary and the Medical College of Virginia, which became part of Virginia Commonwealth University, originated at Hampden-Sydney College; and