Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807. In 1749, Augusta Academy, a small classical school, opened a little north of Lexington, Virginia. In 1776, the school’s trustees changed the name to Liberty Academy. In 1782, the Virginia legislature granted a charter to the school, which by then had moved a little closer to Lexington and changed its name to Liberty Hall Academy.
An endowment from George Washington helped the struggling school get on its feet. The $20,000 of James River Canal stock Washington gave the school in 1796 prompted the trustees to change the school’s name. It became Washington Academy and in 1813, Washington College.
In 1865, after the Civil War was over, General Robert E. Lee accepted the presidency of the college. It was not a decision he took lightly. While he was concerned that he might bring upon the college some negative feelings, he said “I think it the duty of every citizen in the present condition of the Country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony.”
Although President Lee served only about five years, until his death in 1870, he had a significant impact on the institution. He added programs, he raised funds for new buildings, and he created an honor system, much like that of his Alma Mater, West Point. He also made an effort to recruit northern students to the school and made it his goal that they be treated well. After Lee’s death, the trustees changed the name of the school to Washington and Lee University. It is the country’s ninth oldest institution of higher education.
The Recumbent Lee, by Edward Valentine, was installed in W&L’s Lee Chapel in 1883.
Women were first admitted to the law school in 1972, but it was not until 1985 that the undergraduate population included women.
Kappa Alpha Order was founded at W&L on December 21, 1865. Its founders are James Ward Wood, William Archibald Walsh, William Nelson Scott and Stanhope McClelland Scott. Robert E. Lee was named a “Spiritual Founder” at the 1923 convention. Its original name was Phi Kappa Chi. Phi Kappa Psi was the first fraternity to have a chapter at W&L and that organization protested the similar sounding name. It took on the name Kappa Alpha in April 1866.
Kappa Alpha Order celebrates its founding on or near Lee’s birthday. This year’s celebration marks the beginning of its Sesquicentennial year and Conviviums are planned to showcase and celebrate the Order.
Washington and Lee University celebrates Founders’ Day on or near Lee’s birthday. The celebration took place yesterday. James C. Cobb, University of Georgia professor and an award winning historian of the American South, was the keynote speaker at the Founders’ Day – Omicron Delta Kappa (OKD) Convocation.
ODK was founded in 1914 at W&L. Four honorary members, 23 undergraduates and nine law students were inducted into the honorary after Cobb’s talk.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2015. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
