The 2016 Vice Presidential Debate (October 4, 9pm) is being held at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. The four-year public liberal arts university was founded in 1839, making it the third-oldest public university in Virginia. It started out as a female seminary led by a Methodist Minister. The school went through several changes including name changes until the college purchased a nearby estate in 1928 called the Longwood House, and the name stuck. In 2002, Longwood College became a university. There are approximately 5,000 students on campus today.
The notable alumni of Longwood are not household names. Most recent is Megan Baltzell (class of 2015) who is one of the top ten home run hitters in Division I softball. However, it is noted that Vince Gilligan, the creator and director of Breaking Bad, once attended the laboratory school run by Longwood. He wished the school well on its 175th anniversary in 2014. (See video below.) Gilligan lived in the town of Farmville between the ages of 3 and 14 and attended an elementary laboratory school which was a part of Longwood. It no longer exists. “I think there’s a baseball field there now,” says Gillian.
