is an institution that continues to stay engaged with its alumni as much as possible once they graduate. They pride themselves with the support of alumni to help fund a number of activities, events, and projects within the institution. Having a strong focus on the legacy impact for each student creates a bond for the student body that draws them back year after year, even once they graduate. It is important to note though, this legacy does not just go for the students, it also goes for a lot of the faculty.
The University has a number of locations on campus that are named after former faculty, donors, coaches, and a number of crucial individuals that have walked foot on this campus. Typically the reason a location is named after said individual is because that location was closely connected to that individual. For example, Shellenberger field was named after William Shellenberger, one of the founders and coaches who did a lot for the soccer program. Having this sort of legacy factor is something the school admires and honors.
So, it was no surprise when the institution decided to make. what once was "West Field," officially "James C. Fox Field" on April 17, 1779. This prestigious honor took no one by surprise, especially a number of Dr. Fox's players. It was always discussed how admirable of a person Dr. Fox was and how much he advocated for Lynchburg Sports. At the end of the day, he was one of the main reasons that the construction of Turner Gym and Wake Field House became more of a priority in the 1960's. Without the help of him and then President of the college, Cary Brewer, we probably would not have both of those buildings.
Dr. Fox's striving for a better athletics program and physical education program really made him stand out to a lot of his colleagues. So, when he announced his full retirement in April of 1984 many people were saddened to hear the news, but they knew he needed to do what was best for him. He had already gone from full time to part time, but this meant he would no longer be working for the college. This did not matter though because the legacy left by Dr. James Fox is still met to this day. The school saw an increase in so much during his time, whether it be the physical number of students on campus or even the success rate in performance amongst athletes. So, there is no doubt that his involvement around campus would not be missed.
However,Dr. James Fox was one of the few individuals found at the college that tends to go a little underappreciated, but that is okay. Creating this site has opened up a lot of knowledge to get to know who he was as a person, coach, professor, and overall community member. Hopefully, individuals see how crucial of an impact he had on campus and do not take for granted all the hard work he did for students. I know without him, I probably would not have considered the University of Lynchburg. Without the legacy left by Dr. James Fox things could seem very different around the University. He made sure students were put first amongst administration and that they were always thought of in any decision being made, especially athletes. Not to mention, he never felt more pride than when he got to see his students and players happy, successful, and overall shaped into better people. Because of this, I know research on Dr. James Fox was greatly needed and I hope this fills that empty gap in the universe.