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Friday, July 4, 2025

Joan of Arc statue will make three on Longwood's campus

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The new Joan of Arc statue stands near Hull Hall and Communication Studies and Theatre Arts Center (CSTAC) buildings. 

The third sculpture on campus honoring Joan of Arc was dedicated on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018 at 11 a.m. at the south end of campus by the Hull Hall and Bedford Hall after it was installed on Monday, Nov. 12.

The process of getting the new sculpture on campus began in 2015, according to Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV.

According to Deputy Director Capital Design & Construction at Longwood University Kim Bass, the new statue weighs approximately 3,200 pounds, is made of bronze and is around 10 and a half feet tall on a five-foot pedestal.

About 75 people attended the dedication ceremony where both Reveley and Marianne Radcliff ’92, rector of the university, spoke. 

“This is a moment brought by many hands,” Reveley said.

He thanked the administrations and the board of visitors for all their work in the creation of the sculpture.

“The vision of the board is at the heart, our great rector most fundamentally. Marianne Radcliff, class of ’92, has always seen it as providential that that the patron hero of the beloved alma mater is Joan of Arc,” said Reveley. 

Reveley then introduced Radcliff to speak to the crowd.

Radcliff gave a history of Joan of Arc, from the time she was born in 1412 to when she was burned at the stake in 1431.

“Her accomplishments are nearly unmatched,” Radcliff said. “She taught me what is possible. It’s a concrete lesson that tasks that seem insurmountable aren’t necessarily so because people say you cannot is no reason to turn back.”

Radcliff spoke about Joan of Arc going to see the king of France and asking to lead his army, despite her lack of military training.

“All she had was clarity of purpose, what must have been supreme confidence and love for her people,” Radcliff said.

Radcliff said she was happy to see the new statue installed.

“People still look up to her today,” Radcliff said. “I love that Longwood students, generations from now, will look at this statue and learn her story.”

Reveley spoke again after Radcliff. He compared the new sculpture to the 1914 statue housed in Ruffner Hall, which is commonly called “Joanie on the Stony”, per Longwood’s website.

“The dedication of a statue like this at a moment it is also natural to ponder the future,” Reveley said. “When Longwood’s first Joan of Arc Statue arrived in 1914, the beloved Rotunda statue, depicting her as a young girl at her home in Domrémy it was at a time celebrating international celebrations for the 500th anniversary of her birth...A great work of art endures through time and inspires across horizons of years difficult to fathom. This majestic statue we dedicate today will inspire us throughout all our years.”

According to Longwood’s website the first statue was donated by the Class of 1914 and the second one, known as “Joanie on the Pony” was donated in 1927.

According to Reveley, Alexander “Sandy” Stoddart, a renowned Scottish sculptor created the new statue.

“His vision of Joan of Arc, I think, embodies the spirit of Longwood, I think, as we look out and then beyond with our special call with all we have been given with the lives of citizen leadership.”

After his speech, Lauren Peters, a music senior, sang the Alma Mater before Reveley and Radcliff cut the ribbon.

Per Reveley, the new sculpture does not have a nickname or associated superstitions yet, and no new Joan of Arc statues are currently being planned.

“I do hope, very sincerely, that she becomes a point of inspiration for students,” Reveley said.

The new Joan of Arc statue stands near Hull Hall and Communication Studies and Theatre Arts Center (CSTAC) buildings. 


Standing at 10 and a half feet tall on a five-foot pedestal, this Joan of Arc statue will join two others on Longwood's campus, the other two located in Ruffner Hall. 


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