Robert R. Lindgren, Randolph-Macon College’s 15th president, will serve as RMC’s 2025 Commencement speaker. Lindgren will conclude 19 years of transformational leadership with his retirement at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.

“I look forward to celebrating this Commencement alongside the Class of 2025, with whom I will depart this beautiful campus with profound memories,” explained President Lindgren. “I hope I can honor their experience with stories and wisdom from our shared time together.”

Known for his accessibility to students and interest in their well-being, Lindgren led a period of extraordinary and strategic change at RMC. During his tenure, the College added 15 academic programs and majors, a like number of new facilities and buildings, as well as a variety of new sports and activities. Enrollment has grown by nearly 60 percent, and the College has consistently ranked in the top 30 of all colleges and universities nationwide for percentage of alumni who support the institution.

Honorary Degrees

Randolph-Macon will confer honorary degrees on four deserving individuals—Carroll M. LaHaye, Dr. Ray E. Martin, Benjamin S. Schapiro ’64, and Dr. Samuel E. Vichness ’69—during the Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 25.

Carroll M. LaHaye

LaHaye, the longtime RMC Women’s Basketball Head Coach, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Education degree.

In her remarkable 38-year career as RMC Women’s Basketball Head Coach, from 1982–2020, LaHaye compiled a 647-376 overall record, including the most wins by a basketball coach (men’s or women’s) in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Under her leadership, the Yellow Jackets made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the round of 16 four times, the quarterfinals twice, and finishing as national runners-up in 2005.

LaHaye has been honored as the ODAC Coach of the Year four times and the VaSID College Division State Coach of the Year five times, in addition to being named the 2002-03 Richmond Times-Dispatch State Coach of the Year. Her impact on RMC has been recognized with induction into the Randolph-Macon Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021, and by bestowing her name on the Crenshaw Gymnasium floor in 2022.

Additionally, LaHaye was named to the Virginia Lawyers Media “Influential Women of Virginia” Class of 2012 and as one of the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s People of the Year in 2020.

A native of Warren, Maine, LaHaye earned a bachelor’s degree cum laude in business management-recreation from the University of Maine-Machias in 1977. An excellent student and standout performer in basketball and volleyball, she was inducted into the Mid-Coast Hall of Fame in 2010 and the UMM Hall of Fame in 2012.

Dr. Ray E. Martin

Martin, the former CEO of Schnabel Engineering Associates, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science degree.

In a career with more than 60 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, Martin spent 30 years at Schnabel, serving as Principal, Executive Vice President, President, CEO, and finally Chairman prior to his retirement in July 2002. The firm offers highly specialized services in geotechnical engineering, geostructural design, dam engineering, tunneling and underground engineering, environmental and applied geoscience services, construction monitoring, and resident engineering services.

During Martin’s tenure, the firm grew to over 300 employees and expanded from one office to 14 locations, from New Brunswick, N.J. to Atlanta, Ga. He has served as an expert witness and provided assessments of projects during the development of legal cases, and currently works as a geotechnical engineering consultant. He has published more than 30 technical papers and provided lectures on various geotechnical engineering subjects.

Martin has been a devoted and active presence in the Ashland community for many years.  He and several partners were responsible for the total rebuilding of the Henry Clay Inn in 1992, which Martin and his wife, Carol, managed until its sale in 2014. 

Thanks in large part to Martin’s vision, expertise, and persistent encouragement, the College now offers majors in engineering physics and engineering—the latter an ABET-accredited program. Martin has served as a volunteer adjunct professor, capstone advisor, and career mentor for students. A highlight of this service was his role as co-instructor of an RMC travel course to Guatemala, where he shared his lifelong passion for aiding impoverished communities there through engineering. He was also an adjunct professor of geotechnical engineering at the University of Virginia and presently teaches a graduate seminar in geotechnical engineering and engineering geology at Virginia Tech as a volunteer.

Martin earned a B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from West Virginia University. 

Benjamin S. Schapiro ’64

Schapiro, the Chairman and CEO of QuestMark Partners, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

In 1966, Schapiro began a 32-year career with Robert Garrett & Sons and Alex. Brown & Sons, the nation’s oldest investment bank. In 1998, he left his position as Managing Director at the firm to form QuestMark Partners, a late-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Baltimore with over $1 billion committed across four funds, where he continues to serve as Chairman and CEO.

Schapiro and his wife, Peggy, seeded an endowment fund in 1995, and committed additional funding over the following years, to support the Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). The hallmark program offers RMC students the unique opportunity to conduct nine weeks of full-time research during the summer, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Schapiro earned a B.A. in economics from RMC, where he was an engaged student active in student government, forensics, lacrosse, and a member of Theta Chi fraternity. He served on RMC’s Board of Trustees from 1980–1992 and was re-elected to the Board in 1994 and again in 2007. He is the long-time Chair of the Investment Committee and was elected Trustee Emeritus in 2019. He was a member of the Finance Committee and the 2005-06 Presidential Search Committee.

Schapiro was introduced to Johns Hopkins Vice President Robert Lindgren, who then visited the College and was named President by the Board of Trustees in 2006.

Dr. Samuel E. Vichness ‘69

Vichness, the immediate past chair of the Board of Directors of Hillel International, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

Hillel International is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, with more than 850 Hillel affiliates in 19 countries. Vichness formerly served for three years as vice chair, and currently serves as the Board Chair of the Hunter College Hillel. He also serves as chair of the New York Federation’s Henry Kaufman Revitalization Project—a 70-million-dollar effort to modernize the multiple federation facilities that host 19 JCC day camps

Vichness has worked as a director and investor in the summer camp industry for 45 years, participating in operations on day, resident, and special-needs camps across the Northeast. He serves as president of Quality Camping Properties, Inc., and a senior partner in GreyPine, LLC. He is also a past chair of the Foundation for Jewish Camp as well as the National Ramah Commission, the camping arm of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Vichness served on the College’s Board of Trustees for 11 years and chaired the Board’s Finance Committee. He was elected as a Trustee Emeritus in 2021. His Vichness Scholarship Fund and Israeli Study Fund provide financial support for students studying abroad in Israel during January Term. In 2011, Vichness was recognized as an RMC Distinguished Alumnus.

Vichness, who was raised in Newport News, Va., graduated with his bachelor’s degree in history from Randolph-Macon College and his doctorate in European history from Florida State University.