When Charles L. C. Minor (1835-1903) began the academic year in October 1867, only 16 students were enrolled. He resigned the following year and operated a private school in Lynchburg, Va., before becoming professor of Latin and director of the preparatory school at the University of the South. He later held the presidency of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from 1872 to 1879.

Minor was a graduate of the University of Virginia and served as a captain in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.