Beacon of Light

Beacon of Light Over 200 people gathered Oct. 18 for the official dedication of the Lindley Center for Student Wellness, which honors the legacy of Dr. Lindley Spaht Dodson '99.

By Jessica Luck
October 24, 2025

The Lindley Center for Student Wellness at Washington and Lee University is a bright, window-filled space designed to let the light in. Inviting and tranquil at the same time, the first floor Lindley Counseling and second floor Lindley Health serve the needs of W&L students through the lens of holistic care for each person. And at the heart of it all is a tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Lindley Spaht Dodson '99, for whom the building is dedicated.

Lindley - a wife, mother, friend, pediatrician - devoted her life to the care and well-being of others, and the building stands as a testament and tribute to the way she lived with joy and purpose. The memorial wall inside the main foyer is filled with memories from Lindley's family, friends, patients, classmates and colleagues that paint a clear picture of the radiant person, with a notable depth of spirit and character, who lived life to the fullest.

In 2021, Lindley was killed in an act of gun violence in her medical office in Austin, Texas. The sole victim, her actions that day saved the lives of others present. Quotes on the memorial wall highlight some of the remembrances shared with Lindley's family, who received hundreds of letters after her death from people all across her life. Lindley's story and legacy have been woven into the fabric of the university in the form of a building that supports comprehensive student care, made possible through the generosity of her family, classmates, friends and many other members of the greater university community.

Lead donors to the building include Lindley's older brother, Holden Spaht, and his wife, Claire - whose daughter Eliza is a member of the Class of 2026 - as well as the Classes of 1996 and 1999. The Class of 2000, which includes Lindley's husband, Drew Dodson '00, set a new 25th reunion gift record to establish an endowment that will support the Lindley Center, ensuring that students benefit from thoughtful and meaningful resources and programming for generations to come.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, more than 200 of Lindley's family, friends, classmates and members of the W&L community gathered to celebrate the official dedication of the Lindley Center, which consolidates counseling and health services under one roof for the first time on W&L's campus. Drew and Lindley's children, Shaw, Tucker and Lolo, cut the ribbon at the event.

In 2019, Holden and Claire Spaht established the Spaht Family Foundation to help address issues related to climate change, the arts and youth mental health, with a focus on the rising prevalence of mental health issues among student athletes and college students. After a trip home to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for their mother's 75th birthday in 2021, Holden and Lindley discussed the foundation's focus, and Lindley sent her brother a long list of mental health resources from the medical community. "A few days later, the unthinkable happened," Holden said.

After the tragedy, Holden set up the Lindley Foundation in Lindley's name, with his parents, Paul and Katherine Spaht, brother, Carlos Spaht '05, and Drew serving as officers. They spent a few months searching for the best way to honor her, and, once they began talks with W&L about the intent to build a new comprehensive wellness facility, they knew they had found the perfect outlet. The Spaht and Dodson families worked closely with W&L during each phase of the project, especially regarding telling Lindley's story within the walls of the center.

"We've felt heard throughout the whole process by Washington and Lee and are so proud of the finished product," Holden said. "Collaborating as a family on the Lindley Center has helped us honor Lindley's legacy and resolve some of our collective grief. These kinds of [tragedies] can break families, but it didn't break us. If anything, we've become closer. It's been an incredible way to remember our beloved Lindley."

President Will Dudley thanked the Dodson and Spaht families for "their courage, their vision and their example; their leadership catalyzed the powerful bonds between so many alumni and friends that make Washington and Lee University like no other."

"The Lindley Center is here to help students through their most challenging moments, to care for their physical well-being, to help them become more resilient and, ultimately, to ensure that they flourish while they're here at W&L but also long after they leave this campus," Dudley said. "Those who knew Lindley describe her as a bright light, a source of comfort and encouragement, someone who radiated joy wherever she went. She lived a life of consequence as a wife, a mother, a friend, a teacher and a pediatrician. The Lindley Center carries her spirit forward as a place where students receive the support and counsel that Lindley freely offered to those around her, and it will always be a place where her family, her friends and her classmates can see her legacy honored in a living and lasting way."

For Washington and Lee University Board of Trustees Rector Wali Bacdayan '92, the Lindley Center serves as a testament to the strength of the W&L community and the collective power of generosity centered on shared values.

"The Lindley Center represents more than a new building on our campus," he said. "This is a beautiful, light-filled space that embodies care, connection, commitment - every detail reflects the university's dedication to creating an environment where students are healthy, supported and thriving. The Lindley Center also reflects the spirit of our Leading Lives of Consequence campaign, the recognition that leadership begins with integrity, empathy and balance. In nurturing the well-being of our students, we prepare them to lead lives of meaning and purpose beyond this campus."

Bacdayan noted the philanthropic support from hundreds of alumni, parents and friends, with alumni support spanning nearly 70 years of classes.

"Each gift reflects confidence in W&L's enduring mission and faith in the promise of those who will follow," he said. "Together, this collective generosity has created a legacy of care that will strengthen the university for generations to come."

Alex Miller, vice president of Student Affairs, shared with the crowd that gathered for The Lindley Center opening that during the last academic year, W&L saw more than 300 urgent overnight visits to the student health center along with 3,000 counseling sessions. In total, 25% of students sought counseling, with 40% of those being first-year students. Today, Lindley Health has 11 staff members and Lindley Counseling has five full-time counselors and additional contracted practitioners ready to meet students' needs.

"To me, that's positive news that our students know that sometimes support is needed, and here is where we will seek it," Miller said. "Just as we would never hesitate to seek care for a broken bone or an illness, we must ensure that seeking mental health care is met with equal understanding and support."

Miller praised the collective work to bring to fruition a center that combines essential health and wellness resources for students, whether they are seeking care for the seasonal flu or seeking support for anxiety, depression or balancing an intense course load.

"Your support is a testament to the fact that we as a community prioritize the holistic health of our students as much as we prioritize their academic success," he said. "You have given us more than a building. You have given us a foundation for a healthier, more resilient campus. This center will forever stand as a monument to your kindness and your belief in the potential of every single W&L student."

Drew and his children arrived at W&L a few days before the dedication to spend time on the campus where the couple met, a place that holds such special memories. As he and his children took a tour of campus with a W&L student tour guide and saw signs for the Lindley Center, something struck him.

"I think about her every day, but I don't hear her name. I don't often see it displayed," he said. "And because it's such a beautiful and distinct name, I'm always taken aback when I come across it. Hearing her name spoken by this student who never met her and seeing her name, it made me think that her name is now woven into the fabric of this university. People will say it every day for years and years, and that just gives me chills to say it. It's such a blessing."

Drew shared more memories of his wife and how she made connections with people easily, including lifelong friends and patients who became more like family.

"She cared, and she made a real difference," he said of her pediatrics work. "She dedicated herself to helping others and impacted hundreds of children and their families, and, for some families, she was the difference. She was the difference between living with a really difficult condition and living a fuller life, or she was the difference between life and death.

"Her death is a senseless tragedy. It's not fair, and it hurts, and it will always hurt because we love her so much," he continued. "What I have had to learn to do is to hold that hurt in one hand and in the other hand recognize what is good, what is beautiful and what we still have [in order] to move forward. It's okay to have joy today. It's okay to celebrate today because today is a good thing. It feels good to honor her and give something meaningful back to this place we love."

"I just think it's an incredible tribute to my sister, to be able to tell her story in a place that she loved, that we love," said Holden. "She was a giver, and this place will be giving students health and happiness forever. To be able to tell her story and have it be a permanent piece of the Washington and Lee fabric feels incredible. I think our foundation has done, and will continue to do, great things, but I can't imagine ever being more proud of anything than what we've all collectively accomplished here."