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The University of Virginia (also referred to as U.Va. or simply The University¹ by those close to it) is a research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was established by Founding Father and third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, and is the only American college or university designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The University is notable in American history for being the first to offer academic specializations in areas now common, such as Architecture, Astronomy, and Philosophy, as well as being the first to separate church and education.

Contents 1 History 2 Grounds 3 Academics 4 Faculty 5 Organization 5.1 Colleges and schools 6 Graduate Placement 7 Athletics 8 Student life 9 Distinguished Alumni 10 Notes 11 External links

History

On January 18, 1800, plans for a new college were alluded to by Vice President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, in a letter written to Joseph Priestley: “We wish to establish in the upper country of Virginia, and more centrally for the State, an University on a plan so broad and liberal and modern, as to be worth patronizing with the public support, and be a temptation to the youth of other States to come and drink of the cup of knowledge and fraternize with us.” After Jefferson's two terms as President of the United States, and later his struggles with the Virginia Legislature, the institution he had described two decades earlier was founded in 1819 as Central College.

In the presence of James Madison, the Marquis de Lafayette toasted Jefferson as father of the "University of Virginia" at the school's inaugural banquet in 1824. The University's first classes met in March 1825, when it became the first institution to offer students a full choice of elective courses, rather than a fixed schedule determined by school administrators. Other universities of the day allowed only three choices of specialization: Medicine, Law, and Religion. Under Jefferson's guidance, the University of Virginia became the first in the United States to allow specializations in such diverse fields as Astronomy, Architecture, Botany, Philosophy, and Political Science. Jefferson explained: "This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."

An even more controversial direction was taken for the new university based on a daring vision of higher education being completely separated from religious doctrine. One of the largest construction projects in North America up to that time, the new Grounds were centered upon a library (then housed in The Rotunda) rather than a church — distinguishing it from its peer universities in both America and Europe, each of which had teachings based on religious beliefs. In a letter to Thomas Cooper in October 1814, Jefferson stated that "a professorship of theology should have no place in our institution" and true to form, the University had no Divinity school or department, and was established independently from any religious sect. Religion, one of the three specializations allowed at competing universities, was replaced at the University by groundbreaking specializations in more "scientific" subjects such as Astronomy and Botany. (A non-denominational university chapel, notably absent from Jefferson's original plans, was constructed in 1890.)

Jefferson hosted Sunday dinners at his Monticello home for faculty and students, including Edgar Allan Poe, until his death. Some time before this occurred, Jefferson insisted that his grave bear the words FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA as one of three accomplishments during his lifetime by which he wished to be remembered.

Many of America's political leaders have gravitated to the University of Virginia over the years. In 1826, fourth U.S. President James Madison became Rector of the University, at the same time America's fifth President James Monroe made his home on the Grounds (at Monroe Hill) and was a member of the Board of Visitors. 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson attended for one year the University of Virginia Law School, the same institution from which graduated Robert Kennedy, his son Robert Kennedy Jr., and his brother, Ted Kennedy. Other alumni in leadership roles have included three United States Supreme Court Justices, two Surgeons General, a Speaker of the House, a Senate Majority Leader, numerous Senators and Representatives, Secretaries of State, Defense, Energy, Transportation, Treasury, and the Navy, and the Secretary General of both NATO and the Council of the European Union.

Unlike many other colleges in the Southern United States, the University of Virginia was kept open throughout the American Civil War. This was especially remarkable because Virginia was the site of more battles during this war than any other state. In March 1865, Union General George Armstrong Custer marched troops into Charlottesville, where faculty and community leaders convinced him to spare the University. Union troops camped on the Lawn and damaged many of the Pavilions, but left four days later without bloodshed. The University was then able to return to its educational routines.

Jefferson, ever the skeptic of central authority and bureaucracy, had originally decided the University of Virginia would have no President. Rather, this power was shared by a Rector and a Board of Visitors. As the nineteenth century drew to a close, it became obvious that this arrangement was incapable of adequately handling the many administrative and fundraising tasks that had become necessary and unavoidable in the interworkings of a modern university.

In 1904, Edwin Alderman resigned as President at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to take the same position at the University of Virginia. As the University's first President, he embarked on a number of reforms for both the University and the state of Virginia's public educational systems in general. A reform specific to the University of Virginia was one of the first school-sponsored financial aid programs in all of higher learning and, though primitive by today's standards, it included a loan provision for those "needy young men" who were unable to pay. Initially controversial and opposed by many at what had become a very traditional school, Alderman's progressive ideas stood the test of time and he today remains the longest-serving President of the University's history, having served for nearly thirty years until his death in 1931. Alderman Library, a popular landmark among today's students, is his namesake.

Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner became writer-in-residence at the University in 1957, keeping open office hours until his death in 1962. He was also a lecturer at the school, as well as taking the title "Consultant on American Literature to the Alderman Library". Faulkner had a large collection of his manuscripts and typesets given to and made available (the request reaffirmed by his wife and daughter) at the library upon his death.

Though all-white until 1950 and generally all-male until 1970 (women had for many years previous attended the education and nursing schools), the University of Virginia is now more diverse. The makeup of the Class of 2008 was 10% African-American, 14% Asian-American, 5% Hispanic, 5% Other and 5% International. Fewer than two-thirds identified themselves as being white. Eighty-five percent of the University's entering Class of 2009 were ranked in the top 10% of their graduating high school class and 56% were female.

In 2004, the University of Virginia became the first public university in the United States to receive more of its funding from private sources than from the state with which it is associated. Thanks to a Charter initiative that recently passed the Virginia legislature, the University — and any other public universities in the state that choose to do so — will have greater autonomy over its own affairs.

In the same year, the 100th anniversary of Alderman becoming President, the University announced the AccessUVa financial aid program. This innovative program, one of the first of its kind, guaranteed that U.Va. will meet 100% of a student's demonstrated need. It also provided low-income students (up to 200% of the poverty line – at the time about $37,700 for a family of four) with full grants to cover all of their educational needs. The program was an immediate success, and by 2005 was being studied and duplicated by other top public universities.

Grounds

Main articles: The Lawn and The Rotunda

The New York Times described the Grounds of the University of Virginia as "the greatest campus plan in the history of American architecture" in 1996 and it is a popular tourist attraction. The Lawn and Central Grounds of the University were designed by Thomas Jefferson, and together with Jefferson's home at Monticello, the University is a World Heritage Site (#442). This honor is shared by only three man-made sites in America: the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, and Taos Pueblo.

The University of Virginia stands on land purchased in 1788 by a Revolutionary War veteran, James Monroe, who would decades later become the fifth President of the United States. The Charlottesville farmland was purchased from Monroe by the Board of Visitors of what was then Central College in 1817, while Monroe was beginning his first year in the White House. Guided by Jefferson, the school would lay its first building's cornerstone later in 1817 and the Commonwealth of Virginia would charter the new university on January 25, 1819.

Jefferson's original architectural design is centered around The Lawn, a grand, terraced green-space surrounded by residential and academic buildings. He called it the "Academical Village", and that name remains in use today to describe both the specific area of the Lawn and the larger University surrounding it. The principal building of the design, The Rotunda, stands at the north end of the Lawn, and is the most recognizable symbol of the University. It is half the height of the Pantheon in Rome, which was the primary inspiration for the building. The Lawn and the Rotunda were the model for many similar designs of "centralized green areas" at universities across the country (most notably those at Duke University in 1892, Johns Hopkins University in 1902, Rice University in 1910, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in 1915, and Killian Court at MIT in 1916 — the last of which was coincidentally founded by William Barton Rogers, who immediately prior to founding MIT was a Natural Philosophy professor at the University of Virginia for 19 years). Frank E. Grizzard, Jr., a scholar at the University, has written the definitive book on the original academic buildings at the University.

Flanking both sides of the Rotunda and extending down the length of the Lawn are 10 "pavilions" interspersed with student rooms. Each has its own classical architectural style, as well as its own walled garden separated by uniquely Jeffersonian "serpentine walls."

On October 27, 1895, the Rotunda burned to the ground with the unfortunate help of overzealous faculty member William "Reddy" Echols, who attempted to save it by throwing roughly 100 pounds (45 kg) of dynamite into the main fire in the hopes that the blast would separate the burning Annex from the main building. His last-ditch effort ultimately failed. (Perhaps ironically, one of the University's main honors student programs is named for him.) University officials swiftly approached celebrity architect Stanford White to rebuild the Rotunda. White took the charge further, redesigning the Rotunda interior — making it two floors instead of three, adding three buildings to the foot of the Lawn, and designing a President's House. He did omit rebuilding the Rotunda Annex, which had been built in 1853 to house classroom space. The classes formerly occupying the annex were now moved to the South Lawn in White's new buildings.

On June 10, 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to the University's Memorial Gymnasium to watch his son Franklin Jr. graduate, and to give the commencement address. Instead, "in this university founded by the first great American teacher of democracy" he made his impromptu "Stab in the Back" speech denouncing the act of Italy joining beside Nazi Germany to invade France on that day. (Graduation ceremonies are traditionally held on the Lawn, but rain had forced a move to "Mem Gym" for the Class of 1940.)

Nearly two decades later, in 1958, Senator John F. Kennedy visited and spoke in the same space with brothers Robert Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, the latter of whom was managing JFK's '58 Senatorial re-election campaign from his dormitory at the University of Virginia.

In concert with the United States Bicentennial in 1976, Stanford White's changes to the Rotunda were removed and the building was returned to Jefferson's original design. Renovated according to the original plans, a three-story Rotunda opened on Jefferson's birthday, April 13, 1976. To commemorate the anniversary of America's independence, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II strolled The Lawn and lunched in the Dome Room of The Rotunda, one of five American sites she publicly visited.

The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, among many of humanity's spiritual leaders, graced The Grounds with their presence in 1998 while attending the University's Nobel Laureates Conference.

In 2001, John Kluge donated 7,378 acres (30 km²) of additional lands to the University. Kluge wished for the core of the land to be developed by the University, and the surrounding land to be sold to fund an endowment supporting the core. A large part of the gift was soon sold to musician Dave Matthews, of the Dave Matthews Band, to be utilized in an organic farming project. It is unknown what the University will do with its "core" portion of the land.

Academics

It places #1 among public universities and #6 overall in the United States in the production of Rhodes Scholars (after Harvard, Yale, Princeton, West Point, and Stanford). Tuition is notably lower for both in-state and out-of-state students than at those universities (excepting West Point) and the student composition of the University is such that it was described in the 2006 America's Best Colleges edition of U.S. News and World Report ("Jefferson's Public Ivy") as being "chock full of academic stars who turn down private schools like Duke, Princeton, and Cornell for, they say, a better value."

First in 1993, and again 8 times since, U.S. News and World Report ranked the University of Virginia as #1 among U.S. public universities. In the most recent (2006) edition, the undergraduate program at U.Va. currently ranks #23 (tied with Georgetown University) among national universities and #2 out of roughly 200 doctorate-granting public universities in the United States. In every published edition of the report, the University of Virginia has retained its position as the highest ranking university in the state of Virginia.

Numerous special scholars programs are offered by the University. The Echols (Arts and Sciences) and Rodman (Engineering) Scholars programs include 6-7% of undergraduate students and offer these students the "keys" to the University, in the form of advisors and priority course registration. The Echols Scholars live together, with the University's Rodman Scholars, during their first year. Echols Scholars are also freed from the area requirements of the basic liberal arts curriculum. No monetary scholarship is offered through the Echols or Rodman programs. Perhaps the most selective program is the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, which offers four year full-tuition scholarships based on rigorous regional, international, and at-large competitions. Students are nominated by their respective high schools, and then have to pass various interviews before being invited, for a weekend, to participate in various tests of character, aptitude, and general suitability. Approximately 3% of those nominated are successful, making the scholarship one of the most competitive in the nation.

The University offers 48 bachelor's degrees, 94 master's degrees, 55 doctoral degrees, 6 educational specialist degrees, and 2 first-professional degrees (Medicine and Law) to its students.

The University of Virginia Library System holds 5 million volumes. Its Electronic Text Center, established in 1992, has put 70,000 books online as well as 350,000 images that go with them. No university in the world can claim more electronic texts. These e-texts are open to anyone and as of 2002 were receiving 37,000 daily visits (compared to 6,000 daily visitors to the physical libraries).

The University of Virginia hosts the headquarters of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (which owns the Very Large Array of radio telescopes made famous in the 1997 movie Contact) and the North American Atacama Large Millimeter Array Science Center. It also hosts the Rare Book School, a non-profit organization that studies the history of books and printing. The University is the sole American member of Universitas 21, an international consortium of research-intensive universities.

Faculty

The University of Virginia possesses a distinguished faculty, including a Nobel Laureate, 25 Guggenheim fellows, 26 Fulbright fellows, six National Endowment for the Humanities fellows, two Presidential Young Investigator Award winners, three Sloan award winners, three Packard Foundation Award winners, and the President of the NAACP. The University's faculty were particularly instrumental in the evolution of Internet networking and connectivity. Physics professor James McCarthy was the lead academic liaison to the government in the establishment of Suranet, and the University has also participated in Arpanet, Abilene, Internet2, and Lambda Rail. On March 19, 1986 the University's website Virginia.edu became the first contribution to the World Wide Web originating from the state of Virginia.

Organization

Colleges and schools

• School of Architecture
• College of Arts & Sciences
• School of Continuing and Professional Studies
• Curry School of Education
• Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
• School of Engineering and Applied Science
• School of Law
• McIntire School of Commerce
• University of Virginia School of Medicine
• School of Nursing
• University of Virginia's College at Wise - branch campus in Wise, Virginia

Graduate Placement

The Wall Street Journal conducted a study of "feeder schools" to top 5 graduate programs and it yielded nearly identical results to the annual U.S. News and World Report survey for the University. Both studies rank the University of Virginia as the top university in its state and #2 out of approximately 200 doctorate granting public universities, yet the criteria for the two ranking systems are unrelated. With the addition of liberal arts colleges and other non-doctoral institutions in the Wall Street Journal ranking (which are excluded from its category in U.S. News and World Report), the University's overall rank was #1 among the 40 colleges and universities in the state of Virginia, and #33 out of the roughly 1,375 colleges and universities across the United States.

Based on the number of students attending the best graduate schools, the Wall Street Journal studied the undergraduate backgrounds of entering students at Top 5 programs (e.g., Harvard Business School, Yale Law School, and Johns Hopkins Medical School). The study corrected for the enrollment disparities of each university's Class of 2003 by using percentages rather than raw numbers to compile its rankings. The University of Virginia (2.6%) placed first statewide on the size-adjusted basis, outpacing #2 Washington and Lee University (1.7%), and #3, the College of William and Mary (0.8%).

Athletics

Main article: Virginia Cavaliers

The University of Virginia's athletics program competes in Division I-A and since 1953 as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Their teams, the Virginia Cavaliers (also called "Wahoos" or "Hoos") have won 15 recognized NCAA National Championships, 12 of them since 1980. Some of their best known athletic facilities include Scott Stadium, University Hall, Klöckner Stadium, and the Aquatics and Fitness Center. John Paul Jones Arena (construction webcam) is scheduled to be completed during 2006.

Student life

Student life at the University of Virginia is marked by a number of unique traditions. The campus of the University is referred to as "the Grounds," and freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors are instead called first-, second-, third-, and fourth-years. Professors are traditionally addressed as "Mr." or "Ms." rather than "Dr.", out of respect for Mr. Jefferson, who did not hold a doctorate degree (although medical doctors are the exception, and are called "Doctor"). A number of secret societies at the University, most notably the Seven Society, Z Society, and IMP Society, have operated for decades, leaving their painted marks on University buildings. Other significant secret societies include Eli Banana, T.I.L.K.A., the Purple Shadows (who commemorate Jefferson's birthday shortly after dawn on the Lawn each April 13), and the Rotunda Burning Society (who commemorate the Great Rotunda Fire). Not all the secret societies keep their membership unknown, but even those who don't hide their identities generally keep most of their good works and activities far from the public eye.

A positive attitude regarding the libraries exists among the students. A national publication's survey recently revealed that U.Va.'s students give their library system higher marks than students at any other school in the United States. The best-known library is Alderman Library for the humanities and social sciences, which contains 10 floors of stacks with many useful study nooks hidden among them. U.Va.'s renowned Small Special Collections Library feature one of the premier collections of American Literature in the country. Clemons Library, next to Alderman, is a popular study spot. Hundreds of students can be found gathered on its various quiet floors on any given night. Clark Hall, home of the Science & Engineering Library, also gets high marks.

Several of the faculty live on Grounds, either on the Lawn in the various Pavilions or as fellows at one of three residential colleges (Brown College at Monroe Hill, Hereford College, and the International Residential College).

Volunteerism at the University is centered around Madison House, which offers numerous opportunities to serve others. Among the numerous programs offered are tutoring, housing improvement, and an organization called Hoos Against Hunger, which gives leftover food made at restaurants to Charlottesville's homeless rather than allowing it to be thrown away.

Distinguished Alumni

Main article: List of University of Virginia people

Among the people who have attended or graduated from the University of Virginia are Edgar Allan Poe, Woodrow Wilson, members of the Kennedy family, three Supreme Court Justices, three Astronauts, the President of NASDAQ, and leaders of the political and economic spheres of the United States and the European Union. Those involved in the sciences have helped to cure yellow fever, and to "crack the code" of DNA.

Notes

1. Many universities' students and alumni refer to their respective institutions as "the university" for short. At the University of Virginia, this title is capitalized as a proper noun (i.e., "The University" or "the University" [1]) in reference only to this particular school, much like The Lawn and The Rotunda. In recent decades many of the school's alumni and students have sported university-licensed bumper stickers and window decals of simply The University in the school's colors ([2]), a tradition not always well understood or appreciated by outsiders, leaving some to declare the practice to be elitist.[3] Nevertheless, as Marie Manning wrote in a 1903 novel[4]:

The University of Virginia is always "The University."

External links

• University of Virginia home page
• University of Virginia Library website
• University Programs Council (events planning)
• U.Va. History
• Online tour
• Jefferson's Academical Village
• University of Virginia Athletics website
• Cavalier Daily

The Universitas 21 network of universities

University of Auckland | University of Birmingham | University of British Columbia | University of Edinburgh | Fudan University | University of Glasgow | University of Hong Kong | Korea University | Lund University | McGill University | University of Melbourne | University of New South Wales | University of Nottingham | Peking University | University of Queensland | National University of Singapore | University of Virginia

Public Colleges and Universities in Virginia
Christopher Newport • George Mason • James Madison • Longwood • Mary Washington Norfolk State • Old Dominion • Radford • University of Virginia • Virginia Commonwealth VMI • Virginia Tech • Virginia State • Virginia Union • William and Mary

Atlantic Coast Conference: Boston College | Clemson | Duke | Florida State | Georgia Tech | Maryland | Miami   North Carolina | North Carolina State | Virginia | Virginia Tech | Wake Forest

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