The
University of Virginia (also
The University,
Mr. Jefferson's University, or
Virginia; often abbreviated as
U.Va. /
UVa /
UVA) is a
publicA public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities...
research university located in Charlottesville,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
, founded by
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
. Conceived by 1800 and established in 1819, it is the only university in the United States to be designated a
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
by
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
, an honor it shares with nearby
MonticelloMonticello , located in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia....
.
The University is notable in
U.S. historyThe first known inhabitants of what is now the United States are believed to have arrived over a period of several thousand years beginning sometime prior to 15,000–50,000 years ago by crossing Beringia into Alaska...
for being the first educational institution to offer academic programs in disciplines now common, such as
astronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
and
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
. Its
School of Engineering and Applied ScienceThe University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science , established in 1836, is the oldest engineering school in the United States associated with a university. SEAS is one of 10 schools and colleges at the University of Virginia. It is the second-largest school at U.Va. and is home...
was the first engineering school in the United States to be attached to a comprehensive university. Officially, the University of Virginia is incorporated as
The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.
The early Board of Visitors was filled with former Presidents of the United States: Jefferson,
James MadisonJames Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States , and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
, and
James MonroeJames Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida ; the Missouri Compromise , in which Missouri was declared a slave state; the admission of Maine in 1820 as a free state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine , declaring U.S...
. Although Jefferson undertook all planning of the University, the land underneath it was once a farm belonging to Monroe. His farmhouse was located on
Monroe HillBrown College at Monroe Hill is a residential college at the University of Virginia, United States.Originally named Monroe Hill College, Brown opened in 1986 as the first modern residential college at the University of Virginia. It was renamed Brown College at Monroe Hill in recognition of the...
, which today is the site of one of three undergraduate residential colleges.
Student life is unique among public universities in that
historical secret societiesSecret societies have been a part of University of Virginia student life since the first class of students in 1825. While the number of societies peaked during the 75 year period between 1875 and 1950, there are still five societies active that are over 100 years old, and several newer societies...
are very active on Grounds. Other aspects of student life are more recognizable to those familiar with universities across the nation, as there are fraternities and sororities, and Virginia's athletic teams participate in the highly competitive
Atlantic Coast ConferenceThe Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953, the ACC's twelve member universities compete in twenty sports in the Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
.
History
On January 18, 1800,
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
, then
Vice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
, alluded to plans for a new college in a letter written to British scientist
Joseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
: "We wish to establish in the upper country of Virginia, and more centrally for the State, a 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." In 1802, then serving as
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
, Jefferson wrote to artist
Charles Willson PealeCharles Willson Peale was an American painter, soldier and naturalist.-Early life:Peale was born in Chester, Queen Anne's County, Maryland, the son of Charles Peale and his wife Margaret. In 1749 his brother James Peale was born. Charles became an apprentice to a saddle maker when he was thirteen...
that his concept of the new university would be "on the most extensive and liberal scale that our circumstances would call for and our faculties meet." Virginia was already home to one university, The College of William & Mary, but Jefferson lost confidence in his
alma mater, partly because of its religious biases and lack of education in the sciences. Although Jefferson was positively shaped by William & Mary professors
William SmallWilliam Small was born in Carmyllie, Angus, Scotland, the son of a Presbyterian minister, James Small and his wife Lillias Scott. He attended Dundee Grammar School, and Marischal College, Aberdeen where he received an MA in 1755...
and
George WytheGeorge Wythe , was a lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
(sometimes even referring to Wythe as his "second father"), his concerns became great enough by 1800 that he wrote: "We have in that State, a college just well enough endowed to draw out the miserable existence to which a miserable constitution has doomed it." Thus, he began planning a university more aligned with his educational ideals.
The University of Virginia stands on land purchased in 1788 by an
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , also sometimes known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen united former British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers...
veteran (and eventual fifth
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
),
James MonroeJames Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida ; the Missouri Compromise , in which Missouri was declared a slave state; the admission of Maine in 1820 as a free state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine , declaring U.S...
. The farmland just outside
CharlottesvilleCharlottesville is an independent city geographically located in Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom....
was purchased from Monroe by the Board of Visitors of what was then
Central College in 1817; Monroe was beginning the first of his own two terms in the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
. Guided by Jefferson, the school laid its first building's cornerstone later in 1817 and the Commonwealth of Virginia would charter the new university on January 25, 1819.
In the presence of
James MadisonJames Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States , and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
, the
Marquis de LafayetteMarie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette was a French aristocrat and military officer born in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
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. Other universities of the day allowed only three choices of specialization: Medicine, Law, and Religion, but under Jefferson's guidance, the University of Virginia became the first in the United States to allow specializations in such diverse fields as
AstronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
,
ArchitectureFor a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
,
BotanyBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
,
PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
, and
Political SciencePolitical science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the pragmatic application of the art and science of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how",...
. 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 that higher education should be 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 RotundaThe Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...
) rather than a church—further distinguishing it from peer universities of the United States, most of which were still primarily functioning as seminaries for one particular religion or another. Jefferson even went so far as to ban the teaching of Theology altogether. In a letter to
Thomas CooperDr. Thomas Cooper , American academic, college president and political philosopher, was born in London, England. He attended Oxford, but did not graduate. Though Cooper is virtually unknown in today's historical world, his ideas were taken very seriously in his own time...
in October 1814, Jefferson stated, "a professorship of theology should have no place in our institution" and, true to form, the University never had a Divinity school or department, and was established independent of any religious sect. Replacing the then-standard specialization in Religion, the University undertook groundbreaking specializations in scientific subjects such as Astronomy and Botany. (However, today the University does maintain one of the highest-rated Religious Studies departments in the U.S. and a non-denominational chapel, notably absent from Jefferson's original plans, was constructed in 1890 near the Rotunda.)
Jefferson was intimately involved in the University, hosting Sunday dinners at his
MonticelloMonticello , located in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia....
home for faculty and students, until his death. So taken with the import of what he viewed the University's foundations and potential to be, and counting it amongst his greatest accomplishments, Jefferson insisted his grave mention only his status as author of the
Declaration of IndependenceThe United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire...
and
Virginia Statute for Religious FreedomThe Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson. In 1786, the Virginia General Assembly enacted the statute into the state's law...
, and father of the University of Virginia. Thus, he eschewed mention of his Presidency and national accomplishments in favor of being remembered for the newly established university.
In 1826, the nation's fourth President
James MadisonJames Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States , and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
became Rector of the University of Virginia, at the same time America's fifth President
James MonroeJames Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida ; the Missouri Compromise , in which Missouri was declared a slave state; the admission of Maine in 1820 as a free state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine , declaring U.S...
made his home on the Grounds (at
Monroe HillBrown College at Monroe Hill is a residential college at the University of Virginia, United States.Originally named Monroe Hill College, Brown opened in 1986 as the first modern residential college at the University of Virginia. It was renamed Brown College at Monroe Hill in recognition of the...
) and was a member of the Board of Visitors. Both former Presidents stayed at the University until their deaths in the 1830s.
The
School of Engineering and Applied ScienceThe University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science , established in 1836, is the oldest engineering school in the United States associated with a university. SEAS is one of 10 schools and colleges at the University of Virginia. It is the second-largest school at U.Va. and is home...
opened in 1836, making it the first engineering school in the United States to be attached to a comprehensive university.
At the onset of the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, the University of Virginia was the largest in the
Southern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and second nationwide only to
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
in its scope. Unlike many other colleges in the South, the University was kept open throughout the conflict, an especially remarkable feat with its state being the site of more battles than any other. In March 1865, Union General
George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars who today is most remembered for a disastrous military engagement known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn...
marched troops into Charlottesville, whereupon faculty and community leaders convinced him to spare the University. Though
Union troopsThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
camped on the Lawn and damaged many of the Pavilions, Custer's men left four days later without bloodshed and the University was 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 to be shared by a Rector and a
Board of VisitorsA board of governors is usually the governing board of a public entity or non-profit organizations. It is the public equivalent of the private board of directors....
. As the nineteenth century waned, it became obvious this arrangement was incapable of adequately handling the many administrative and fundraising tasks which had become regrettably but unavoidably necessary amid the inner-workings of the growing University.
In 1904,
Edwin AldermanEdwin Anderson Alderman served as the President of three universities. The University of Virginia's Alderman Library is named after him, as is in Wilmington.Alderman graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1882...
resigned as President of
Tulane UniversityTulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
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 aidStudent financial aid refers to funding intended to help students pay educational expenses including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, etc. for education at a college, university, or private school. General governmental funding for public education is not called 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 in 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 FaulknerWilliam Faulkner was a Nobel Prize-winning American author. One of the most influential writers of the 20th century, his reputation is based on his novels, novellas and short stories. He was also a published poet and an occasional screenwriter.Most of Faulkner's works are set in his native state...
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.
In 2004, resulting from a stark decrease in state support, 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 passed the
Virginia General AssemblyThe Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Senate of Virginia, with 40 members...
and was signed into law by then-
GovernorThe Governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Democrat Tim Kaine.- Qualifications :...
Mark WarnerMark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the Junior Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was Governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the Honorary Chairman of the Forward...
in 2005, the University—and any other public universities in the state that choose to do so (currently
Virginia TechVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic university in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States...
and William & Mary)—will have greater autonomy over its own affairs.
Also in 2004, the 100
th anniversary of Alderman becoming President, the University announced the AccessUVa financial aid program. This program guarantees the University will meet 100% of a student's demonstrated need. It also provides low-income students (up to 200% of the poverty line – as of 2009, about $44,000 for a family of four) with full grants to cover all of their educational needs, and it caps the level of need-based loans for all other students. This program is the first to guarantee full grants to students of low-income families at any public university in the United States.
Though controversially all-
whiteWhite American is an umbrella term officially employed by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget and other U.S...
until 1950 and generally all-male until 1970 (women had for many years prior been admitted to the education and nursing schools), the University of Virginia is now more diverse. The story of the racial integration of the University is movingly told in Sarah Patton Boyle's classic book
The Desegregated Heart (1962). Boyle was a faculty wife and civil rights activist who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (He singled her out for praise in his famous "Letter From the Birmingham Jail".)
The makeup of the Class of 2008 was 10%
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
, 14%
Asian American{Infobox Ethnic group|group = Asian American|image =Graduation Rate! align="CENTER" | Bachelor's Degree
or More|-| align="LEFT" | Asian Indians| align="RIGHT" | 90.2%| align="RIGHT" | 67.9%|-| align="LEFT" | Filipinos| align="RIGHT" | 90.8%...
, 5%
HispanicHispanic and Latino Americans are Americans of origins in Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain - "Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban" - as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or...
, 5% Other and 5%
InternationalInternational students are students, usually in early adulthood, who study in foreign educational institutions. While most universities have official student exchange programs, some well-funded high schools have them, too. Although some students travel abroad mainly to improve their language...
. 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% are female.
Today, minority students are particularly successful at the University of Virginia. According to the Fall 2005 issue of
Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, the University "has the highest
blackAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
student graduation rate of the
Public IviesPublic Ivy is a term coined by Richard Moll in his 1985 book Public Ivies: A Guide to America's best public undergraduate colleges and universities to refer to universities which "provide an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price." Public Ivies are considered, according to the...
at 86 percent." The journal goes on to state that "by far the most impressive is the University of Virginia with its high black student graduation rate and its small racial difference in graduation rates."
The University of Virginia joined with
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
and
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
as the three universities announced the end of their
Early DecisionEarly decision is a common early admission policy used in college admissions in the United States for admitting freshmen to undergraduate programs. It is used to indicate to the University or College that the candidate considers that institution to be his or her top choice...
and
Early ActionEarly action is a type of early admission process for admission to colleges and universities in the United States. Unlike the regular admissions process, early action usually requires students to submit an application by November 1 of their senior year of high school instead of January 1...
programs in September 2006, stating that such policies limit low-income and
middle classThe middle class are any class in the middle of a social schema. In Weberian socio-economic terms they are the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socioeconomically between the working class and upper class. In Marxist terms, middle class commonly refers to either the...
students from competing on an equal footing with applicants from wealthy families. For its part, U.Va. noted that of 947 Early Decision acceptances for the Class of 2010, fewer than 20 of those students had applied for financial aid.
Grounds
- Main articles: The Lawn
The Lawn is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The design shows Jefferson's mastery of Palladian architecture...
, The RotundaThe Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...
, and The RangeThe Range is part of the original grounds of the University of Virginia as designed by Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. The Range buildings run parallel to and face away from the Lawn, and are separated from the Lawn by a series of ten gardens .There are six "hotels" on the...
Throughout its history, the University of Virginia has won praise for its unique
Jeffersonian architectureJeffersonian Architecture or Jeffersonian Colonial is an American form of Neo-Classicism or Neo-Palladian based on U.S. president and patriot, Thomas Jefferson's designs of his home, Monticello, his retreat at Poplar Forest, the University of Virginia, and his design of Barboursville for his friend...
. In January 1895, less than a year before the Great Rotunda Fire,
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
said that the design of the University of Virginia "was incomparably the most ambitious and monumental architectural project that had or has yet been conceived in this century". In the
United States BicentennialThe United States Bicentennial was celebrated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.-Coins:...
issue of their
AIA Journal, the
American Institute of ArchitectsThe American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
called it "the proudest achievement of American architecture in the past 200 years". Today, the University of Virginia remains an architectural landmark and popular tourist destination.
The University, together with Jefferson's home at
MonticelloMonticello , located in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia....
, is a
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
, one of only three modern sites so listed in the
50 statesA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
, the others being the
Statue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty , officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World , dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship...
and Independence Hall. It was the first collegiate campus worldwide to be awarded the designation.
Jefferson's original architectural design revolves around the "Academical Village", and that name remains in use today to describe both the specific area of
The LawnThe Lawn is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The design shows Jefferson's mastery of Palladian architecture...
, a grand, terraced green space surrounded by residential and academic buildings, the gardens,
The RangeThe Range is part of the original grounds of the University of Virginia as designed by Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. The Range buildings run parallel to and face away from the Lawn, and are separated from the Lawn by a series of ten gardens .There are six "hotels" on the...
, and the larger University surrounding it. The principal building of the design,
The RotundaThe Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...
(
RotundaCam), stands at the north end of the Lawn, and is the most recognizable symbol of the University. It is half the height and width of the
PantheonThe Pantheon is a building in...
in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, 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 designed by inspiration of the Rotunda and Lawn are the expansive green spaces headed by Rotunda-like buildings built at
Duke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892...
in 1892,
Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore...
in 1902,
Rice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University is a private coeducational research university located in Houston, Texas, United States...
in 1910, Peabody College of
Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the South...
in 1915, the Green at the
University of DelawareThe University of Delaware is the largest university in Delaware. The main campus is in Newark, with satellite campuses in Dover, Wilmington, Lewes and Georgetown. It is medium-sized – approximately 16,000 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students...
in 1916, Killian Court at
MITThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research...
in 1916 (which was coincidentally founded by
William Barton RogersWilliam Barton Rogers is best known for setting down the founding principles, advocating for, and finally incorporating the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1861...
, who immediately prior to founding MIT was a
Natural PhilosophyNatural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
professor at the University of Virginia for 19 years) and the American-designed "Old Campus" of
Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua University , is a university in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Tsinghua University was established in 1911, originally under the name “Tsinghua Xuetang”. The school was renamed the "Tsinghua School" in 1912. The university section was founded in 1925 and the name “National Tsinghua...
in
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
built in 1917.
Flanking both sides of the Rotunda and extending down the length of the Lawn are ten Pavilions interspersed with student rooms. Each has its own classical architectural style, as well as its own walled garden separated by Jeffersonian Serpentine walls. These walls are called "serpentine" because they run a sinusoidal course, one that lends strength to the wall and allows for the wall to be only one brick thick, one of many innovations by which Jefferson attempted to combine aesthetics with utility. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr., a former scholar at the University, has written the definitive book on the original academic buildings at the University.
On October 27, 1895, the Rotunda burned to a shell because of an electrical fire that started in the Rotunda Annex, a long multi-story structure built in 1853 to house additional classrooms. The electrical fire was no doubt assisted by the unfortunate help of overzealous faculty member
William "Reddy" EcholsWilliam Holding Echols , generally called "Reddy" Echols, was a professor of mathematics at the University of Virginia. The Echols Scholars Program is named in his honor....
, who attempted to save it by throwing roughly 100 pounds (45 kg) of
dynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth or another absorbent substance such as sawdust as an absorbent...
into the main fire in the hopes that the blast would separate the burning Annex from Mr. Jefferson's own Rotunda. 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 WhiteStanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be...
to rebuild the Rotunda. White took the charge further, disregarding Mr. Jefferson's design and 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, the remnants of which were used as fill and to create part of the modern-day Rotunda's northern-facing plaza. The classes formerly occupying the Annex were now moved to the South Lawn in White's new buildings.
Although undoubtedly useful to the University in providing additional classroom space, and not unattractive, if pedestrian in comparison to the Jeffersonian Pavilions, the White buildings have the effect of closing off the sweeping perspective, as originally conceived by Jefferson, down the Lawn across open countryside toward the distant mountains. The White buildings at the foot of the Lawn effectively create a huge "quadrangle", albeit one far grander than any traditional college quadrangle at the
University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
or
University of OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
.
In concert with the
United States BicentennialThe United States Bicentennial was celebrated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.-Coins:...
in 1976, Stanford White's changes to the Rotunda were removed and the building was returned to Jefferson's original design. Renovated according to original sketches and historical photographs, a three-story Rotunda opened on Jefferson's birthday, April 13, 1976.
Though student enrollment has grown well beyond the original Lawn facilities, the University further distinguishes itself by extending the original Academical Village ideal with two exclusively First-Year (freshman) living areas: The Old Dorms (Bonnycastle, Dabney, Echols, Emmet, Hancock, Humphreys, Kent, Lefevre, Metcalf, Page), located on
McCormick RoadMcCormick Road is a street in Charlottesville, VA that serves as the main road for the University of Virginia’s ‘Central Grounds.’ Beginning at the intersection of McCormick and Alderman Road and ending at the intersection of McCormick Road and University Avenue, McCormick Road is an integral part...
, and The New Dorms (Cauthen, Courtenay, Dunglison, Dunnington, Fitzhugh, Kellogg, Lile, Maupin, Tuttle, Webb, Woody), adjacent to
Scott StadiumThe Carl Smith Center, Home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium, located in Charlottesville, Virginia, is the home of the Virginia Cavaliers football team. It sits on the University of Virginia's West Grounds, across from first-year dorms on Alderman Road. Constructed in 1931, it is the...
, both situated wholly on Grounds and considered integral to establishing peer discourse. The common bonding experience proves such a fixture to the University experience, students often identify themselves by individual "Old" or "New" dormitory. First-Year living areas also include
Hereford CollegeHereford College is a residential college at the University of Virginia. It is named after physicist Frank Hereford, who was President of the University between 1974 and 1985. The college opened in 1992 as New College, U-Va.'s second residential college. It consists of five strikingly thin dorm...
, International Residential College, and
Brown College at Monroe HillBrown College at Monroe Hill is a residential college at the University of Virginia, United States.Originally named Monroe Hill College, Brown opened in 1986 as the first modern residential college at the University of Virginia. It was renamed Brown College at Monroe Hill in recognition of the...
.
In 2001,
John KlugeJohn Werner Kluge is a German-American entrepreneur and a billionaire. He is best known as a television industry mogul in the United States.- Early life :...
donated 7,378 acres (30 km
2) of additional lands to the University. Kluge desired 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 MatthewsDavid John Matthews is a South African-American Grammy Award-winning musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band.-Early life:...
, of the
Dave Matthews BandDave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is an American band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. Founding members include singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, violinist Boyd Tinsley, and drummer Carter Beauford. Founding-member saxophonist LeRoi...
, to be utilized in an
organic farmingOrganic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation etc.....
project. It is unknown what the University will do with its "core" portion of the land.
The
Virginia Department of TransportationThe Virginia Department of Transportation is the government agency responsible for building, maintaining and operating Virginia's roads, bridges and tunnels. It is overseen by the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which has the power to fund airports, seaports, rail and public transportation...
maintains the roads through the University grounds as State Route 302.
Modern luminary gatherings and events
On June 10, 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to the University's Memorial Gymnasium to watch his son
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr.Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. was the fifth child of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt .-Personal life:...
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 GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
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. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
visited and spoke in the same space with brothers Robert Kennedy and
Ted KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in November 1962, he was elected nine times and served for 46 years in the U.S. Senate. At the time of his death, he was the second most senior member of the Senate, and...
, the latter of whom was managing JFK's 1958 Senatorial re-election campaign from his dormitory at the University of Virginia.
In the early 1960s, civil rights leaders Martin Luther King,
James FarmerJames Farmer may refer to:*James L. Farmer, Sr., first African-American Texan to earn a doctorate*James L. Farmer, Jr., one of the leaders of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s, son of the above*Jim Farmer, American basketball player...
,
Aaron HenryAaron Henry was a civil rights leader, politician, and head of the NAACP. He was born in Dublin, Mississippi to Ed and Mattie Henry who were sharecroppers. He enlisted in the Army after high school and later attended Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans on the GI Bill. He graduated with a...
, John Lewis and
Bayard RustinBayard Rustin was an American civil rights activist, important largely behind the scenes in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and earlier, and the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom . He counseled Martin Luther King, Jr. on the techniques of nonviolent...
spoke at the University under the sponsorship of the Virginia Council on Human Relations, a student organization which had to battle for the right to present speakers on campus who opposed the state's prevailing policy of racial segregation. John Lewis, then chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and later a U.S. congressman, spoke in 1965 while his head was still bandaged from a police beating he received in Selma, Alabama.
To commemorate the
United States BicentennialThe United States Bicentennial was celebrated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.-Coins:...
in 1976, Britain's
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
strolled the Lawn and lunched in the Dome Room of the Rotunda, one of five American sites she publicly visited.
The Dalai Lama,
ArchbishopIn Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In many Christian Churches, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case. An archbishop is equivalent to a bishop in...
Desmond TutuDesmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. In 1984, Tutu became the second South African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize...
, and several other Nobel Peace laureates stayed on Grounds for one week in 1998 while attending the University's historic Nobel Laureates Conference.
High preference among high achievers
Admission to the University of Virginia is very competitive. A December 2005
National Bureau of Economic ResearchThe National Bureau of Economic Research is a US private, nonprofit research organization dedicated to studying the science and empirics of economics, especially the American economy. It is "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business...
study of "high-achieving" undergraduate applicants found U-Va., at twentieth overall, to be the most preferred college located in the state of Virginia, some twenty-three spots ahead of
Washington and Lee UniversityWashington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
, and the second-most preferred in the
American SouthThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, just one spot behind
Duke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892...
. The study also revealed the University to be the most preferred
public universityA public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities...
in the entire United States, placing five spots above both the
Georgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly called Georgia Tech, Tech, and GT, is a public, coeducational research university in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States...
and the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
. The stated purpose of the NBER study was to produce a ranking system that "would be difficult for a college to manipulate" by basing it on the actual demonstrated preferences of highly meritorious students.
Early Decision abolished
Three leading American universities —
HarvardHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
,
PrincetonPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
, and Virginia — announced in September 2006 that they were discontinuing their
Early DecisionEarly decision is a common early admission policy used in college admissions in the United States for admitting freshmen to undergraduate programs. It is used to indicate to the University or College that the candidate considers that institution to be his or her top choice...
or
Early ActionEarly action is a type of early admission process for admission to colleges and universities in the United States. Unlike the regular admissions process, early action usually requires students to submit an application by November 1 of their senior year of high school instead of January 1...
rounds of admission in an effort to promote economic diversity in their student bodies. Early Decision programs force a student to accept an offer of admission before evaluating the financial aid offers of various universities, while Early Action entails no commitment upfront but may also prevent a comparison of offers before making a decision. The
College BoardThe College Board is an examination board in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It manages many different standardized tests used by academically oriented post-secondary education institutions to measure a student's ability...
states that an applicant "should not apply under an Early Decision or Action plan if he plans to weigh offers and financial aid packages from several colleges later in the spring."
Through the 2006-2007 admissions cycle, 30% of each class at the University was made up of Early Decision applicants. Financially, their families were far wealthier than those of other students at the University. In the most recent year, only 1 student received a full financial aid package under the AccessUVa program out of 947 students who were accepted under Early Decision. Less than 2% of Early Decision candidates applied for any financial aid at all.
During the 2008 admissions cycle, there was no early round at the University for the first time since the 1960s and all undergraduate applications were due on one date. The University again received a record number of applications despite eliminating the Early Decision admissions round.
Admissions statistics
For the Class of 2011, the University of Virginia received a record 18,013 applications.
The University saw increased interest from various groups of students, as applications rose by 13 percent for
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
applicants, 20 percent for
Asian American{Infobox Ethnic group|group = Asian American|image =Graduation Rate! align="CENTER" | Bachelor's Degree
or More|-| align="LEFT" | Asian Indians| align="RIGHT" | 90.2%| align="RIGHT" | 67.9%|-| align="LEFT" | Filipinos| align="RIGHT" | 90.8%...
s, 16 percent for Hispanic Americans, and 26 percent for
internationalInternational or internationally most often describes interaction between nations, or encompassing two or more nations, constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations, or generally reaching beyond national boundaries...
students. The University enrolled 70 more first-years than it did the previous year, as it continued to expand the scope of the
School of Engineering and Applied ScienceThe University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science , established in 1836, is the oldest engineering school in the United States associated with a university. SEAS is one of 10 schools and colleges at the University of Virginia. It is the second-largest school at U.Va. and is home...
.
Another record was established for the Class of 2012, with 18,776 applications for 3,170 spots. Applications rose for each of the four undergraduate schools that accept first-year students into their programs: Architecture, Arts & Sciences, Engineering, and Nursing.
The Class of 2013 saw a tremendous increase to yet another new record high of 21,511 applications. 29% of applicants were accepted. The University continued to see interest from an increasingly diverse pool, as applications increased by another 22 percent for African American students, 56 percent for Hispanic students, 50 percent for international students, and 100 percent for Native Americans.
Academics
Degrees from the University of Virginia must be earned academically – there has never been an honorary degree offered. The policy was instituted by Thomas Jefferson. When the Virginia Legislature's Committee of Schools and Colleges was reconsidering it in 1845, then-U.Va. professor and future
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research...
founder
William Barton RogersWilliam Barton Rogers is best known for setting down the founding principles, advocating for, and finally incorporating the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1861...
wrote "the legislators of the University have, we think, wisely made their highest academic honor—that of Master of Arts of the University of Virginia—the genuine test of diligent and successful literary training, and, disdaining such literary almsgiving, have firmly barred the door against the demands of spurious merit and noisy popularity." Sixteen years later in 1861 when MIT was chartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Rogers carried the U.Va. policy through to the new institute.
The University of Virginia places
#1 among state-supported universities in the United States in the production of Rhodes Scholars. Its most recent winners were two awarded in 2004, bringing it to a cumulative total of 45.
Tuition is lower for both in-state and out-of-state students than at most other top universities. The student composition of the University is such that it was described in a feature article in the 2006
America's Best Colleges edition of
U.S. News and World Report as being "chock full of academic stars who turn down private schools like Duke, Princeton, and Cornell for, they say, a better value." Indeed, in 2008 the Center for College Affordability and Productivity named the University the top value among all national public colleges and universities; and in 2009, the University was again named the "#1 Best Value" among public universities in the United States in a separate ranking by
USA TODAYUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth...
and the
Princeton Review.
Rankings and Recognition
In 2010,
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek, it was for many years a leading news weekly, although it focused more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
ranked the University of Virginia as the number two public university (tied with UCLA) among "National Universities" in the United States.
In the 2010 edition, the undergraduate program at U.Va. ranked
#2 (tied with UCLA) out of roughly 200 public universities in the United States and
#24 overall in a tie with UCLA (including privates). In the 20-year history of the rankings, U.Va. has never dropped out of the Top 25 listing, and in the ten years since
U.S. News began ranking public universities as a separate category, U.Va. has ranked either
#1 or
#2. In every published edition of the report going back to 1983, the undergraduate program at the University of Virginia has retained its position as the highest ranked school, public or private, in its home state. In 2009,
ForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, Forbes magazine, is published fortnightly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published fortnightly, and Business Week...
ranked UVA the
#6 public university in America (
#64 overall among public and private).
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/06/best-public-colleges-opinions-colleges-09-top.html
The University of Virginia also has many highly regarded graduate programs. Programs ranked in their respective fields' top 10 by U.S. News and World Report include
LawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
,
Tax LawTax law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes.- Major issues :Primary taxation issues facing the governments world over include;* taxes on income and wealth...
,
International LawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states, analogous entities, such as the Holy See, and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, 18th through 20th Century
British LiteratureBritish literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands as well as to literature from England, Wales and Scotland prior to the formation of the United Kingdom....
, African-American Literature,
American LiteratureAmerican literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and Colonial America. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
, American Literature Before 1865, U.S. Colonial History, Political Theory,
Developmental PsychologyDevelopmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that occur in human beings over the course of the life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence and adult development,...
,
Adult/Medical-Surgical NursingMedical-surgical nurses provide holistic care for adult patients in a broad range of settings, applying their knowledge to all body systems and disease processes. They are trusted by patients and valued by colleagues as highly skilled and compassionate caregivers...
,
Psychiatric/Mental Health NursingPsychiatric nursing or mental health nursing is the speciality of nursing that cares for people of all ages with mental illness or mental distress, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression or dementia...
,
ManagementManagement in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, facilitating and controlling or manipulating an organization or effort for...
,
Elementary Teacher EducationA primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
,
Secondary Teacher EducationSecondary education is the stage of education following primary school. Secondary education is generally the final stage of compulsory education. However, secondary education in some countries includes a period of compulsory and a period of non-compulsory education. The next stage of education is...
, and
Special EducationSpecial education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
.
The
Jefferson Scholars FoundationThe Jefferson Scholars Foundation provides a full tuition scholarship program benefiting select undergraduate and graduate students at The University of Virginia and has been named as one of the two leading scholarship programs in the country...
offers four year full-tuition scholarships based on regional, international, and at-large competitions. Students are nominated by their high schools, interviewed, then invited to weekend-long series of tests of character, aptitude, and general suitability. Approximately 3% of those nominated successfully earn the scholarship.
Echols Scholars (College of Arts and Sciences) and Rodman Scholars (School of Engineering and Applied Sciences), which include 6-7% of undergraduate students, receive no financial benefits, but are entitled to special advisors, priority course registration, residence in designated dorms and fewer curricular constraints than other students.
The University offers 48
bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s, 94
master's degreeA master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s, 55
doctoral degreesA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession . The best-known example...
, 6 educational specialist degrees, and 2 first-professional degrees (
MedicineThe Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians...
and
LawJuris Doctor is a first professional degree.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree...
) 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, , were receiving 37,000 daily visits (compared to 6,000 daily visitors to the physical libraries).
The University of Virginia is a member of a consortium engaged in the construction and operation of the
Large Binocular TelescopeThe Large Binocular Telescope is located on 10,700-foot Mount Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona and is a part of the Mount Graham International Observatory...
in the
Mount Graham International ObservatoryMount Graham International Observatory is a division of Steward Observatory the research arm for the Department of Astronomy at The University of Arizona. It is located in southeast Arizona's Pinaleno Mountains near Mount Graham....
of the
Pinaleno MountainsThe Pinaleño Mountains are a remote mountain range in southeastern Arizona. They have over of vertical relief, more than any other range in the state. The mountains are surrounded by the Sonoran-Chihuahuan Desert. Subalpine forests cover the higher elevations...
of southeastern
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
. It is also a member of both the Astrophysical Research Consortium, which operates telescopes at
Apache Point ObservatoryThe Apache Point Observatory is located in the Sacramento Mountains in Sunspot, New Mexico 18 miles south of Cloudcroft. The observatory consists of the Astrophysical Research Consortium's 3.5-meter telescope, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey 2.5-m telescope with a 20" photometric telescope, and New...
in
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
, and the
Association of Universities for Research in AstronomyThe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy is a consortium of universities and other institutions that operates astronomical observatories and telescopes.-Centers:...
which operates the
National Optical Astronomy ObservatoryThe National Optical Astronomy Observatory is the United States public access observatory for ground based nighttime astronomy. The National Science Foundation funds NOAO to provide forefront astronomical research facilities for US astronomers...
, the
Gemini ObservatoryThe Gemini Observatory is an astronomical observatory consisting of two telescopes at different sites. The Northern Operations Center is located in Hilo, Hawaii, and the Southern Operations Center is in La Serena, Chile. The Gemini telescopes were built and are operated by a consortium consisting...
and the
Space Telescope Science InstituteThe Space Telescope Science Institute is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and for the James Webb Space Telescope...
. The University of Virginia hosts the headquarters of the
National Radio Astronomy ObservatoryThe National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center of the United States National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc for the purpose of radio astronomy...
, which operates the
Green Bank TelescopeThe Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope and the world's largest land-based movable structure. It is part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site at Green Bank, West Virginia . The telescope honors the name of Senator Robert C...
in
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
and the
Very Large ArrayThe Very Large Array is a radio astronomy observatory located on the Plains of San Augustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, some fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico, USA. U.S. Route 60 passes through the complex, which is adjacent to the Boy Scout Double H High Adventure Base. The...
radio telescope made famous in the
Carl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrochemist, author, and highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics and other natural sciences...
television documentary
CosmosCosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as global presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers and...
and film
ContactContact is a 1997 science fiction drama film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both Sagan and wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film adaptation of Contact. Jodie Foster portrays the film's protagonist, Dr...
. The North American
Atacama Large Millimeter ArrayThe Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array is an international astronomy project that consists of an astronomical interferometer formed from an array of radio telescopes, located at Llano de Chajnantor Observatory in the Atacama desert in northern Chile...
Science Center is also located at the Charlottesville NRAO site.
UVA also hosts the
Rare Book SchoolRare Book School is an independent non-profit organization based at the University of Virginia supporting the study of the history of books, manuscripts, and related objects. Each year, RBS offers about 30 five-day courses on these subjects...
, a non-profit organization that studies the history of books and printing. The University is one of 60 elected members of the
Association of American UniversitiesThe Association of American Universities is an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education...
, and the only member representing the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the United States' sole member of
Universitas 21Universitas 21 is an international network of research-intensive universities, established as an "international reference point and resource for strategic thinking on issues of global significance." Together, there are 500,000 students and 40,000 academics and researchers associated with these...
, an international consortium of research-intensive universities. On May 14, 2007, University President John Casteen was named Chairman of the Board of the organization.
Graduate placement
In 2003,
The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an English-language international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, in New York City, with Asian and European editions. As of 2007, it has a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million, with approximately 931,000...
studied the undergraduate backgrounds of entering students at "elite" graduate programs. The University of Virginia with 82 placements (2.6% of class) placed 33rd overall and third among all state-supported universities in elite graduate placement. No other state university on the
Atlantic SeaboardThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard" or "Atlantic Seaboard", refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada...
had greater than one-third the number of placements as the University of Virginia (e.g.,
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
had 26 placements,
Georgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly called Georgia Tech, Tech, and GT, is a public, coeducational research university in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States...
had 20, W&M had 11).
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 a winner of the 2005
Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded once a year by the Swedish Karolinska Institute. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, and Physiology or Medicine...
. 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
SURANETThe Southeastern Universities Research Association network. It provided networking services for a variety of universities and industries, and was the first TCP/IP network to sell commercial connections, making it arguably the first Internet Service Provider when IBM Research in Raleigh-Durham,...
, and the University has also participated in
ARPANETThe ARPANET created by ARPA of the United States Department of Defense during the Cold War, was the world's first operational packet switching network, and the predecessor of the global Internet....
,
AbileneAbilene Network was a high-performance backbone network created by the Internet2 community. It is now part of the Internet2 Network.One of the aims of the Abilene project was to achieve 10Gb connectivity between every node by the end of 2006...
,
Internet2Internet2 is an advanced networking consortium led by the research and education community. The not-for-profit partnership includes leaders from research, academia, industry and government...
, and
Lambda RailNational LambdaRail is a high-speed national computer network infrastructure in the United States that runs over fiber-optic lines, and is the first transcontinental Ethernet network. The name is shared by the organization of research institutions that developed the network, and, to date, plans to...
. On March 19, 1986 the University's
domain nameA domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the Domain Name System ....
,
Virginia.edu, became the first registration under the
.eduedu is the sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet for educational institutions, primarily those in the United States. Although not officially mandated for much of the domain's existence, in practice it has been used primarily for U.S.-based four-year...
top-level domainA top-level domain or domain name is the highest level of domain names in the root zone of the Domain Name System of the Internet. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the label that follows the last dot of a fully qualified domain name...
originating from the Commonwealth of
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
.
Faculty were originally housed in the
Academical VillageThe Lawn is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The design shows Jefferson's mastery of Palladian architecture...
among the students, serving as both instructors and advisors, continuing on to include the McCormick Road Old Dorms, though this has been phased out in favor of undergraduate student resident advisors (RAs). Several of the faculty, however, continue the University tradition of living on Grounds, either on the Lawn in the various Pavilions, or as fellows at one of three residential colleges (
Brown College at Monroe HillBrown College at Monroe Hill is a residential college at the University of Virginia, United States.Originally named Monroe Hill College, Brown opened in 1986 as the first modern residential college at the University of Virginia. It was renamed Brown College at Monroe Hill in recognition of the...
, Hereford College, and the International Residential College).
Some of the University of Virginia's faculty have become well-known national personalities during their time in Charlottesville.
Larry SabatoLarry Joseph Sabato is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, director of their Center for Politics, and a political analyst. He also founded Sabato's Crystal Ball, an online newsletter and website that provides free political analysis and electoral projections...
has, according to
The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an English-language international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, in New York City, with Asian and European editions. As of 2007, it has a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million, with approximately 931,000...
and
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Washington, D.C. and is the city's oldest paper, founded in 1877. Being located in the nation's capital, it has a particular emphasis on national politics and international affairs...
, become the most cited professor in the country by national and regional news organizations, both on the Internet and in print.
Julian BondHorace Julian Bond, known as Julian Bond, is an American social activist and leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, politician, professor and writer. While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee...
, a lecturer at the University since 1990, has been the Chairman of the NAACP since 1998.
Media StudiesMedia studies is an academic discipline that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. The subject varies greatly in theoretical and methodological focus, but may be broadly divided into three interrelated areas: the critique of artistic styles...
and Law professor
Siva VaidhyanathanSiva Vaidhyanathan is a cultural historian and media scholar, and is currently an associate professor of Media Studies and Law at the University of Virginia. Vaidhyanathan is a frequent contributor on media and cultural issues in various periodicals including The Chronicle of Higher Education, New...
, an expert in copyright law and Internet issues, moved from
New York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
to the University of Virginia in 2007.
Beginning in 2002, the
Cavalier Daily student newspaper has posted faculty compensation online annually.
Colleges and schools
- School of Architecture
The School of Architecture at the University of Virginia is a national leader in architectural education, conferring degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Architectural History, and Urban and Environmental Planning...
- College of Arts & Sciences
The University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is the largest of the University of Virginia's ten schools. Consisting of both a graduate and an undergraduate program, the College comprises the liberal arts and humanities section of the University...
- Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
The Darden School of Business, founded in 1954, is the graduate business school associated with the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School is "high touch, high tone, high octane"...
- McIntire School of Commerce
The McIntire School of Commerce is the University of Virginia's undergraduate business school. It was founded in 1921 through a gift by Paul Goodloe McIntire. The two-year McIntire program offers students B.S. degrees in Commerce with concentrations in Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Management,...
- School of Continuing and Professional Studies
The School of Continuing and Professional Studies is the University of Virginia's adult continuing education and distance learning program. It reaches about 15,000 non-traditional students annually at academic centers located in Charlottesville, Hampton Roads, Northern Virginia, Quantico,...
- Curry School of Education
The Curry School of Education is a public school of education in the U.S. Located on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the Curry School offers professional programs designed to prepare individuals for a variety of careers related to the practice of education...
- School of Engineering and Applied Science
The University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science , established in 1836, is the oldest engineering school in the United States associated with a university. SEAS is one of 10 schools and colleges at the University of Virginia. It is the second-largest school at U.Va. and is home...
- School of Law
The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
- School of Medicine
The University of Virginia School of Medicine is a medical school located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. The tenth medical school to open in the United States, it has been part of the University of Virginia since the University's establishment in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson...
- School of Nursing
The University of Virginia School of Nursing, established in 1901, is a world-renowned school of nursing education. For more than one hundred years, it has been at the forefront of nursing education, service, and research. It has an enrollment of approximately 681 undergraduate and graduate...
- Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy (new – announced in April 2007)
- College at Wise
The University of Virginia's College at Wise, , is the liberal arts college of the University of Virginia, and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, located in Wise, Virginia...
The University is also endowed with several affiliated centers including the
University of Virginia Center for PoliticsThe University of Virginia Center for Politics was founded in 1998 by professor and political analyst Larry J. Sabato to put into practice his belief that "Politics is a good thing!" The Center for Politics is a nonpartisan organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia, which seeks to increase...
, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, and
Miller Center of Public AffairsThe ' is a non-partisan research institute affiliated with the University of Virginia.Founded in 1975, the Miller Center is a leading public policy institution that serves as a national meeting place where engaged citizens, scholars, students, media representatives and government officials gather...
.
The University of Virginia Art Museum is dedicated to creating an environment where both the University community and the general public can study and learn from directly experiencing works of art.
Endowment
Managed by the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, and with
$The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
3.9
billion1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 10
9....
as of November, 2008 for 20,391 full-time students, the University of Virginia has a per capita endowment of $191,000 per student; this is the largest per capita endowment of any public university in the United States. Considering public university endowments across the country, the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
($122,000) is second to U.Va. among national publics in per capita endowment funds. Both are in the top 5 for recent growth rates nationwide.
When compared to other public universities in its home state, the per-student endowment at the University of Virginia is several times larger than its nearest competitors, the
College of William and MaryThe College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
($73,492 per student) and
Virginia TechVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic university in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States...
($16,000). It is also several times larger than the highest among flagship institutions of nearby states,
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
($55,000) and University of Maryland at College Park ($8,600).
Triple-A credit rating
The University of Virginia is one of only two public universities in the U.S. that have a
Triple-A credit ratingIn investment, the bond credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of a corporation's debt issues. It is analogous to credit ratings for individuals and countries. The credit rating is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities such as bonds...
from all three major credit rating agencies, along with the
University of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas, United States, and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol...
. This allows it to borrow money and fund projects with the best possible conditions and terms.
Athletics
The University of Virginia's athletics program competes in
Division IDivision I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States....
(and the Football Bowl Subdivision for
footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
) and since 1953 as a member of the
Atlantic Coast ConferenceThe Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953, the ACC's twelve member universities compete in twenty sports in the Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
. The current Athletic Director at Virginia is
Craig LittlepageCraig Littlepage is the athletic director at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was named to that position in 2001 and has been with the school as an administrator since 1990.-Early career:...
. The
Virginia CavaliersThe Virginia Cavaliers are the athletic teams officially representing the University of Virginia in college sports. The Cavaliers participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 25 varsity sports...
, also called "Wahoos" or "Hoos", have won 19 recognized national championships, 14 of them since 1980. Virginia has won multiple national titles in five different sports, including three men's sports (
lacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball...
, 6; soccer, 5; and
boxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
, 2) and two women's sports (lacrosse, 3; and
cross countryCross country running is a sport in which runners compete to complete a course over open or rough terrain. The courses used at these events may include grass, mud, woodlands, and water...
, 2). It also holds a national championship in track and field. The men's
college basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the American basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III.-Division I:There are 347 schools in 32...
team has won either the ACC regular season (1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, 2007) or ACC Tournament (1976) titles six times and has been to the
Final FourThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament held each spring featuring 65 college basketball teams. college basketball teams in the United States...
twice, while the women's squad has been three times. The
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
team is part of the
South's Oldest RivalryThe South's Oldest Rivalry is a name referring to the annual football game between the two oldest schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Virginia Cavaliers. It is the most played game in the history of the ACC and was first played in 1892, twice...
with
UNCThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
, and tied for a share of the ACC Championship in both 1989 and 1995. After never reaching a bowl before 1984, the team has played in 17 bowl games since. The program is also notable for its recent high draft picks in the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
, including the #4 overall pick of 2006,
D'Brickashaw FergusonD'Brickashaw Montgomery Ferguson , is an American football left tackle for the New York Jets. Nicknamed Brick, D'Brick or The Pain Train, Ferguson was the Jets' first selection in the 2006 NFL Draft.-Early years:...
, and the #2 overall pick of 2008,
Chris LongChristopher Howard Long is an American football defensive end for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Rams second overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia....
.
In 2006, Virginia's latest National Championship season culminated with its fourth
NCAA Men's Lacrosse ChampionshipThe annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top Men's Field Lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....
, and sixth including the pre-tournament era. Virginia handily won the final game 15-7 over
UMassThe University of Massachusetts is a selective research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts...
in front of a record crowd of 47,062 at
Lincoln Financial FieldLincoln Financial Field, familiarly known as "The Linc", is the home stadium of the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles. It has a seating capacity of 68,532...
in
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
, the first lacrosse crowd to surpass the Final Four of men's basketball and the largest crowd to witness any NCAA Championship during the year. The team finished the season a perfect 17–0, the best record in NCAA Lacrosse history.
The new
John Paul Jones ArenaJohn Paul Jones Arena, or JPJ, opened for the 2006–2007 NCAA Division I basketball season and is located at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. It has seating for 14,593 fans, nearly twice the capacity of 8,457 at Virginia's previous facility, University Hall...
opened in the fall of 2006 for men's and women's basketball. It seats 14,593 fans, making it the third largest on-campus basketball facility in the ACC and the largest arena not located in a major metropolitan area. The arena's inaugural year witnessed the Virginia men's basketball team's first place finish in the ACC.
Davenport FieldDavenport Field is a baseball stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is the home field of the University of Virginia Cavaliers college baseball teams. The stadium holds 2,924 fans and opened in 2002...
, where the
UVa baseball teamThe Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represents the University of Virginia in NCAA Division I college baseball. Established in 1889, the team participates in the Coastal division of the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays its home games at Davenport Field....
plays, is also new, opening in 2002. In
Brian O'ConnorBrian O'Connor is the head coach of the University of Virginia baseball team. Previously serving as an Associate Head Coach at Notre Dame, he was hired on July 8, 2003 to replace the retiring Dennis Womack...
's first 4 seasons at the helm after being made the head baseball coach in July 2003, the team has averaged 44 wins per year and become a nationally-ranked power. The team has led the ACC in team
ERAIn baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. The ERA tells the average number of runs a pitcher would surrender over the course of a full game had he been kept in for the full nine innings...
for 4 consecutive years. In 2009, the baseball team won a place in the
College World SeriesThe College World Series or CWS is a baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split in to two, four team double elimination brackets with the...
for the first time.
The soccer teams are also national powers, with men's soccer having won 5 national championships to date. The women's team is regularly ranked in the top 5 nationally. The teams play their home matches at
Klöckner StadiumKlöckner Stadium is home to four nationally recognized sports programs — the University of Virginia men's and women's soccer in the fall and men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse teams in the spring. The stadium was designed by VMDO Architects and built in 1992 at a cost of $3.4 million, and...
, the largest soccer stadium in the ACC. The men's team has been invited to the NCAA Tournament for 26 consecutive years.
The Aquatics and Fitness Center (
webcam) has been popular among University students for working out and swimming since its opening in Fall 1996, and it is also where the
SwimmingThe aquatic sport of swimming involves competition amongst participants to be the fastest over a given distance under self propulsion.The different events include 25, 50, 100, 200, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, the 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 500, 800, 1000, 1500, and 1650 free and the 100,...
&
DivingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
teams compete in home meets. The men's swimming and diving team won 8 consecutive ACC Championships between 1999 and 2006.
Also winning consecutive ACC titles has been the men's tennis team, which has won 4 consecutive regular season ACC Championships. Playing their home matches at the
Sheridan Snyder Tennis CenterThe Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center at the University of Virginia opened in 1997 right next to Memorial Gymnasium. The 13-court facility showcases Virginia's men's and women's tennis teams.- Configuration :...
, the men's tennis team had their best season ever in 2007, finishing with a 30-4 record and a #2 national ranking.
Somdev DevvarmanSomdev Devvarman , also known as "Somdev Dev Varman", is a tennis player from India. He rose to prominence while at college at the University of Virginia in the USA, with two consecutive wins in the NCAA Singles Championship....
became the first ACC player in conference history to win the NCAA Singles Championship, which he won in two consecutive years. In addition, the tennis team beat Ohio State for the 2008 National Indoor Tennis Championships, 4-1.
Now that Virginia Tech has joined the ACC, the
Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalryThe Virginia–Virginia Tech rivalry is a team rivalry, across many sports, that exists between the University of Virginia's Cavaliers and Virginia Tech's Hokies. The athletics programs are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
has been strengthened across a number of sports. This rivalry between the University and its larger neighbor to the southwest is followed statewide. UVA's athletic teams have bested the
HokiesThe Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams officially representing Virginia Tech in college sports. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 19 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, Cricket, cross country, golf,...
through the years in many of the major sports. The two universities also faced off in the Commonwealth Challenge between 2005 and 2007, with the Cavaliers routing the Hokies in each Challenge: 14.5 to 7.5 in 2005-2006 and 14 to 8 in 2006-2007. The competition was then dropped out of sensitivity following the
Virginia Tech massacreThe Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and...
.
Fight song
The Cavalier Song is the official fight song of the University of Virginia. The song was a result of a contest held in 1923 by the University. The Cavalier Song, with lyrics by Lawrence Haywood Lee, Jr. and music by Fulton Lewis, Jr., was selected as the winner. Generally the second half of the song is played during sporting events. Until the 2008 football season, the entire fight song could be heard during the
Cavalier Marching BandThe Cavalier Marching Band is the marching band at the University of Virginia. The band's director, William Pease, is the first full-time marching band director in the history of the University of Virginia...
's entrance at home football games.
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." Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors are instead called first-, second-, third-, and fourth-years in order to reflect Jefferson's belief that learning is a never-ending process, rather than one to be completed within four years. Also, students do not "graduate" from the University - instead they "take" their degrees. Professors are traditionally addressed as "Mr." or "Ms." instead of "Doctor" (although medical doctors are the exception and are called "Doctor") in deference to Thomas Jefferson's desire to have an equality of ideas, discriminated by merit and unburdened by title.
In 2005, the University was named "Hottest for Fitness" by
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine, due in part to 94% of its students using one of the four indoor athletics facilities. Particularly popular is the Aquatics and Fitness Center, situated across the street from the Alderman Dorms.
The University of Virginia sent more workers to the
Peace CorpsThe Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a governmental agency of the same name. Each program participant, or Peace Corps Volunteer, is an American citizen who commits to working abroad in an assignment for the organization for a period of...
in 2006 and 2008 than any other "medium-sized" university in the United States. Volunteerism at the University is centered in 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.
A number of
secret societies at the UniversitySecret societies have been a part of University of Virginia student life since the first class of students in 1825. While the number of societies peaked during the 75 year period between 1875 and 1950, there are still five societies active that are over 100 years old, and several newer societies...
, most notably the
Seven SocietyThe Seven Society is the most secretive of the University of Virginia's secret societies. Members are only revealed after their death, when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the...
,
Z SocietyThe Z Society is a philanthropic organization that was founded at the University of Virginia in 1892. It comprises outstanding student leaders who give time, talent, and financial contributions to groups and individuals that exemplify the spirit of the society and uphold the ideals of the university...
, and
IMP SocietyThe IMP Society is a secret society at the University of Virginia that is notable for combining philanthropy and public mischief.Originally founded in 1902 as a society called the Hot Feet, the society was known primarily for its public ceremonies in which it crowned the society's "king." The Hot...
, have operated for decades, leaving their painted marks on University buildings. Other significant secret societies include
Eli BananaThe Eli Banana Ribbon Society is the oldest secret society at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1878 as a way to encourage the fraternities to engage more directly in the life of the University, the aim of the society was to bring its members to leadership in the University community and to...
, T.I.L.K.A., the Purple Shadows (who commemorate Jefferson's birthday shortly after dawn on the Lawn each April 13), The Sons of Liberty, and the 21 Society. 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.
Student Societies have existed on grounds since the early 19th Century. The
Jefferson Literary and Debating SocietyThe Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is a debating and literary society at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest organization at The University and one of the oldest continuously existing debating societies in North America....
, founded in 1825, is the oldest collegiate debating organization in the United States, and the second oldest Greek-Lettered organization in the nation. It continues to meet every Friday at 7:29 PM in
Jefferson HallJefferson Hall – more formally known as "Hotel C" – is a building on the West Range of the University of Virginia. It is the traditional home of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society; the term "Jefferson Hall" is sometimes used as a synonym for the organization.Jefferson Hall is...
. The
Washington Literary Society and Debating UnionThe Washington Literary Society and Debating Union is a literary and debating group at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville...
also meets every week, and the two organizations often engage in a friendly rivalry. In the days before social fraternities existed and intercollegiate athletics became popular, these Societies were often the focal point of social activity on grounds. Several fraternities were later founded at the University of Virginia including
Pi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity is an international secret social Greek-letter college fraternity. It was founded at 47 West Range at the University of Virginia in the United States on Sunday evening, March 1 1868.-History:...
(March 1, 1868) and
Kappa SigmaΚΣ is an international fraternity with currently 231 active chapters and 30 colonies in North America. There have been more than 245,000 initiates, of which more than 188,000 are living and more than 12,900 are undergraduates...
(December 10, 1869). Many of these fraternities are located on
Rugby RoadRugby Road is a street in Charlottesville, Virginia that serves as the center of the University of Virginia's fraternity and sorority system and its attendant social activity...
.
The student life building on the University of Virginia is called Newcomb Hall. It is home to the Student Activities Center, where student groups can get leadership consulting and use computing and copying resources, as well as several meeting rooms for student groups. Most publications on grounds are produced here, as it is home to both the office of the independent student newspaper
The Declaration,
The Cavalier DailyThe Cavalier Daily is the fully independent student-run newspaper at the University of Virginia, founded in 1890. It is the oldest daily college newspaper in Virginia and the oldest newspaper in Charlottesville, Virginia...
, and the Consortium of University Publications. It is also home to the University Programs Council, which uses money from student activities fees to provide events for the student community. Newcomb Hall includes a dining hall, a theatre, a ballroom, an art gallery, and several rooms for magazine and newspaper production.
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 as well as an
original copy]The Dunlap broadsides were the first published copies of the United States Declaration of Independence, printed on the night of July 4, 1776, by John Dunlap of Philadelphia...
of the
Declaration of IndependenceThe United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire...
. It was in this library in 2006 that Robert Stilling, an English Graduate Student, discovered an unpublished
Robert FrostRobert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
poem from 1918. 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 scores high marks. Clark Hall is also notable for a large Greek-style mural on the ceiling and walls of the library entrance. , the University and
GoogleGoogle Inc. is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking, and video sharing services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the same technologies. Google has also...
were working on the digitization of selected collections from the library system.
As at many universities, alcohol use is a part of the social life of many undergraduate students at the University. Responding to the prevalence of alcohol and a recent tradition observed by a portion of the student body called the Fourth-Year Fifth (where some fourth-year students strive to drink a fifth (750 ml) of alcohol during the day of the last home football game), President Casteen announced a $2.5 million donation from
Anheuser-BuschAnheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is the largest brewing company in the United States. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in other countries...
to fund a new UVA-based Social Norms Institute in September 2006. A spokesman said: "the goal is to get students to emulate the positive behavior of the vast majority of students."
One of the largest events at the University of Virginia is called Springfest. It takes place every year in the spring, and features a large free concert and various inflatables and games.
Another popular event is Foxfield, a
steeplechaseSteeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* Steeplechase , an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing* Steeplechase , an event in dog agility...
and social gathering that takes place nearby in Albemarle County in April, and which is annually attended by thousands of students from the University of Virginia and neighboring colleges.
Honor System
The University of Virginia has an honor code, formally known as the Honor System. The
Honor SystemAn honor code or honor system is a set of rules or principles governing a community based on a set of rules or ideals that define what constitutes honorable behavior within that community. The use of an honor code depends on the idea that people can be trusted to act honorably...
is entirely student-run and was founded by Virginia students in 1842 after John A. G. Davis, chairman of the faculty and professor of law, who was attempting to resolve a conflict between students, was shot to death. Originally, the student was expected to hold himself to a gentleman's code of conduct. In the wake of the shooting, law professor
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. was a Virginia jurist, law professor, and U.S. Congressman .-Biography:Tucker was born in Williamsburg, Virginia on December 29, 1780. As a young man, Tucker pursued classical studies at the College of William & Mary; he graduated in 1798...
proposed a basic honor pledge as a gesture of confidence in the honor of Virginia students. In modern times however, the Honor System is composed of only three tenets: a student will not
lieA lie is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others, often with the further intention to maintain a secret or reputation, protect someone's feelings or to avoid a punishment...
,
cheatCheating is an act of lying, deception, fraud, trickery, imposture, or imposition. Cheating characteristically is employed to create an unfair advantage, usually in one's own interest, and often at the expense of others, Cheating implies the breaking of rules...
, or
stealIn criminal law, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting, fraud and sometimes...
. It extends to all matters academic and personal, and the sole sanction for a confirmed Honor System violation is dismissal from the University. This is called the "single sanction".
The system is not without its detractors — it has been criticized because the required severe penalty may prevent more moderate violations from being reported or acted upon. As the system is entirely student run, a change to the Honor Committee constitution could have the effect of ending the single sanction system of punishment. Although students have voted on numerous proposals to weaken or eliminate the single sanction over the past few decades, none has ever succeeded. Support for the honor system has waned in recent years, and in the Spring of 2007 a referendum to limit single sanction failed to pass by the necessary 60% margin after earning only 49.5% of the votes cast.
In theory, the Honor System allows the faculty to do such things as assign timed take-home examinations, and research or studies to be done in a particular way, with the assurance that the strictures placed on the student will be observed. However, no professor is required to extend such courtesies. The student is often required to sign all examinations or assignments with the following pledge: "On my honor as a student, I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment/examination." The Honor System allows the student to purchase books and supplies on-Grounds upon giving his or her word to pay, and some members of the Charlottesville community accept the word of the student regarding off-Grounds business transactions.
While cheating is relatively rare (24 students were dismissed during the 2003 academic year, and 21 more were dismissed in 2004), one large cheating scandal occurred in 2001. Physics professor and Hereford College Dean Louis Bloomfield, based on a student's complaint, had suspicions that some of his students had copied portions of their term papers from
fraternityFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In English, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in North America, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
archives in his Introduction to Physics class. After devising a computer program to detect copied phrases of at least six sequential words, over 150 students were accused of plagiarizing or allowing others to plagiarize their work over the previous five semesters. Although over 100 of these students were eventually exonerated, 48 students either admitted guilt or were convicted, and were therefore dismissed from the University. Three of these students had already graduated, and their degrees were subsequently revoked.
Distinguished alumni
Among the individuals who have attended or graduated from the University of Virginia are writer
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the...
, medical researcher
Walter ReedMajor Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team which postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes, rather than by direct contact...
, painter
Georgia O'KeeffeGeorgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist. Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe was a major figure in American art from the 1920s. She received widespread recognition for her technical contributions, as well as for challenging the boundaries of modern American artistic style...
, polar explorer
Richard ByrdRear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a pioneering American polar explorer, aviator and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.-Ancestry:He was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia...
, four
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
astronauts (
Patrick G. ForresterPatrick Graham Forrester is a retired United States Army officer and a NASA astronaut. At the time of his retirement from the U.S. Army, Forrester had achieved the rank of colonel. Forrester is married and has 2 children...
,
Karl Gordon HenizeKarl Gordon Henize, Ph.D. was a NASA astronaut.-Personal data:Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, his hobbies included home computers, stamp collecting, mathematics, and astronomy, and he also enjoyed racquetball, baseball, skin diving, and mountain climbing.-Education:Henize attended primary and secondary...
,
Bill NelsonClarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior U.S. Senator from Florida. Nelson is a member of the Democratic Party. Nelson became the second sitting member of the United States Congress to fly in space when he flew aboard the as a Payload Specialist during NASA mission STS-61-C...
, and
Kathryn C. ThorntonKathryn Ryan Cordell Thornton is an American scientist and a former NASA astronaut with over 975 hours in space, including 21 hours of extravehicular activity...
), NASA Launch Director
Michael D. LeinbachMichael D. Leinbach is the Shuttle Launch Director at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center , Florida. He is responsible for activities in the overall shuttle launch countdown, including planning, policy, and execution.-Early life:...
, Pulitzer Prizewinning poets
Karl ShapiroKarl Jay Shapiro was an American poet. He was appointed the fifth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1946.-Biography:...
and
Henry S. TaylorHenry S. Taylor is a Pulitzer Prize winning American poet and author of over 15 books of poetry.Taylor was born on 21 June 1942 in rural Loudoun County, Virginia. He went to high school at George School in Newtown, PA...
, Director of the
Human Genome ProjectThe Human Genome Project was an international scientific research project with a primary goal to determine the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA and to identify and map the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional standpoint...
Francis CollinsFrancis Collins may refer to:*Francis Collins *Francis Dolan Collins , 19th century American politician*Frank Collins , Irish footballer...
, journalist
Katie CouricKatherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist who became well-known as co-host of NBC's Today. In 2006, she made a highly publicized move from NBC to CBS, and on September 5, 2006 she became the first solo female anchor of the weekday evening news on one of the three traditional U.S....
, author
David NolanDavid Nolan was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1946, the son of journalist Joseph T. Nolan and his artist wife Virginia.He attended the public schools in Bayside, New York and Waterbury, Connecticut, studied at the University of Virginia, and was active in the American Civil Rights Movement of...
, comedian
Tina FeyElizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards...
, author
Barbara A. PerryDr. Barbara A. Perry, a U.S. Supreme Court expert and biographer of the Kennedys, is the Carter Glass Professor of Government and founding director of the Center for Civic Renewal at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. In 1994-95 she was the Judicial Fellow at the U.S. Supreme Court, where she...
, musician
Boyd TinsleyBoyd Calvin Tinsley is an American violinist and mandolinist who performs as a member of the Dave Matthews Band. Within the band, Tinsley has collaborated in writing songs, harmonized and sung backing vocals....
, 3-time
NCAA Player of the YearThe Naismith College Player of the Year award, named for basketball inventor James Naismith, is given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to college basketball's top male and female player. The first award was given to Lew Alcindor, now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in 1969. The first women's...
for men's basketball
Ralph SampsonRalph Lee Sampson, Jr. is a retired American college and professional basketball player.A 7-foot-4 phenom, three-time College Player of the Year, and No...
, pro wrestler
VirgilMike Jones is a retired American professional wrestler better known as Virgil in the World Wrestling Federation and Vincent in World Championship Wrestling.-Championship Wrestling Association :...
, 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist for women's basketball
Dawn StaleyDawn Michelle Staley is an American basketball player and coach. Staley is a three-time Olympian and was elected to carry the United States flag at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics...
, NFL Pro Bowlers
Ronde BarberJamael Orondé "Rondé" Barber is an American football cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buccaneers in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft...
and
Tiki BarberAtiim Kiambu Hakeem-Ah "Tiki" Barber is a sports broadcaster, author, and former American football running back for the New York Giants. He is the identical twin brother of Ronde Barber, a cornerback who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
,
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. They play their home games in the suburb of Orchard Park, and beginning in 2008, one home game is played in Toronto. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football...
founder and owner
Ralph WilsonRalph C. Wilson, Jr. is the founder, owner and president of NFL's Buffalo Bills. He was one of the founding owners of the American Football League, the league that the NFL merged with in 1970. He is the oldest owner in the National Football League, at age 91...
,
billionaireA billionaire is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a currency, usually the US Dollar, Euro or the Pound. Forbes Magazine updates a complete list of US Dollar billionaires around the world every year.- Regions by net worth :...
commodity trader
Paul Tudor JonesPaul Tudor Jones II is a well-known hedge fund manager. Having made $750 million in 2006, he is worth an estimated $3.3 billion, and was ranked by Forbes in March 2007 as the 369th richest person in the world....
, noted philanthropist and founder of Landmark Communications
Frank BattenFrank Batten is widely known as the founder of the first nationwide, 24-hour cable weather channel, The Weather Channel...
, influential
indie rockIndie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United States and the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The term is often used to describe the means of production and distribution of independent underground music, as well as the style of music that was first associated with this means of...
artist
Stephen MalkmusStephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and a member of the band Pavement. He and his band currently perform as Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.- Biography :...
, TV personality
Vern YipVern Yip is an interior designer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He periodically appeared on TLC's Trading Spaces through its fourth season, and was known for frequently including silk, candles and flowers in the rooms he did. He is one of the panel of judges on HGTV's Design Star...
, short story writer
Breece D'J PancakeBreece D'J Pancake was an American author of short fiction. Pancake was a native of West Virginia and published several stories in The Atlantic Monthly during his lifetime...
, Indian tennis sensation
Somdev DevvarmanSomdev Devvarman , also known as "Somdev Dev Varman", is a tennis player from India. He rose to prominence while at college at the University of Virginia in the USA, with two consecutive wins in the NCAA Singles Championship....
, and
Ryan ZimmermanRyan Wallace Zimmerman is a baseball third baseman with the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. A 6-foot 3-inch player from the University of Virginia and Floyd E. Kellam High School, Zimmerman has been a member of the Nationals since his debut on September 1, 2005...
, the 2005 first round pick of the
Washington NationalsThe Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly-built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK...
. The University of Virginia has been home to several top soccer players throughout the years — seven former U.Va. players have gone on to play for the
United States men's national soccer teamThe United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international football competitions and is controlled by U.S. Soccer. Though soccer has not traditionally had a high profile in American sporting life, the sport has steadily grown in popularity since the 1970s...
, including former USA team captains
Claudio ReynaClaudio Reyna is a former American soccer player. He was the captain of the U.S. national team before retiring from international soccer following the USA's exit from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He's widely considered one of the greatest players the United States has ever produced...
and
John HarkesJohn Harkes is an American former soccer player. Harkes was the first American ever to play in the English Premier League, and the second American to score at Wembley Stadium. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He appeared in two FIFA World Cup tournaments, and won two MLS Cup...
.
Numerous political leaders have also attended the University of Virginia, including the 28th President of the United States
Woodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, U.S. Senator and 1968 Presidential candidate
Robert F. KennedyRobert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician. He was a younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and acted as one of his advisers during his presidency. From 1961 to 1964, he was the U.S...
, his son
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr. is the third of eleven children born to Ethel Skakel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy and is the nephew of John F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy...
, and his brother, Senator
Ted KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in November 1962, he was elected nine times and served for 46 years in the U.S. Senate. At the time of his death, he was the second most senior member of the Senate, and...
. Other alumni in leadership roles include three
United States Supreme Court JusticesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
, Governor
William Meade FishbackWilliam Meade Fishback was a Democratic Governor of Arkansas and selected to be a member of the United States Senate but was not allowed to serve....
, two
Surgeons GeneralThe Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesman on matters of public health in the federal government...
, a
Speaker of the HouseThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat representing California's 8th congressional district....
, a Senate Majority Leader, numerous
SenatorsThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
and
RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, Secretaries of
StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence. The current Secretary of...
,
DefenseThe United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the U.S. Department of Defense , concerned with the armed services and military matters. This position roughly corresponds to Minister of defense in other countries...
,
Homeland SecurityThe United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The position was created by the...
, Treasury,
EnergyThe United States Secretary of Energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the President's Cabinet, and fifteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Energy on October 1, 1977, by President Jimmy Carter's...
,
TransportationThe United States Secretary of Transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet...
, and the Navy, and the
Secretary GeneralA number of international organizations, political parties, and other bodies use the title Secretary General or Secretary-General for their chief administrative officer.-International intergovernmental organizations:...
of both
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
and the
Council of the European UnionThe Council of the European Union is the principal decision-making institution of the European Union . It is often informally called the Council of Ministers or just the Council, the name used in the treaties; it is also called Consilium as a Latin-language compromise...
.
External links