The University of Virginia
History
The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, who outlined the institution's purpose, designed its buildings, supervised construction, planned the curriculum and directed the recruitment of the first faculty. As the first Rector of the University, Jefferson presided over the school's governing body, known as the Board of Visitors. James Madison and James Monroe were members of the board in the early years.

When it opened for classes in 1825, the University of Virginia represented a dramatic innovation in American education. In an era when colleges trained students almost exclusively for teaching and the ministry, Jefferson dedicated his University to the education of leaders in practical affairs and public service.

The Grounds

Jefferson designed his "academical village" to house teachers and students alike in four long rows of rooms interspersed with larger buildings that provided classrooms and dwelling space for faculty families. The Rotunda is the focal point of the historic central Grounds. In 1976, the American Institute of Architects proclaimed the academical village one of the outstanding achievements of American architecture; in 1988, the Lawn was named to the prestigious World Heritage List.

The University Today

Although the University has expanded to encompass more than 3,000 acres, it retains the intimacy that characterized Mr. Jefferson's original Academical Village. University planners have continued to reserve open space for study and contemplation while renovating historic buildings and erecting modern facilities to keep pace with the changing needs of students and faculty. In the fall of 2005, the total on-Grounds student enrollment was 20,399, including 13,401 undergraduates, 4,699 graduate students and 1,694 students in professional programs in medicine and law. An additional 4,049 students, living elsewhere in Virginia, were enrolled in credit courses at the University. Last year, Virginia residents made up 69 percent of the University's on-Grounds undergraduates and African Americans made up 9 percent. UVa undergraduates hailed from 49 states and 121 foreign countries. And after 35 years of co-education, women accounted for the majority of the undergraduate population, 54 percent, while men made up the remaining 46 percent.

U.S. News & World Report, in its 2006 edition of "America's Best Colleges" (issued in August 2005), ranked the University of Virginia 23rd among all national universities, public or private, in a tie with Georgetown University. Among public universities, the magazine placed the University of Virginia second after the University of California at Berkeley. UVa has ranked among the top two public schools in the nation since the first such ranking in 1998.

Cutting-edge research and award-winning teaching are carried out in the University's 10 schools: the School of Architecture, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, the Curry School of Education, the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Law, the McIntire School of Commerce, the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing.

Charlottesville Area

The University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville, Va. The city, located in beautiful central Virginia among the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has the advantage of proximity to metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C. (120 miles), Richmond (70 miles), and Roanoke (125 miles). Charlottesville is easily reached by interstate highway, bus, air and rail transportation.

Each year, the area attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists, who come to see the Grounds of the University, visit the homes of Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, tour local wineries, and hike through the Shenandoah National Park, just 20 miles west in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In 2004, Charlottesville was cited as the best place to live in the United States by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander in their book, Cities Ranked and Rated. Charlottesville has its own traditions. The community celebrates each spring with a Dogwood Festival and New Year's Eve with First Night Virginia fireworks and entertainment. Steeplechase fans attend the Foxfield Races and every spring, runners in the Charlottesville Ten-Miler rush through town toward the finish line at University Hall.

A pedestrian mall downtown offers fine dining, distinctive shops and nightspots in a historical section of the city. The city is known for its fine restaurants, appealing to every taste and budget, and many establishments present nightly entertainment by local artists. The Virginia Film Festival brings new visitors and celebrities to the area each fall, along with movies, seminars and premieres. The Virginia Festival of the Book attracts poets, writers and novelists to Charlottesville each spring.

The Faculty

In creating an academical village, Jefferson sought scholars who had distinguished reputations and were willing to live among their students - an unusual, but from Jefferson's point of view, essential combination. UVa's faculty, which includes some of the most distinguished scholars and researchers in the country, still exemplifies this tradition.

The University's full-time instructional and research faculty numbers approximately 2,000. Most of these scholars teach, conduct research and publish their findings on a regular basis. To support them, the University has established nearly 500 endowed professorships for outstanding scholars. The Shannon Center for Advanced Studies also plays a major role in attracting and retaining scholars of national and international distinction to the faculty.

University faculty care about their students and are attentive to their needs. In addition to their teaching and research responsibilities, faculty members serve as academic advisors. Students may cluster in the hall outside a faculty member's office, waiting for a chance to discuss paperwork with a professor during office hours. Or, they may email questions to a professor late at night - and find a response waiting by morning.

Student Achievement

The quality of the student body is evident in the awards and honors many UVa students receive. The University has graduated 45 Rhodes Scholars - the highest number graduated by a public university - and attracts some of the best students in the country through its merit-based Jefferson Scholars Program. Four years at UVa prepare students well for their futures, both academically and as citizens who are thinking, contributing members of society. Whether they go directly to a job (as many do), teach English in Africa for a year, enroll in law or medical school, or enter graduate school to pursue an academic career, students' undergraduate years at Virginia lay a solid foundation for their future.

University & Community Arts

The University enriches the cultural milieu of Charlottesville and Central Virginia in many ways. UVa offerings include the Tuesday Evening Concert Series, the Free Bridge Quintet and the Rivanna Quartet, sponsored by the McIntire Department of Music, and several student singing groups, such as Black Voices and University Singers.

The University's Art Museum houses broad-ranging art collections, which include outstanding examples of 20th-century American art as well as European art from Jefferson's era. The museum's growing permanent collections are supplemented by frequent visiting shows. The University also contributes to the local art scene through the McIntire Department of Art, which displays student and faculty art and sponsors exhibits at the Dell Gallery and Off-Grounds Gallery, and organizes shows at private galleries around Charlottesville.

Dramatic productions are presented year round by professional and local groups, including the highly acclaimed Heritage Repertory Theatre. The Drama Department regularly presents a wide range of performances, including dramas, musicals, and small workshop productions by students and faculty in the Culbreth and Helms theaters.

Athletics

The University of Virginia athletics program is a shining example of how one of the nation's top institutions of higher learning has combined high academic achievement, fielded nationally competitive and successful athletics teams and integrated student-athletes into the University and local community.

A member of the 12-school Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia fields 25 athletics teams. There are 12 sport programs for men and 13 for women. Virginia is annually one of the top overall intercollegiate athletics programs in the nation. As recently as 2006, Virginia ranked in the top 30 of the United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup program for the 13th consecutive year. The Directors' Cup is widely used as a measuring stick for collegiate athletics programs, using a point system to identify the best overall programs in the nation.

Virginia's success is not limited to winning titles. Cavalier student-athletes are annually among the top achievers when it comes to being represented on the ACC's Academic Honor Roll. Virginia annually ranks among the top Division I-A public schools for its graduation rate among student-athletes.

Success at Virginia is not by happenstance. In 2002 Athletics Director Craig Littlepage announced an aggressive "10-Year Goals" campaign (see box) to ensure future success for the Cavaliers' program. In the four years following that time, the Virginia program won more ACC Championships and as many national titles as any of its league rivals.

One critical step in the process has been the development of top-flight athletics facilities that have allowed UVa to attract some of the best and brightest student-athletes to the Grounds. The newest facility is the John Paul Jones Arena, which opened in the summer of 2006.

Built at a cost of $129.8 million, John Paul Jones Arena provides what Virginia officials consider an excellent environment to enjoy the exciting atmosphere of college basketball. The seating capacity allows 15,000 UVa fans to attend Cavalier home games and enjoy a super-charged game-day experience.

John Paul Jones Arena is much more than a home for UVa basketball. It will feature a busy schedule of the top concert tours, shows and other acts to appeal to a broad interest range. UVa students, faculty and staff as well as the residents of central Virginia will benefit by the wide variety of entertainment options it attracts. The arena also features an academic affairs area and dining hall that benefit the entire athletics program.

The face of Virginia athletics took a dramatic turn in 2000 when the Carl Smith Center, home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium opened. The massive renovation increased the size of UVa's football stadium to over 60,000. With its pergola on the west end, it is one of the most architecturally beautiful stadiums in the country. The stadium's Bryant Hall houses a wonderful historical collection highlighting the exciting moments and top players in Virginia's football history.

The Carl Smith Center also features Virginia's Aquatic and Fitness Center, the home of the Cavaliers' men's and women's swimming and diving programs. KlÃfffÃf,Ã,¶ckner Stadium, built in 1992 and located across the street from University Hall, is the home of four Virginia teams - men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's lacrosse. Davenport Field at the UVa. Baseball Stadium, located adjacent to Klockner Stadium, opened in the spring of 2002 and is one of the finest collegiate baseball facilities in the nation.

The heart and soul of Virginia athletics are its student-athletes. Tremendous ambassadors for their school, athletics program and chosen sports, they have led the school to tremendous athletic accomplishments.

Both the men's and women's basketball teams have advanced to the Final Four and produced players who have earned national player of the year honors. The football team regularly ends its campaign with an appearance at a postseason bowl game.

Over the past two decades, Virginia teams have claimed five national championships in men's soccer, three in women's lacrosse, and three in men's lacrosse.

During the 2005-06 academic year, Cavalier teams and individual student-athletes continued the department's ascension toward achieving broad-based success in all sports.

Virginia won a national championship in men's lacrosse and claimed five ACC Championships (in men's cross country, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, women's rowing, and men's swimming and diving) in 2005-06. The football team won the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, and Somdev Devvarman finished second in the NCAA men's singles tennis championship competition. Overall, individuals or teams from 19 sports represented Virginia in postseason play. The Cavaliers also won the first Commonwealth Challenge athletics competition with Virginia Tech, 14.5 to 7.5.

Graduation Rates

The University of Virginia's entering class of 1999-2000 had a 93 percent overall graduation rate, with 74 percent of student-athletes graduating. For comparison, in all Division I-A institutions' entering classes, graduation rates were 61 percent overall and 63 percent for student-athletes.

Activities

The University calendar offers a broad array of activities, most of which are open to the public. These include plays performed by the Virginia Players; the Tuesday Evening Concert Series and performances by student musicians; foreign films; debates staged by the Washington Society and the 181-year-old Jefferson Society; lectures sponsored by the Student Legal Forum; lectures, panels and other programs offered by various academic departments; and Atlantic Coast Conference Division I sports events

The University Programs Council organizes many of these extracurricular events, including short courses, rock concerts, dances, dinners, and contests in photography, playwriting and painting. Last year, Madison House, a clearinghouse for student volunteers, enabled more than 3,300 UVa students to contribute more than 110,000 hours of service to the Charlottesville community.

Adding to the varied social life of Virginia students are over 60 fraternities and sororities, as well as numerous student clubs and organizations-all providing opportunities for friendship, leadership and service.

Newcomb Hall, the main University Student Center, offers many opportunities for students to gather, through the use of dining facilities, a cafÃfffÃf,Ã,©, a ballroom, numerous meeting rooms and space for the offices of student organizations. Two other student centers, the Lorna Sundberg International Center and the Luther P. Jackson House, offer programming of particular interest to international and African-American students, while the Graduate Student Lounge provides a meeting place for graduate students through sponsorship of colloquia and lectures organized by various graduate clubs.

Several student publications record events large and small. They include The Cavalier Daily, the Declaration, the Law Weekly, and the yearbook, Corks and Curls. Magazines, such as the Virginia Literary Review and the Virginia Advocate, add their commentary. Two student-staffed radio stations, WTJU and WIRE, supply student-oriented musical programming.

The Honor System

The Honor System is one of the University's oldest and most venerated traditions. Based on the fundamental assumption that anyone who enrolls at the University subscribes to a code of ethics forbidding lying, cheating, and stealing, the Honor System allows students the kind of personal freedom possible only in an environment where respect and trust abound. For more than 160 years, students have administered this system.

The Libraries

Fifteen libraries serve the University's undergraduate and professional programs. They house more than 5 million volumes, including more than 59,000 periodicals and newspapers from around the world. The general library collections in the social sciences and humanities are housed in Alderman Library together with the library's depository collections of state, federal and international documents, as well as the University's archives.

The new Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections Library houses the University's world-renowned collection of manuscripts and rare books, and includes an original copy of the Declaration of Independence. Clemons Library provides a general collection of frequently used materials, reserve reading, and video and audio materials housed in the Robertson Media Center. The Charles L. Brown Science and Engineering Library and its satellites (covering the fields of astronomy, biology/psychology, chemistry, mathematics and physics) and the Education, Fine Arts and Music libraries serve the research needs of those disciplines. The library needs of students at the University's professional schools are served by the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, the Camp Library in the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and the Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

Information Technology and Communication Computer Facilities

Information Technology and Communication (ITC) supports the University's instructional and research activities and administrative processes, and facilitates communication and transmission of information for all University departments. To perform these functions, ITC maintains a wide variety of computing environments and peripheral equipment available to faculty, students and staff.

Access to the Internet is provided on all systems via high-speed interactive terminal access (telnet), file transfer (ftp), electronic mail, Usenet news, and the World Wide Web (WWW). Other on-line information retrieval systems include the University Library Catalog (VIRGO) and the University Directory (whois). Consulting, training and documentation are available for these services.

Additional information about ITC facilities and services is available online at www.itc.virginia.edu.

Research

Through research, the University of Virginia demonstrates its continuing commitment to the public interest. For nearly two centuries, UVa faculty have created knowledge, developed new applications and resources and deepened our understanding of the world and ourselves. Last year, outside funding in excess of $314 million - from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and other government agencies, private foundations and organizations - enabled University researchers to make discoveries that are improving our lives and enhancing our understanding of the universe. A growing emphasis on multi-disciplinary research and international collaboration has helped build research strengths in several areas, particularly, biomedical science, the physical sciences, engineering and applied sciences, astronomy, psychology and environmental sciences. The University also has built an international reputation in the arts and humanities, social sciences, business and law. Through basic and applied research and scholarship, the University of Virginia is working to make the world a better place.

Visit the University's Web Site

For more information about the University, visit its web site at: http://www.virginia.edu/. Visitors to the web site can view electronic versions of all the undergraduate publications and even print out an undergraduate application. Admissions information for the graduate and professional student is also available.