University of Virginia
Founded by Thomas Jefferson, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The University of Virginia (UVA or Virginia) is a public research university in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. Thomas Jefferson founded it in 1819, and his Academical Village—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—is part of the campus. The original Board of Visitors included three U.S. presidents: Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, with Monroe serving as the sitting president at the time of the university’s founding. Jefferson and Madison, as the first two rectors, were central to the university’s creation; Jefferson designed both the initial curriculum and the original architecture. The original campus also contains President Monroe’s former residence and law office, now used as a residential college.
The central campus has expanded to 1,135 acres (459 ha). Today, the university comprises eight undergraduate schools and three professional schools: the School of Law, the Darden School of Business, and the School of Medicine. It has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1904.
The university’s leadership, faculty, research staff, and alumni include several U.S. presidents, foreign heads of state, Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, a Dan David Prize winner, Marshall Scholars, Fulbright Scholars, and 57 Rhodes Scholars—the most of any state university. Alumni also include 31 state governors (fourteen of Virginia) and 33 U.S. senators. Students and alumni have founded companies such as Reddit, Skillshare, VMware, and Space Adventures.
The athletic teams, the Virginia Cavaliers, compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and have won the Capital One Cup for overall athletics prowess twice.
**History**
**1800s**
In 1802, while U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson wrote to artist Charles Willson Peale that his vision for the new university would be “on the most extensive and liberal scale that our circumstances would call for and our faculties meet,” and might attract talented students from “other states to come, and drink of the cup of knowledge.” Virginia already had the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, but Jefferson had lost confidence in his alma mater, partly due to its religious nature—it required all students to recite a catechism—and its neglect of the sciences.
Quick Facts
- Founders
- Thomas Jefferson
- Established
- January 25, 1819
- Academic Affiliations
- AAU · ORAU · SCHEV · URA · sea-grant · space-grant
- Accreditation
- SACS
- Endowment
- $11.1 billion (FY2025)
- President
- Scott C. Beardsley
- Provost
- Brie Gertler (interim)
- Students
- 26,685 (fall 2025)
- Undergrad
- 17,848 (fall 2025)
- Postgrad
- 8,837 (fall 2025)
- Faculty
- 3,265 (fall 2019) / 3,083 full-time · 182 part-time
- Administrative Staff
- 6,292 (fall 2019)The total number of administrative staff listed here represents the total number of Classified Staff and University Staff. / 6,149 full-time · 143 part-time
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In 1802, while serving as president, Thomas Jefferson wrote to artist Charles Willson Peale of his concept for a new university 'on the most extensive and liberal scale.' Jefferson lost confidence in his alma mater, the College of William & Mary, partly due to its religious nature and stifling of sciences. He envisioned a university 'based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind.' The university was also founded partly as a 'pro-slavery bulwark' to prevent young Southern men from attending Northern colleges where they might encounter anti-slavery sentiment. In 1817, three presidents (Jefferson, James Monroe, and James Madison) and Chief Justice John Marshall joined 24 other dignitaries at the Mountain Top Tavern at Rockfish Gap to select Charlottesville as the site. The university's first classes met on March 7, 1825. Unlike other universities, UVA had no divinity school and was centered on a library, the Rotunda, rather than a church. Jefferson hosted Sunday dinners at Monticello for faculty and students, and counted the university's foundation among his greatest accomplishments. The university owned slaves who helped build the campus and served students and professors; the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers on Central Grounds memorializes their lives. Poet Edgar Allan Poe enrolled in 1826, excelling in Latin, but left due to financial difficulties. The School of Engineering and Applied Science opened in 1836, making UVA the first comprehensive university to open an engineering school. During the Civil War, the university was kept open; Union troops camped on the Lawn but left without bloodshed after faculty convinced George Armstrong Custer to preserve it.
Reader's Guide
The University of Virginia is notable as the only university in the United States founded by a U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson, and whose original governing board included three presidents. Its Academical Village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university's founding represented a break from religiously affiliated higher education, as it had no divinity school and was centered on a library rather than a church. Jefferson designed both the original courses of study and the original architecture. The university's history includes its role as a 'pro-slavery bulwark' and its ownership of enslaved laborers, now memorialized on campus. It has produced 57 Rhodes Scholars, the most of any state university, and its alumni include U.S. presidents, foreign heads of state, Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, 31 state governors, and 33 U.S. senators. Students and alumni have founded companies such as Reddit, Skillshare, VMware, and Space Adventures. Its athletic teams, the Virginia Cavaliers, have twice won the Capital One Cup and compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Did You Know?
- The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Poet Edgar Allan Poe enrolled at UVA in 1826 and excelled in Latin before leaving due to financial difficulties.
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