Memorial & Commemorative Trees at the University of Virginia

Memorial & Commemorative Trees at the University of Virginia

In honor of Vincent Shea

Tree species:
	Platanus occidentalis
Common name:
	Sycamore
Location:
	Rotunda
Date planted:
	1989

Anthony Vincent Shea was born in Richmond, Virginia on September 20, 1911. In 1934 he received his B.S. in Economics from the University of Virginia and one year later he also received his M.S. in Economics. After graduation and a short time as a reference librarian in the University of Virginia Library, he went on to graduate study in Public Administration at the University of Chicago and Stanford University.

In the 1930s he worked as an economist and statistician, and then as assistant director, for the University of Virginia's Bureau of Public Administration. He married Eleanor Deane Gray before the start of the Second World War in which he served in major operations in the Pacific against Japan as a distinguished officer in the United States Navy. In the fall of 1946 he received the Bronze Star for his distinguished service in WWII.

In July of 1947 he began working in administration, as the Bursar, at the University of Virginia. He was to serve as administrative assistant to the President, and Comptroller before being appointed Vice President for business and finance.

In 1974 president of the University, Edgar F. Shannon Jr. presented Shea with perhaps the most coveted award bestowed by the University, the Thomas Jefferson Award. Presenting at Founder's Day ceremonies, Shannon cited Shea's "single-minded effort to raise the level of faculty salaries [as] one of his most noteworthy accomplishments."

(Charlottesville Daily Progress, April 16, 1974
The University of Virginia Alumni News, October, 1947
file from Reference Office on Vincent Shea, October 20, 1961)