Welcome
My name is Betsy Casteen. Welcome to the University of Virginia and to my website. As the wife of U.Va.'s seventh president, John Casteen, I had the privilege of being a part of U.Va.'s stimulating and complex community. After seven years of living in Charlottesville, I know why Thomas Jefferson considered the University to be one of the three great accomplishments of his storied career. To find out for yourself why Mr. Jefferson ranked the University with the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, I encourage you to visit the Grounds, or to examine our website.
The University has been a special place for my family. In addition to serving as its seventh president for twenty years, my husband received three degrees from U.Va. Three of our five children, our two sons-in-laws, and our daughter-in-law all have received degrees from the University of Virginia.
In living at Carr's Hill, the official residence of the president and his family, we were able to enjoy the everyday hustle and bustle of University life. One of my favorite things to do was to walk my dog in the early morning and observe the "academical village" waking up: students, faculty, administrators, support staff, maintenance staff, local merchants, all readying themselves for another productive day on these historic Grounds.
What especially moved me about the University of Virginia was that while we focused on preparing our students for the future, we honored the past by recalling our history. We were so proud that the University was recognized for excellence by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and that in 1987 the University was named one of only twenty World Heritage sites here in the United States and of 890 worldwide.
The University is recognized internationally as having universal value. Nearly 200 years after the University's first brick was laid, there are thousands of students and faculty moving about, walking where Thomas Jefferson walked, seeing what Thomas Jefferson saw, learning from each other, thriving in the present, and enthusiastically looking forward. They continue to carry out Mr. Jefferson's plan on Grounds: to make discoveries that will enhance the future for all humankind.
The magnificent University is much more than its historic buildings, beautiful grounds, libraries, hospitals, and labs, stadiums, arenas, dorms and classrooms. Ultimately, what gave me so much faith in the University of Virginia were the people who animated it. The students, faculty, alumni, parents, friends, and neighbors were the heart and brain of an institution that deserves to live forever.