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We wish to establish in the upper and healthier country, 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.” Thomas Jefferson The
University of Virginia, at the beginning of the twenty-first century,
is a vigorous, modern institution, animated by the forward-looking spirit
of its founder, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s powerful convictions—the
idea that the university exists to train young people for public affairs
and the belief that the liberal arts constitute the foundation for any
education—continue to inspire its students and faculty and guide
the development of its programs.
Jefferson
was a man of many talents, and he expressed them fully in founding the
University of Virginia in 1819; he outlined the institution’s
purpose, designed its buildings, supervised construction, and planned
its curriculum. He also directed the recruitment of its initial faculty.
When
classes began in 1825, with 68 students and a faculty of eight, the
University of Virginia embodied dramatic new ideas in American higher
education. In an era when colleges trained scholars for the clergy and
academia, Jefferson dedicated his University to the education of citizens
in practical affairs and public service. The innovative curriculum permitted
the student a broader range of study than was available at other colleges
and universities of the day, and Jefferson implemented novel ideas concerning
student self-government and religious freedom.
Jefferson
chose an undeveloped plot of land on the edge of Charlottesville on
which to locate the University of Virginia. Jefferson was a skillful
architect, a consummate builder, and an inveterate tinkerer. His belief
in public service, his respect for the achievements of the past, and
his sense of balance and proportion are expressed in the buildings he
designed for his “academical village.”
This
educational community was built around a rectangular, terraced green—the
Lawn—flanked by two continuous rows of identical, one-story rooms.
These rows are accented by large buildings, the Pavilions, each in a
different style. Both the rooms and the Pavilions open onto a colonnaded
walkway fronting the Lawn. Behind each of the two rows of buildings
are public gardens delineated by serpentine brick walls and backed by
yet another set of rooms. The Rotunda, a half-scale model of the Roman
Pantheon, closes off one end of the Lawn, while the south end was originally
left open to a vista of the mountains.
The
genius of Jefferson’s design is that it integrates housing for
students and faculty as well as classroom and library space into a single
unit. Students lived on the Lawn and in the outer two rows of rooms,
known as the Ranges. Faculty members lived in the Pavilions, while the
Rotunda held the library and classroom space.
Although
the University has grown since Jefferson’s time, the Lawn remains
the intellectual and spiritual heart of the academical village and serves
much of its original purpose. Students who have made special contributions
to the University are awarded a Lawn room in their fourth year; senior
faculty and their families live in the Pavilions, where classes are
also held; and graduate students live in the Ranges. The Rotunda’s
oval rooms and the Dome Room are used for meetings of the Board of Visitors,
dinners, and other ceremonial occasions, as well as for student activities.
The
special grace and character of Jefferson’s design are widely recognized.
As Ada Louise Huxtable noted in the New York Times, the University
“is probably the single most beautiful and effective architectural
group of its kind in the country, or in the history of American building.”
In 1976, the American Institute of Architects proclaimed it one of the
outstanding achievements in American architecture; in 1988, the Lawn
was named to the prestigious World Heritage List.
Although
the University of Virginia has expanded to encompass more than one thousand
acres, it still retains the intimacy that characterized the academical
village. University planners have been careful to reserve open space
for study and contemplation while erecting modern facilities for each
of the six undergraduate schools.
Each
year, the area attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists, who come
to see the Grounds of the University, visit the homes of Thomas 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.
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. In the Court Square
area, lawyers and business people occupy offices in buildings dating
back to the 1700s. 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 brings poets, writers,
and novelists to Charlottesville each spring.
Charlottesville
is located 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and 70 miles from Richmond.
Airlines offer more than 30 flights daily to such destinations as New
York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, Cincinnati,
Charlotte, and Pittsburgh. Major highways convenient to the city include
Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 29. Nationwide bus and railway service
for passengers and freight is provided by Greyhound, AMTRAK, Norfolk
Southern, and the CSX Corporation. The Charlottesville Transit Service
and the University Transit Service provide bus service on Grounds and
around the city. Visitors to the University are always welcome. On-street
parking is limited, so visitors are encouraged to park at the paid hourly
Central Grounds Parking Garage off Emmet Street.
Maps
of the University are available for visitors at the University’s
Visitor/Information Center at 2304 Ivy Road in Charlottesville (follow
signs from 29N or Interstate 64 to the University Information Center).
Bulk quantities can be purchased by calling (434) 982-4925. Brochures
about the University and walking tours of the Rotunda, the Pavilion
Gardens, and the historic Academical Village can be obtained at the
Rotunda. Books about Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, and the University
of Virginia may be purchased at the University Bookstore, located atop
the Central Grounds Parking Garage.
Internet
enthusiasts can access a great deal of information about the University
through its online site: www.virginia.edu.
You
can view electronic versions of all of the undergraduate publications,
and even print out an undergraduate application (www.virginia.edu/~admiss/ugadmiss/applica.html). Admissions information for the graduate and professional
student is also available (www.virginia.edu/gradadmission.html).
For
more information about the University, check out the Facts at a Glance
(www.virginia.edu/Facts/) and Statistics & Facts www.virginia.edu/stats&facts/) online sites. The University supports two events web calendars
(www.virginia.edu/Calendar/) and
online maps of the Grounds (www.virginia.edu/Map/).
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. The
University of Virginia faculty, one of the most distinguished groups
of scholars and researchers in the country, still exemplifies this tradition.
The
University’s full-time instructional/research faculty numbers
approximately 1,900, most of whom conduct research and publish their
findings on a regular basis. The University has established approximately
460 endowed professorships for outstanding scholars, and the Shannon
Center for Advanced Studies plays a major role in attracting and retaining
scholars of national and international distinction.
In
1995, the prestigious National Research Council, which evaluates 274
institutions every ten years, placed our graduate programs in English,
religious studies, German, Spanish and Portuguese, and physiology among
the top ten programs in their fields; ratings based in large part on
the quality of the faculty. These ratings will not be done again until
2005.
In
its August 2001 issue, U.S. News & World
Report once again ranked the University
of Virginia as one of the nation’s top public institutions, placing
it 21st among 249 public and private colleges and universities,
and second among all public universities. The McIntire School of Commerce
ranked seventh in the country among undergraduate business schools,
tied with Carnegie Mellon University. The March 2001 graduate issue
of U.S. News further
ranked the School of Law seventh among all public and private law schools,
tied with the University of Michigan. The magazine placed the Darden
Graduate School of Business Administration fifteenth overall, and fourth
among the public business schools. In the Curry School of Education,
the Special Education Program was ranked fourth in the country, tied
with the University of Illinois, and both the secondary teaching program
and the elementary teaching program were ranked tenth. The Curry School
of Education was ranked nineteenth overall among schools of education.
In 1997, the last year programs in the Arts and Architecture were
ranked, the University’s Master of Architecture Program was ranked
sixth overall, tied with Berkeley and Rice; and the Master’s Program
in Creative Writing was ranked fourth overall, tied with Columbia.
University
faculty members this past year have continued to receive many national
and international awards. Three faculty members were elected to membership
in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: C. David Allis, the Harry
F. Byrd, Jr. Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics; Matthew
Holden, Jr., who holds the Doherty Professorship in Government and Foreign
Affairs; and Edward L. Ayers, the Hugh P. Kelly Professor of History
and the new Dean of Arts and Sciences. They join approximately twenty-six
other members of the University of Virginia previously elected. Kenneth
Schwartz, Associate Professor of Architecture, was elected a fellow
of the American Institute of Architects. Herman H. Shugart, Jr. was
inducted into the Ruyssian Academy of Sciences. Klaus F. Ley, Professor
of Biomedical Engineering, and Thomas C. Skalak, Professor and
Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, were both elected
fellows of the American Institute of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering.
William A. Petri, Jr., Professor of Medicine, was elected a fellow of
the American Academy of Microbiology. Garrick E. Louis, Assistant Professor
of Systems Engineering, was the recipient of the fifth annual Presidential
Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed
by the United States government on young researchers. Brooks Pate, Professor
of Chemistry, was the recipient of one of the prestigious MacArthur
Fellowships.
Despite
the demands of research and writing, University faculty are remarkably
attentive to the needs of their students. In addition to their teaching
responsibilities, faculty members serve as academic advisors. Professors
routinely post office hours, and students do not hesitate to use them.
It’s not unusual to encounter students clustered in the hall outside
a professor’s office, waiting for a chance to discuss papers or
review classwork.
The
quality of the student body is evident in the awards and honors many
of them receive. The University has graduated 43 Rhodes Scholars, the
highest number graduated by state universities. The University is attracting
some of the very best students in the country through the merit-based
Jefferson Scholars Program.
Four
years at the University prepares students well for becoming adults who
are educated citizens and contributing members of society. Whether they
go directly to a job (many do), teach English in a developing country
for the year, enroll in law or medical school (to which University of
Virginia students are accepted at well above the national average),
or enter graduate school to pursue the scholarly life as a profession,
their undergraduate years at Virginia provide the chance to explore
subjects and ideas that will lay the foundation for their future careers
and lives.
A
member of the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia
fields 12 intercollegiate sports for men and 12 for women. Women's golf
will begin competing as the 25th intercollegiate sport at UVa during
the 2003-04 academic year.
UVa
ranked 30th in the nation in the final 2000-01 Sears Directors' Cup
standings, which rank the overall success of Division I athletic programs
in up to 20 sports. Virginia has finished in the Top 30 each year in
the eight-year history of the Sears Directors' Cup program.
Few
teams in the country can match the overall success of Virginia's varsity
teams in recent years. Over the past thirteen years, UVa has claimed
five national championships in men's soccer, two in women's lacrosse
and one in men's lacrosse. In 1993, Virginia became the first school
in NCAA history to win three consecutive national men's soccer titles.
Remarkably, the Cavaliers topped that achievement in 1994 by capturing
their fourth national title in a row and fifth in six years.
The
Virginia football team has made 11 bowl appearances in the last fifteen
years. Most recently, the Cavaliers appeared in the 2000 Jeep O'ahu
Bowl. UVa established an ACC record with thirteen consecutive seasons
of seven or more wins, from 1987-99. In 1995, the Cavaliers defeated
Georgia 34-27 in the Peach Bowl and were co-ACC champions. Among UVa's
1995 regular season victories was a 33-28 win over then second-ranked
Florida State. In 1990, UVa climbed to number one in the regular season
national polls (Associated Press and United Press International) and
played Tennessee in the 1991 USF&G Sugar Bowl. The 1989 Cavaliers
won a share of UVa's first ever ACC championship and met Illinois in
the 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl. Off the field, Virginia has been honored
regularly for its graduation rate involving scholarship football players.
The
2001-02 men's basketball team advanced to the first round of the National
Invitation Tournament. It was Virginia's 21st postseason appearance
(NCAA or NIT) in the last 25 seasons. Virginia won a share of the ACC
regular season championship in 1994-95 and advanced to the finals of
the NCAA Midwest Region Tournament. UVa has won two NIT championships
(in 1980 and 1992) and reached the NCAA Final Four twice (in 1981 and
1984).
The
women's basketball team made its 19th consecutive trip to NCAA postseason
play in 2001-02 with a first-round tournament appearance. UVa won ACC
Tournament titles in 1990, 1992 and 1993, and reached the NCAA Final
Four three consecutive years, from 1990-92. The Cavaliers won their
first ACC regular season title in 2000 since winning six in a row from
1991-96.
Virginia
regularly wins its share of state, conference and national honors in
many other sports as well. At the same time, UVa student-athletes graduate
at a rate which is comparable to that of the University's entire student
body.
University and Community Arts The
University contributes to the cultural milieu with a wide range of events
sponsored by academic departments and student groups. Among these are
the Tuesday Evening Concert Series; the University Union Speakers Series;
talks by government officials and public figures sponsored by the Student
Legal Forum; performances by many student singing groups; and a Collegium
Musicum baroque group sponsored by the music department. The University's
Art Museum houses broad-ranging art collections, which include outstanding
examples of twentieth- century American art and European art from Jefferson's
era. The museum's growing permanent collections are supplemented by
frequent visiting shows, the Fayerweather Gallery, which displays student
and faculty art and other exhibits, and several private galleries in
the city of Charlottesville.
Dramatic
productions are presented year round by professional and local groups,
including the highly acclaimed Heritage Repertory Theatre and the Virginia
Players, in the University's well-equipped drama and fine arts center.
The theatre department regularly presents drama, musicals, and small
workshop productions by students in the Culbreth and Helms theatres.
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 are presumed. If a student violates
the Honor Code, he or she cannot remain a member of the University community,
and is not entitled to receive or hold a degree from the University
of Virginia. For nearly 160 years this system has been administered
by students.
The
University of Virginia libraries play an integral role in the University’s
ability to maintain its standing as a top-ranked public institution
of higher education. Fourteen libraries serve the University’s
undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. They house more
than 4.7 million volumes and receive more than 53,000 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. Alderman also houses the University’s world-renowned
collection of manuscripts and rare books in its Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. The Science and Engineering Library and its satellites (Astronomy, Biology/Psychology, Chemistry,
Mathematics, and Physics), serve the research needs of the University’s
scientific community. Additional subject collections and services are
offered by the Education, Fine Arts, and Music libraries. Clemons Library provides
a general collection of frequently used materials, reserve reading,
and video and audio materials housed in the Robertson Media Center.
The
library needs of 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.
Libraries
at the University of Virginia are committed to the provision of cutting-edge
access to information through technology. The online catalog of the
collections and on-line access to newspaper and journal articles are
available in all library locations, and may also be accessed from home
and office computers via the library’s Web site at www.lib.virginia. edu. Electronic
centers offer library users assistance with innovative technologies
such as digitizing images and text and combining sound and video for
multimedia presentations. User education programs assist the University
community in expanding its information literacy base.
Information
Technology and Communication (ITC) (www.itc.
virginia.edu) 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. Included are: an IBM 9672-R34 (Enterprise
Server), OS/390 operating system; IBM RiscSystem/6000s, AIX operating
system; Sun workstations, Solaris operating system; IBM-PC compatible
microcomputers with Windows 98/NT; Apple Macintoshes; and graphics equipment
including scanners. Other specialized computer equipment is available
in labs at Academic Computing-Health Sciences (ACHS) and the Digital
Media Center.
The
majority of microcomputers, Macintoshes, workstations, printers and
graphics equipment supported by ITC are located in public facilities
throughout the Grounds for ease of student access. Software available
for these systems includes programming languages as well as word processing,
network communications, spreadsheet, mathematical, statistical, and
graphics packages.
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 on-line at www.itc.virginia.edu.
Noted
for its world-class research capabilities, the University of Virginia
is engaged in a wide range of research in medicine, engineering, and
the arts and sciences. Cutting-edge research and scholarship by the
University's outstanding faculty bring opportunities to learn about
the latest advances in the classroom as well as the ability to become
involved in research work in many fields.
Research
is an integral part of the educational process at the University. Opportunities
to participate in research are available for both graduates and undergraduates
and may result in published papers for graduate and some undergraduate
students.
Since
1946, students and faculty of the University of Virginia have benefited
from its membership in Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), a consortium
of colleges and universities and a management and operating contractor
for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) located in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education,
undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates, and faculty enjoy access to
a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Students can participate
in programs covering a wide variety of disciplines including business,
earth sciences, biomedical sciences, nuclear chemistry, and mathematics.
A
distinct feature of the University's research community is the extent
to which it fosters interdisciplinary research. A number of research
centers and institutes have been established in recent years to facilitate
collaboration among faculty from different academic units who have common
research interests and objectives. One outcome of this interdisciplinary
emphasis has been the growth of joint academic programs leading to joint
degrees.
Exciting
research is undertaken jointly by faculty from both engineering and
medicine in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Program
in Engineering Physics. Other engineering faculty have research
ties with faculty in environmental sciences, physics, and other fields.
Faculty in medicine and biology work closely on a variety of research
projects, as do those in physics and chemistry.
Research
collaborations are common among non-scientists as well. Faculty from
the schools of law and business have launched a center jointly with
faculty in psychology. Professors in business and various humanities
departments bring their separate viewpoints and research strategies
to bear on common issues. Interdisciplinary research provides opportunities
for shared use of facilities and for synergism in research efforts and
augmented funding.
In
fiscal year 2000-2001, research at the University was supported by over
2,400 separate awards totaling $224 million dollars from federal and
state agencies, industry, and foundations. This represents an increase
in both the total dollar amount and the average size of each grant in
recent years and reflects the University's growing research stature
and prominence.
The
University demonstrates its commitment to research by providing internal
financial funding in certain circumstances. The University provides
funding for particularly meritorious research which might otherwise
have brief funding interruptions, thus maintaining continuity in important,
ongoing projects. Through the Bankard Foundation endowment, year-long
research grants support research in economics and government studies.
Another program provides grants for faculty research in the humanities
and social sciences.
The
knowledge being disseminated and the technology being developed today
at the University of Virginia will play a vital role in how we live
in the twenty-first century. More detailed information about research
and funding at the University is available online from the Office of
the Vice President for Research and Public Service, www.virginia.edu/researchandpublicservice.
The
University of Virginia’s mission extends beyond the lives of its
students, faculty, and staff to the surrounding community, the Commonwealth,
the nation, and the world. From professional development for elementary
and secondary school teachers to leadership training for local governing
bodies across Virginia, the University is committed to sharing its resources
of expertise and scholarship in ways that improve the well-being of
individuals and communities. OutreachVirginia (www.virginia.edu/outreachvirginia), an interactive, searchable database and web site, provides extensive
information on all the University’s public service programs.
Through
a bachelor’s degree program designed specifically for part-time,
adult students in Central Virginia and educational seminars, short courses,
and graduate degree programs offered through regional centers across
the state, the University continues to expand access to higher education
while maintaining its tradition of academic excellence. Telemedicine
programs and screening clinics provide residents in rural areas of the
Commonwealth with access to both basic and specialized health care.
Programs in all of the schools reflect a similar dedication to enhancing
the quality of public life in Virginia and beyond.
Students,
faculty, and staff exemplify the institution’s commitment to service.
In 2001, nearly 3,000 students contributed over 110,000 hours in service
to the surrounding community through the student volunteer center, Madison
House. Faculty in every school contribute countless hours of service
participating on international, national, state, and local advisory
boards and providing professional expertise to non-profit organizations,
government agencies, and businesses through both University programs
and individual initiatives. In 2001, over 3,000 staff and faculty contributed
more than $550,000 to the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign in support
of more than 900 charities.
Additional
information about public service and outreach initiatives at the University
of Virginia is available from the Office of the Vice President for Research
and Public Service at www.virginia.edu/researchandpublicservice.
The
University of Virginia was chartered by the General Assembly of the
Commonwealth of Virginia in 1819. It is accredited by the Commission
on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award
baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees. The University
is one of a select group of 62 American and Canadian universities chosen
for membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities.
The Master of Landscape Architecture is accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architecture, Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board. The Master of
Architecture is accredited by the National Architectural Accreditation
Board. The Urban and Environmental Planning
degree program is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board of
the Association
of Collegiate Schools of Planning. The
Curry School of Education and all of its programs to prepare school
personnel are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation
of Teacher Education. In addition, individual
program specializations within the Curry School are accredited by such
organizations as the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association,
the National Athletic
Trainers’ Association and the
Council for Exceptional Children.
The
McIntire School of Commerce and the Darden Graduate School of Business
Administration are accredited by the American
Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.
The School of Law is accredited by the American Bar
Association and the American Association
of Law Schools. Degree programs in the
School of Engineering and Applied Science are accredited by the Accreditation
Board of Engineering and Technology.
The School of Nursing is accredited by the National League for Nursing and the Virginia State Board of Nursing. The chemistry and music programs in the College of Arts and Sciences
are accredited by the American Chemical Society and
the National Association of Schools of Music respectively.
The
M.D. degree in the School of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (representing the Council on Medical Education of the American
Medical Association and the Executive
Council of the Association of American Medical Colleges).
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