CREATION OF U.VA. "LAWN DIRECTORY, 1895-1995" HAS BROUGHT AN OUTPOURING OF IMPORTANT HISTORICAL MATERIAL CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., April 9 -- The University of Virginia will publish this week what might appear to be a sentimental keepsake: a book listing the students and faculty-families during the last 100 years who have lived in U.Va.'s famous Lawn buildings designed by Thomas Jefferson. But to the surprise and delight of its researchers, questionnaires for the project -- part of the University's centennial commemoration of the disastrous 1895 fire that gutted Jefferson's landmark Rotunda -- have led to a deluge of personal accounts of student life, eyewitness descriptions of events, rare period-photos and other information important to a more complete understanding of U.Va.'s complex modern history. The mass of material still coming in from alumni should prove invaluable to anyone researching U.Va.'s 20th century social history, according to history doctoral student Edna Johnston, co-editor of the directory. The century has seen the transformation of a small, struggling, all-white, all-male institution into an international center of learning with a diverse student body. The information will shed new light on such topics as the important role of U.Va.'s African-American work force of earlier decades, the experiences of the first women and black students, and the academic culture of other eras, she said. "Their stories will help make the historical record come alive." One alumnus from the 1940s mailed in his father's student-diary from the 1890s. Another from the mid-60s sent all the flyers and announcements he'd saved. Another wanted to meet at the "new library" to personally deliver a stack of old photographs; he was referring to Alderman Library, built during the 1930s. Hundreds of others from various decades sent detailed descriptions, anecdotes and accounts about their time on the Lawn. Creating the "Lawn Resident Directory, 1895-1995" required considerable historical detective work, using a variety of sources, because the University for much of the century kept no systematic records of who had resided in its cherished Jeffersonian buildings. The directory of names should itself prove a valuable research tool for the University's history. The outpouring of alumni stories and memorabilia are all the more important because only a tiny fraction of the University's archives concern student life, according to assistant provost Jeffrey Plank, chair of the Rotunda fire centennial commemoration committee. The donated material will also be important for preservation purposes, enabling scholars to learn more about the physical appearance of the Jeffersonian buildings in different eras. The alumni directory, co-edited by Johnston, Plank and Rebecca Allen, a special projects officer for historic preservation, lists some 11,000 names of Lawn residents year by year and room by room. It also includes 85 historic photos, many of them never published before, showing life on the Lawn, as well as nine capsule essays about such topics as U.Va. during World War II, the coming of co-education, and Vietnam-era protests on the Lawn. All proceeds from the sale of the $15 book, published with private funds, will go to support the restoration of Jefferson's "Academical Village," which is on the prestigious World Heritage List and in 1976 was cited by the American Institute of Architects as the most significant architectural achievement of the nation's first 200 years. "Most people have found it an honor to live on the Lawn, because of the architect, and also because of the link back to the earliest days of the University," said Johnston, who coordinated research for the directory. There has traditionally been a sense of kinship among all who have lived on the Lawn, she said. For generations the Academical Village, as its designer intended, has been a close community of students in Lawn and Range rooms, and faculty members and their families in Pavilion houses. Over the years the University has sought to preserve the rooms' Jeffersonian character, updating them only with electricity, radiator heat and running water. Before the early 1960s there was no formal selection process to live on the Lawn; students simply signed up for the rooms. As the University grew, an application process was initiated based on grades and participation in University life. A student committee makes the decision, and today applications for Lawn rooms are sent to all third-year students to apply to live there in their fourth year. As the Lawn directory researchers tracked down missing records and tried to fill gaps in their list, they mailed verification questionnaires to the 3,300 living alumni for whom they had Lawn or Range addresses and asked them if they'd be willing to answer a follow-up survey for historical purposes. More than 2,000 not only agreed to answer brief questions but in many cases right away began offering detailed additional information about life on the Lawn and about University life in their era. The surveys, letters, stories and photos eventually will be turned over to the University Archives. The researchers are also considering establishing an electronic archive about U.Va. history and a computerized data base for research. A special undergraduate class on U.Va.'s modern history, taught by historian Phyllis Leffler, is working with the alumni material this semester and analyzing it decade by decade. On Founder's Day, April 13, the centennial commemoration committee will sponsor a University-wide workshop on U.Va.'s modern history and directions for future research. One firm finding so far: "We found we have a lot of people who care about this University," said Johnston. The "Lawn Directory, 1895-1995" is available through the University of Virginia Bookstore, (800) 759-4667 or (804) 924-3721. ### April 8, 1996 For interviews or additional information, editors Edna Johnston, Jeffrey Plank and Rebecca Allen may be reached at (804) 924-7306. Television reporters should contact our TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.