Restoration and Education Focus of $1.5 Million in Challenge Gifts
KENAN TRUST DESIGNATES $1 MILLION FOR HISTORIC PAVILION VII 

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 25 -- The William R. Kenan Jr.
Charitable Trust of Chapel Hill, N.C., has made a challenge gift of $1
million to the University of Virginia to support the restoration of
its oldest building, Pavilion VII. The trust also is making a
challenge of $500,000 to create an endowment for educational programs
related to Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village.
	To receive the $1 million gift, the University must raise an
additional $1 million for the restoration of Pavilion VII by July 1,
1998. The $500,000 challenge must be matched two-to-one with gifts
from other donors within two years. If both challenges are met, they
will provide $3.5 million for the University's Jeffersonian buildings
and grounds. 
	"Pavilion VII holds a significant place in the history of the
University and in the history of American architecture," said John T.
Casteen III, president of the University. "We are grateful to the
Kenan Charitable Trust for its commitment to giving this structure the
care it deserves. 
	"I also am pleased that the trust is providing a permanent
source of support for educational programs related to the Jeffersonian
area. Jefferson designed these buildings to house classrooms as well
as residences, and he gave them classical details that would serve as
models for architectural lectures. This gift is in perfect accord with
his vision for the University."
	Jefferson designed the University's original structures in the
last decade of his life. Rather than house the school in a single
building, he created what he described as an Academical Village. The
plan called for 10 faculty residences, or pavilions, arranged in two
rows and linked by student rooms. Pavilion VII was the first to be
built. When its cornerstone was laid in October 1817, President James
Monroe and former presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison took
part in the ceremony.
	As part of a $750 million fund-raising campaign now under way,
the University is seeking $10 million for preservation of the
Academical Village, including $3 million for the restoration of
Pavilion VII. Until the Rotunda was completed in 1826, Pavilion VII
served as the University's first library and only later became a
faculty residence. Since 1907 it has housed the Colonnade Club, a
faculty organization. In 1912 Pavilion VII underwent a major expansion
to add overnight accommodations for visitors and a spacious reading
room for members and guests. 
	"After the Rotunda, Pavilion VII is the most public building
in the Jeffersonian precinct," said Murray Howard, curator and
architect for the Academical Village. "By preserving the pavilion's
historic features and updating its modern amenities, the restoration
will give faculty, alumni, and visitors a handsome and comfortable
setting for socializing and conducting business."
	The restoration of Pavilion VII is part of a comprehensive
program to preserve the Jeffersonian buildings and grounds that began
in the mid 1980s. This work, which received an Institute Honor Award
from the American Institute of Architects in 1995, has been financed
with a combination of state appropriations and private funds and has
resulted in the restorations of five of the 10 pavilions. Jefferson's
Academical Village is the only university site on the World Heritage
List, a United Nations roster of places of international cultural
significance. 
	The Kenan Trust is named for William R. Kenan Jr., a chemical
engineer who was instrumental in the construction of major carbide and
acetylene plants at the turn of the century. Later he became president
of the Flagler System companies and owner of Western Block Company,
then the largest block and tackle maker in the country. Following
Kenan's death in 1965, a major portion of his estate was used to
establish the trust.
	The trust has been a generous benefactor of educational
institutions around the country, including the University of Virginia.
In addition to providing support for the Academical Village over the
years, the trust has financed 15 William R. Kenan Jr. Professorships.
Established in 1969, these endowed chairs have helped the University
to attract and retain many distinguished scholars in the humanities.
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July 25, 1997
	For more information, call Murray Howard, curator and
architect for the Academical Village, at (804) 982-5829. Television
reporters should call our TV News Office at (804) 924 7550.