Thomas Jefferson and the past presidents of the University of Virginia

Jefferson envisioned the school as a new kind of university that would educate leaders in public service and practical affairs, teaching subjects such as philosophy, arts, foreign languages, science, law and medicine.

The university’s first 123 students arrived in 1825. Jefferson was known to host students for Sunday dinner atMonticello, but he died the following year, on July 4, 1826.

Jefferson disliked the idea of a single president leading theuniversity, instead leaving the school’s leadership up to its rector and Board of Visitors. Around the turn of the century, however, theuniversitydecided it would be more practical to havea presidentrunning things on a day-to-day basis.

» UVa’s first president.

» Founded the Curry Memorial School of Education.

» Oversaw construction of Peabody Hall.

» Women first admitted as degree candidates in 1920.

» Key advocate for the independence, quality of the medical school.

» Endowment grew to $10 million during his presidency and theuniversitywent from operating in the red to operating in the black.

» Faculty increased from 48 to 290 and the student body grew from 500 to 2,450.

» Witnessed UVa students training on Grounds in 1917 and then heading off to fight in World War I. More than 2,500 students and alumni and 26 faculty members fought and 80 were killed.

» Presided over UVa’s centennial celebration in 1921, held two years late because of World War I.

» Died in office.

» Earned his bachelor’s degree from UVa in 1903, was appointed to engineering faculty in 1905 and became dean of the School of Engineering in 1925.

» After Alderman’s death, was appointed acting president of UVa.

» Was installedpresidentpermanently two-and-a-half years later.

» During the Great Depression, Virginia suffered financially and slashed UVa’s funding by 10 percent, leading to a 20 percent pay cut for employees.

» Despite the financial challenges, UVa began to tap into private philanthropy and federal money under the New Deal.

» The money funded construction of the Bayly Art Museum in 1934, Thornton Hall in 1935 and Alderman Library in 1938.

» Instituted the Honors Course, a program of advanced undergraduate study in the departments of economics, English, geology, history, mathematics, philosophy, physics and politics.

» Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, enrollment dropped from 3,000 in 1939 to 1,322 in 1944, as students and faculty entered military service.

» Following World War II, students began streaming back, many on theG.I.Bill. By the 1946-47 academic year, theuniversityhad taken in more than 3,300 veterans and $1.25 million inG.I.Bill funding.

» By the time of his retirement at the age of 65, UVa had roughly doubled in size in terms of its physical presence, appropriations and number of Ph.D.’s awarded.

Colgate W. Darden Jr.

» Served as Virginia’s governor, as well as two terms in theHouse of Delegates, four terms in Congress and as a delegate to the United Nations.

» As governor, he made higher education available to blacks and women, though segregated.

» Completed negotiations to establish Mary Washington as the women’s division of UVa and establishedRadford Collegeas the women’s college affiliated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

» As UVa’spresident, he was known for his opposition to fraternities and implemented a ban on first-year men from joining fraternities, though the idea was scuttled after a few years.

» Oversaw the construction of the student activity building, Newcomb Hall, which was meant to be accessible to all students and reduce the pressure to join a fraternity.

» Oversaw the construction of an addition to Thornton Hall, the hospital and the medical school, a physics building, residence halls and the annex to Cabell Hall.

» Launched a 10-year Grounds beautification project.

» Undertook the restoration of Pavilions II, III and VI.

Edgar F. Shannon Jr.

» Was a professor of English, Rhodes scholar and decorated naval officer.

» Implemented full co-education at theuniversityin 1970.

» Played a major role in raising the profile of UVa’s faculty, partly thanks to a faculty raise, a $5 millionNational Science Foundationgrant and a $2 million National Institutes of Health grant that he spent on faculty development.

» Grew the number of endowed chairs from 13 when he took office to nearly 100 by the time he stepped down.

» Established the dean of admissions office, in a move meant to ramp up recruitment of students, including women and blacks.

» Student body more than tripled in size during his presidency, growing from around 5,000 to about 15,000.

» Oversaw construction of Gilmer Hall, Wilson Hall, Campbell Hall, Jordan Hall, McLeod Hall, Fiske Kimball Library, University Hall, a new law school and the Alderman Road dormitories, as well as additions to Alderman Library, Garrett Hall, Mary Munford dormitory and Newcomb Hall.

Frank L. Hereford Jr.

» Dedicated a restored Rotunda on April 13, 1976, Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday.

» An accomplished physicist, he joined UVa’s physics faculty in 1949 and served as provost underPresident Shannon.

» Ramped up fundraising, launching a capital campaign with a goal of $90 million, but managed to accumulate nearly $150 million in three years and helped to raise the endowment from $97 million to $140 million.

» With additional resources,Herefordinvested in new programs, faculty and buildings, notably accelerating progress in building the UVa Hospital and Clemons Library.

» Was a devoted fundraiser for UVa, tapping into the university’s alumni base of nearly 90,000 in the early 1980s.

» Banned the tradition of Easters, an annual undergraduate celebration since the 1800s, as he felt it had gotten out of hand and undermined the university’s reputation.

» Sought to increase the number of black students and faculty at UVa.

» Presided over the opening of the Office of African-American Affairs opened in a house on Dawson’s Row.

» Made it a chief goal to increase the number of black students and faculty and the number of female faculty members.

» Established the Holland Scholarships to attract black students.

» Presided over the opening of UVa’s Women’s Center, as well as a day care center for employees’ children.

» Developed four new courses of study — biomedical ethics, environmental science, women’s studies and Tibetan studies — and established a master’s of teaching degree in the Curry School.

» UVa became more academically selective during his tenure, accepting in his final year in office only 2,560 undergraduate students out of 17,000 applications for admission.

» Stepped down and assumed leadership of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.

» Launched a $750 million capital campaign in 1995, which ultimately exceeded expectations and brought in more than $1.43 billion by 2000.

» In an effort to support low-income students, established major financial aid program AccessUVa.

» UVa opened a Northern Virginia Graduate Center in Falls Church in conjunction with Virginia Tech.

» Won passage of legislation that allows UVa and other Virginia universities to act more autonomously from the state, in terms of its finances, human resources and facilities.

» Appointed the university’s first president and chief officer for diversity and equity.

» Undertook a $3 billion fundraising campaign, one of the most ambitious by any public university.

» Presided over the university’s acceptance of the single largest donation in UVa history, a $100 million contribution from Frank Batten Sr. to establish theFrank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

» Oversaw construction of the Harrison Institute and Small Special Collections Library, the South Lawn Project,Wilsdorf Hall, Bavaro Hall, the Aquatic & Fitness Center, the John Paul Jones Arena, an enlarged Scott Stadium at theCarl Smith Center, as well as the refurbishment of Cabell, Cocke and Rouss halls.

Source: http://www2.dailyprogress.com