University of Virginia

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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 was chartered by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1819. The University of Virginia is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, educational specialist, and doctoral degrees. For questions about the accreditation of the University of Virginia contact SACSCOC at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500.

Professional degree programs at the University of Virginia hold the following accreditations. The Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.) is accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board. The Master of Architecture (M.Arch) is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. The Bachelor of Urban and Environmental Planning (B.U.E.P) and the Master of Urban and Environmental Planning (M.U.E.P) are accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board. The following Curry School of Education degree programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation: Master of Teaching (M.T.), Administration and Supervision (M.Ed., Ed.S., Ed.D., and Ph.D. concentration), and Curriculum and Instruction-Reading Education (M.Ed.). In addition, the following agencies accredit degree programs within the Curry School: The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (M.Ed. in Speech Communication Disorders), the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education ( M.S. in Athletic Training), Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (M.Ed. in Counselor Education), and the American Psychological Association (Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology). Degree programs in Accounting (M.S.), Commerce (B.S.C. and M.S.), and Management of Information Technology (M.S.) in the McIntire School of Commerce and the M.B.A. and Ph.D. programs in the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The J.D. in the School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association. The following B.S. programs in the School of Engineering and Applied Science are accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission or the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET: Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Systems Engineering. The B.S.N., M.S.N., and the D.N.P. in the School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The M.D. in the School of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. The M.P.H. is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. The Ph.D. in Psychology (clinical program) in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is accredited by the American Psychological Association and the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System. In addition to these accrediting agencies, various University programs are certified by, or retain membership in, the American Chemical Society (B.S. in Chemistry), the Association of American Law Schools (J.D.), the University/Resident Theatre Association (M.F.A. in Drama), the Virginia Board of Education, and the Virginia Board of Nursing (B.S.N. and pre-licensure programs).

2020-21 Athletics Highlights

Team Highlights

• Virginia finished 11th in the Directors’ Cup standings, marking 14th consecutive top-25 finish.

• Men’s Lacrosse captured its seventh NCAA championship and Women’s Swimming and Diving won its first NCAA championship
• Baseball advanced to the College World Series for the fifth time in program history

• Women’s soccer advanced to its fourth NCAA College Cup, appearing the Final Four for the first time since 2014

• Virginia rowed to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships

• UVA captured three Atlantic Coast Conference championship and its 86 conference titles since the spring of 2002 are the most of any ACC school during that time

• In 2020-21, UVA claimed ACC championships in women’s swimming and diving (17th championship in program history and 12th title since 2008), men’s tennis (13th championship in program history) and rowing (11th consecutive and 20 of 21 overall)

• The Cavaliers claimed ACC regular-season titles in men’s basketball and men’s tennis

• Men’s Basketball claimed its 10th ACC regular-season championship and earned its school-record seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance
• Men’s Swimming and Diving finished ninth at the NCAA Championships, marking the team’s best finish since 2011

• Men’s and Women’s Tennis each advanced to the NCAA Round of 16

• Women’s Lacrosse advanced to the NCAA Second Round

• Eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championship with senior Louie Hayes placing 8th to become the 23rd All-American in the program’s history.

• Four individuals advanced to the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and earned All-America honors

• The state-of-the-art Virginia Tennis Complex at the Boar’s Head Sports Club opened for the 2021 season

Individual Highlights

• Paige Madden won three NCAA individual titles and helped UVA to the win in the 800 free relay.

• Michaela Meyer became the first female competitor in UVA track and field history to win an individual NCAA title, capturing the 800 meters at the NCAA Women’s Track and Field Championships

• Emma Navarrro captured the NCAA Singles Championship, joining Danielle Collins (2014 & 2016) as Cavaliers to win the event

• Navarro was named ITA National Rookie of the Year

• Navarro was named ACC Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Year and Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year

• Navarro was one of four finalists for the Class of 2021 Honda Sport Award for Tennis 

• Carl Söderlund was named ACC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year and Atlantic Region Senior of the Year

• Jeffrey von der Schulenburg was named the Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year

• Claudio Romero was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year

• Todd DeSorbo (women’s swimming) was named the national coach of the year

• DeSorbo was named ACC Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year

• Andres Pedroso was named ACC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year

• Pedroso was named the Wilson ITA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year

• Kevin Sauer was named ACC Rowing Coach of the Year

• Virginia’s Varsity Eight was named ACC Crew of the Year

• Women’s tennis associate head coach Gina Suarez-Malaguti was named the region’s ITA Assistant Coach of the Year

•Men’s tennis associate head coach Scott Brown was named the ITA Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year 

• Virginia baseball threw the program’s seventh no-hitter on May 14 against Wake Forest. Senior Andrew Abbott pitched 7.1 innings and struck out 16 batters while Jake Berry and Griff McGarry combined to get the final five outs. The no-hitter was the first thrown in an ACC game since 2014.

• Men’s soccer junior Bret Halsey headlined a NCAA-high, five selections in the MLS SuperDraft in January 2021. The midfielder was selected seventh overall by Real Salt Lake. A total of eight Cavaliers have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft over the last two season, the most of any college soccer program.

• Kristine O’Brien (USA, Rowing), Meghan O’Leary (USA, Rowing), Hannah Osborne (New Zealand, Rowing), Susanne Grainger (Canada, Rowing), Christine Roper (Canada, Rowing), Inge Janssen (Netherlands, Rowing), Emma Weyant (USA, Swimming), Paige Madden (USA,, Swimming), Alex Walsh (USA, Swimming), Kate Douglass (USA, Swimming), Becky Sauerbrunn (USA, Soccer), Emily Sonnett (USA, Soccer), Joe Bell (New Zealand, Soccer), Filip Mihaljević (Croatia, Track and Field), Dawn Staley (USA, Head Coach, Basketball), Todd DeSorbo (USA, Assistant Coach, Swimming), Mike Tobey (Slovenia, Basketball), and alternates Morgan Rosts (Canada, Rowing) and Michaela Meyer (USA, 800m, Track and Field) will represent the Cavaliers at the 2020 Tokyo Games

Academic Highlights

• The athletics department achieved its highest Graduation Success Rate (95 percent)

• Paige Madden (women’s swimming), Sophia Kershner (rowing), Alexa Spaanstra (women’s soccer) and Carl Söderlund (men’s tennis) and Michaela Meyer (women’s track and field) earned ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors

• Rachel Robinson (field hockey) and Madden received Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarships from the ACC

• Madden was also a recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

• Terrell Jana (football) was named the Wells Fargo Humanitarian Award recipient. Jana is a member of UVA’s Groundkeepers, which won UVA’s 2020 Marcus L. Martin Endorsed Award that recognizes groups or individuals who work to facilitate long-term, institutional change in inclusion, diversity, equity or access
• Jana also earned an ISO Graduation Award, which honors undergraduate leadership and excellence from UVA’s International Students & Scholars program
• Spencer Bozsik (men’s tennis) earned the T. Rodney Crowley, Jr. Memorial Scholarship
• Ethan Weatherspoon (wrestling) was an ACC recipient of the Dr. Pepper Go Teach Tuition Giveaway
• Alexa Spaanstra (women’s soccer) was named a Scholar All-America selection by the United Soccer Coaches
• Wrestlers Jay Aiello, Michael Battista, Louie Hayes, Patrick McCormick and Justin McCoy earned Scholar All-America honors by the National Wrestling Coaches Association
• Women’s soccer players Rebecca Jarrett, Lizzy Sieracki and Taryn Torres were named CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
• Jamey Bulloch, Grace Comerford, Janet Conklin, Katy Flynn, Colette Glass, Gabby Grob, Lily Jarrett, Sophia Kershner, Elizabeth Kilgore, Nicola Lawless, Lauren Orr, Charlotte Quinn, Brooke Rickert, Maggie Taylor, Leah Till and Carrie Warner were named Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar-Athletes
• Women’s tennis senior Rosie Johanson was a recipient of the Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award

• Dox Aitken, Jared Conners, Kyle Kology, Matt Moore and Alex Rode were named to the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Scholar All-American team

• UVA had 108 student-athletes named to ACC All-Academic teams

University Code of Ethics:

1. We perform our public responsibilities, services and activities ethically, competently, efficiently and honestly, in keeping with University policy and applicable law.
2. We expect that all necessary and proper controls safeguarding public resources are in place and observed, with periodic auditing of functions and departments by the State Auditor of Public Accounts and/or the University Auditor who shall report directly to the Board of Visitors’ Audit and Compliance Committee.
3. While in the service of the University, we conduct ourselves free of personal conflicts or appearances of impropriety, mindful that our exercise of authority on behalf of the University has been delegated fundamentally for the public good. Conflicting interests or influences are promptly disclosed to our superiors and appropriate steps are undertaken to promote the integrity of University business and other transactions.
4. We do not accept anything of value offered in consideration of performing our public duties, other than the compensation, benefits and reimbursement of expenses duly authorized by the University or otherwise permitted by law. We do not accept any favor, loan, service, business or professional opportunity from anyone knowing (or when it should be known) that it is offered in order to improperly influence the performance of our public duties, or when acceptance thereof may reasonably be perceived as an impropriety in violation of University policy or state law. University procurements of goods or services are undertaken only by authorized personnel and, when competitive principles apply, decisions are made impartially and objectively in accordance with established policy and state law.
5. We preserve and respect the confidentiality of University records, including patient and student records. We do not externally disclose confidential records or other nonpublic information without appropriate authorization, and any confidential record or information we access as a result of our position or duty is neither exploited for personal benefit nor misused for any unauthorized purpose.
6. We are committed to the principles of federal and state law guaranteeing equal opportunity and nondiscrimination with respect to University services, programs, activities and employment, and we support an environment that respects the rights and opinions of all people which, in the words of our founder, promote “the illimitable freedom of the human mind.” Complaints of discrimination, harassment and retaliation are investigated and when warranted appropriate corrective action is taken and disciplined in accordance with University policy and applicable law.
7. Our communications on behalf of the University with all persons, including co-employees, clients, customers, patients, students, guests and vendors, are conducted professionally and with civility.
8. We do not condone dishonesty in any form by anyone, including misuse of University funds or property, fraud, theft, cheating, plagiarism or lying. We encourage and expect reporting of any form of dishonesty, and our managers and supervisors to appropriately investigate such reports. We also expect that the police and/or State Auditor of Public Accounts will be notified when circumstances reasonably indicate fraud or theft of University funds.
9. We strive for continuous improvement in our performance of public duties for the University, mindful of the public cost to our activities which must be reasonable and appropriately authorized.
10. We bring to the attention of supervisors and managers, the University auditor or other responsible University office, any violation of these principles or circumstances reasonably indicating that a violation has occurred or may occur. Such reporting in good faith in order to promote the ethical integrity of operations is expected and encouraged by the University, and retaliation by any University employee as a result against the person making such good faith report shall be subject to disciplinary action. We appropriately investigate all such reports and, when warranted by the facts, require corrective action and discipline in accordance with University policy and state law.

The University offers graduate and first-professional degrees through 11 of its 12 schools. Of the more than 25,600 students enrolled at the University, 8,318 are students in a graduate or first-professional (law and medicine) degree program. UVA offers 83 master’s degrees in 74 fields, 53 doctoral degrees in 52 fields, five education specialist degrees, and first-professional degrees in law and medicine. UVA is one of the top universities in the nation, ranked twenty-sixth overall and fourth among public institutions by U.S. News & World Report, with 37 fields, departments, or schools ranked in the top 25 for graduate study. In 2020 the University conferred 2,192 master’s degrees, 338 doctoral degrees, and 468 first-professional degrees.

Promoting excellence in graduate programs is a consistent point of focus across all schools and departments. In the last three years alone, the University announced four major awards totaling $29.5 million in support of graduate education in the Curry School of Education, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Included in these school specific investments is over $2 million to support the development of PhD Plus, a university-wide program to enhance career and professional development opportunities for all PhD students and open the aperture of career paths for PhD graduates. In addition to these school-specific investments, a number of programs have also been developed to support interdisciplinary graduate student research and to encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations. Beginning in 2014 with the creation of the University’s Data Science Institute, the University has announced the creation of three additional interdisciplinary institutes: The Virginia Brain Institute, the UVA Environmental Resilience Institute, and the Global Infectious Diseases Institute. Building research opportunities in conjunction with the development of these institutes has been a high priority. Exemplary of these efforts are the Presidential Fellowships in Data Science, Collaborative Neuroscience, and Environmental Resilience and Sustainability Fellowships, all of which provide graduate and professional students with the opportunity to collaborate closely with other student and faculty across disciplines in the pursuit of research in areas of major social impact. Other programs developed to support graduate student research include the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences summer research awards, which provide up to $5,000 each for students conducting preliminary or exploratory dissertation research, and the External Fellowship Supplement program which provides necessary tuition support for students who have been successful in receiving federally funded grants, such as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

The University also offers a number of opportunities for undergraduates to partner with graduate students conducting original research. In 2016 the University successfully revamped its Double-Hoo program, which offers research awards for graduate and undergraduate student pairs who proposed joint research projects across all fields. Through this innovative program student teams receive up to $6,000 and work with a faculty member on a project of their own design. 2016 also saw an expansion of USOAR, Undergraduate Student Opportunities in Academic Research, which provides paid research opportunities for undergraduates across all disciplines.

Additional resources in support of graduate education can be found in the University’s Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs. With a commitment to the career and professional development of graduate students, this office houses Ph.D. trained personnel with expertise in a wide range of career and professional development opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral trainees. The Office provides students with support and advice in decision-making and planning for career pursuits within and beyond the academy. Through one-on-one advising appointments and other programs delivered through PhD Plus, the Office strives to prepare students for a wide variety of careers. The office also partners with the University’s Center for Teaching Excellence in support of programs such as an annual teaching workshop for graduate students, and Tomorrow’s Professor Today, a successful and long-running program designed to prepare the future professoriate with pedagogical training and professional development in a wide variety of areas.

As part of the university’s ongoing commitment to diversity in graduate education, the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs also works to enhance the diversity of the graduate student body by fostering a welcoming environment for all students, and serving as a resource for administration, faculty, staff, and graduate students on matters of diversity. The office supports a vibrant mentoring institute intended to help facilitate the transition from undergraduate to graduate school, and serves as a resource for graduate student organizations focused on diversity. The office also serves as a liaison between UVA and minority-serving institutions. It participates actively in the recruitment of students from diverse backgrounds through efforts such as graduate student recruitment weekends, the creation and coordination of summer research and education opportunities and by representing the university in a variety of external networks and recruiting opportunities. 

More detailed information about graduate studies at the University is available on-line from the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, http://gradstudies.virginia.edu, by e-mailing gradstudies@virginia.edu, or by calling (434) 243-4014.

Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819. He planned the curriculum, recruited the first faculty, and designed the Academical Village. Comprised of a central lawn and surrounded by faculty residences called pavilions, with student rooms between and working service yards behind, the “village” symbolizes Jefferson’s intent to create an institution that supports the free and open exchange of ideas, close interaction among students and faculty, and collegial collaboration across disciplines. Together with Monticello, Jefferson’s mountaintop house, the Academical Village is an architectural design of global significance; UNESCO declared the pair a World Heritage site in 1987 in recognition of their universal cultural value.

Jefferson intended to establish an institution that would be, in his words, “based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind.” Yet, the construction of the Academical Village relied in large part on enslaved black laborers, and slaves were a significant part of the University’s operation for almost fifty years. Like other U.S. colleges and universities, the University has recently focused much-needed attention on the role of slavery in its early history. In 2015, the Board of Visitors named a newly constructed residence hall, Gibbons House, for William and Isabella Gibbons, husband and wife, who were enslaved by different professors and lived in different pavilions at the University in the mid-19th century. In 2017, the Board of Visitors named another building for former slave and stonemason Peyton Skipwith. For more information on slavery at the University, see the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University and Jefferson’s University the Early Life. In 2018, the Board of Visitors established the President’s Commission on the University in the Era of Segregation, to continue research on race and inequity for the century following emancipation.

With regard to its mission, the University was innovative for its day because it was dedicated to educating leaders in practical affairs and public service rather than for professions in the classroom and the pulpit exclusively. It was the first nonsectarian university in the United States and the first to use the elective course system. Where it excelled in regard to curricular innovation, however, it was representative of its time in the make-up of its student body and faculty. When the University opened for classes in 1825, its faculty of eight and student body of sixty-eight were all white and all male. Not until the 20th century would the University admit women and men of color or white women, and it would be one of the last public institutions of higher education in the U.S. to do so.

At the time of the University’s opening in the 19th century, instruction included ancient languages, modern languages, mathematics, moral philosophy, natural philosophy, chemistry, law, and medicine. Jefferson opposed the granting of degrees on the grounds that they were “artificial embellishments.” In 1831, however, the Board of Visitors authorized granting the Master of Arts degree, which throughout most of the nineteenth century remained the University’s most prestigious academic award. The M.D. degree was awarded to the first graduates of the School of Medicine in 1828, and the LL.B. was first awarded for law school graduates in 1842. The bachelor’s degree was awarded beginning in 1849, but did not become the standard undergraduate degree and a prerequisite for the master’s degree until 1899, bringing the University into conformity with other institutions of higher learning. The Ph.D. has been awarded since 1883.

• access to the Internet and the UVA network; WiFi access in most buildings around Grounds, including all student residence complexes, in the libraries, on the Lawn, and in most classrooms;
• centralized email, calendaring, and other computing accounts;
• file storage, including UVA Box and Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage for those who are eligible;
• Remote Apps, a virtualized software delivery system;
• UVACollab, the online course management and collaboration system;
• access to specialized academic software packages that are not available virtually; Qualtrics for survey creation; and Zoom for video, voice, and screen sharing; software downloads, most at no cost, including licensed, self-updating antivirus software, from in.virginia.edu/software; Microsoft Office® 365 tools for students; and the Windows operating system at no cost through UVA’s Campus Agreement with Microsoft (available to undergraduate and graduate students).
• ITS also supports the Integrated System for Finance and Student Information and is a partner with UVA Human Resources for Workday.
• The UVA Help Desk (434-924-HELP; in.virginia.edu/helpdesk) provides technical computing support at no cost to members of the University community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The University of Virginia is a public institution of higher learning guided by a founding vision of discovery, innovation, and development of the full potential of talented students from all walks of life. It serves the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world by developing responsible citizen leaders and professionals; advancing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge; and providing world-class patient care.

We are defined by:

• Our enduring commitment to a vibrant and unique residential learning environment marked by the free and collegial exchange of ideas;
• Our unwavering support of a collaborative, diverse community bound together by distinctive foundational values of honor, integrity, trust, and respect;
• Our universal dedication to excellence and affordable access.

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.

That commitment to sharing resources is evinced by the growing number of community-engaged courses. Designed by faculty in collaboration with community partners from around the world, community-engaged courses challenge students to apply classroom content to real-world issues identified by their community partners. These courses are complemented by a diverse selection of courses centered around discussing the underlying ideas of “community” and aspects of authentic engagement. In the 2017-2018 academic year, over 4,500 students enrolled in one of 282 community-based courses. Faculty help to advance the University’s mission of public service and engagement in other ways. As of the 2017-2018 academic year, over 180 faculty members, as well as 41 staff and 1,375 students took part in sustained collaborative work with organizations locally and internationally. These partnerships result in research, scholarship, and creative activity that is beneficial to the community partner, faculty, and to participating university students. Partnerships exist in areas ranging from local k-12 arts enrichment, to legal clinics for area residents, to community health in South Africa and Guatemala.

Students play an important role in fulfilling the Institution’s commitment to service. As an example, in 2017-2018, over 4,296 students in Madison House engaged in weekly community service during the regular academic session, giving over 106,168 hours of service to 185 community partners. Through the Office of Undergraduate Research, 22 student received grants to participate in local or international community-based research projects.

These many volunteer hours, community-based learning opportunities, and partnerships are foregrounded against the October 2018 inauguration of University President James Ryan. This administration has been clear its aim to support service at the University of Virginia and to guide the institution toward practices that benefit its neighbors near and far. In the fall of 2018, the Office of the President convened a Community Working Group which conducted a survey capturing what local community members saw as areas of concern, and of potential collaboration, with the University.

Research

Noted for its world-class research capabilities, the University of Virginia is engaged in a wide range of research in medicine, engineering, education 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 members 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 members 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 2019-20, research at the University was supported by over 2180 separate awards totaling over $441 million dollars from federal and state agencies, industry, and foundations.

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 political economy. 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 future. More detailed information about research and funding at the University is available on-line from the Office of the Vice President for Research, https://research.virginia.edu.

The Arts are an essential component of the University, its mission, and are a leading presence in the Charlottesville community. The Vice Provost for the Arts catalyzes and facilitates research, creative production, and service in the arts departments and schools, with The Fralin Museum of Art, Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, the Virginia Film Festival, Heritage Theatre Festival & WTJU Radio, and by student-driven arts organizations. The Arts are crucial to the residential experience at UVA, enriching us all while inspiring our students to innovate, create, collaborate, explore, and discover. UVA Arts offers an array of performances, exhibitions, and creative opportunities for students, faculty, staff, visitors, and our entire community. Significant outreach efforts include the President’s Speaker Series for the Arts, artist residencies, and public-facing programs designed to cultivate a vibrant community that promotes creative expression and to augment and enrich the artistic offerings across the Commonwealth, nation, and world.

The Betsy and John Casteen Arts Grounds comprises The Fralin Museum of Art; Campbell Hall for the School of Architecture; the UVA Department of Drama building, which includes the Culbreth, Helms and the brand-new Ruth Caplin Theatres; Ruffin Hall for studio art; Fayerweather Hall for the Department of Art; the Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library; the Hunter Smith Band Building; and Culbreth Road Parking Garage.

The Fralin Museum of Art houses fine art collections from ancient to contemporary times that are supplemented by innovative and changing exhibitions. Ruffin Hall features student and faculty shows every month, and the Department of Art sponsors public talks and presentations by visiting artists.

The UVA Department of Drama presents productions year-round in the Culbreth, Helms and new Ruth Caplin Theatres, including dramatic works, musicals, workshops, and dance performances. During the summer, the Heritage Theatre Festival provides entertainment for drama fans with a blend of musicals, comedy and classic drama.

The McIntire Department of Music, located on the Lawn in Old Cabell Hall, produces 100’s of events each year. These music events include concerts by faculty and student groups and performances as well as master classes by visiting artists in music styles ranging from classical klezmer to computer music to bluegrass, and many more in between.

For major national and international acts, UVA is proud to have the John Paul Jones Arena close by. In its fifteen years of operation, JPJ has hosted performances by Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen, Cirque du Soleil, Elton John, the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett and many others.

Further off Grounds, there is the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, the only museum outside of Australia dedicated to the exhibition and study of Indigenous Australian art. They expand knowledge and understanding of Indigenous Australian art and culture to cultivate greater appreciation of human diversity and creativity.

In late fall, the Virginia Film Festival offers a four-day celebration of the art of filmmaking, featuring first-run features, classic cinema, documentaries and shorter works.

During early spring, the Virginia Festival of the Book, supported by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, features readings, signings and talks by novelists, poets, nonfiction writers, journalists, editors, scholars, and representatives of the publishing industry.

Each year, the area attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists who come to see the Grounds of the University, visit Monticello, Montpelier, and Ashlawn-Highland, tour local breweries, distilleries, and wineries, and hike through the Shenandoah National Park, just 20 miles west in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Locals and visitors also enjoy water activities on the Rivanna and James Rivers.

Charlottesville has long-standing traditions, including spring’s Dogwood Festival and New Year’s Eve’s First Night Virginia. Every spring, runners in the Charlottesville Ten-Miler rush through town toward the finish line at University Hall.

A pedestrian-friendly downtown mall offers locally owned restaurants and shops, art galleries, movies and live theater, and a steady line-up of live music performance in a historic section of the city. Fridays After Five is a series of free summer concerts at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion at the east end of the Downtown Mall, and nationally known groups also perform there. Saturdays April through November find crowds at the nearby City Market, where local fresh food and crafts are on sale.

In the Court Square area, lawyers and business people occupy offices in buildings dating back to the 1700s. Charlottesville also boasts a rich resource in the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, which offers a robust program of events throughout the year. Lastly, Charlottesville has an extraordinary array of non-profits and volunteer organizations that contribute to our community life in the arts, but also pursue issues of social justice and community wellness.

Charlottesville is located 120 miles from Washington, D.C., and 70 miles from Richmond. The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO), a non-hub, commercial service airport, offers more than 50 daily non-stop flights to and from Charlotte, Philadelphia, New York/LaGuardia, Washington/Dulles, Atlanta, and Chicago. CHO is served by Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle, and US Airways Express. 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 Area Transit service and the University Transit Service provide bus service on Grounds and around the city, free for University students, faculty, and staff. 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 on-line at www.virginia.edu/Map/.

The Honor System has been a defining dimension of life at the University for more than 175 years. Under the Honor System, University students have pledged to adhere to a common baseline of honorable behavior; that is, not to lie, cheat, or steal. This ideal of Honor is not imposed upon students; rather, by choosing to enroll at the University of Virginia, students commit themselves to a community that shares this ideal. Specifically, each student at the University signs a pledge to abide by the Honor System as part of their application for admission. Students also commit themselves to governing the system; the Honor Committee, as well as its support officer pool and hearing panels, is composed entirely of students. The Honor Committee and its operations are governed by the Committee’s Constitution and By-Laws, which can be found on the Committee’s website at http://honor.virginia.edu.

Although the University of Virginia has expanded to encompass more than one thousand acres, it retains the intimacy that characterized the original 42 acre Academical Village. Jefferson, a self-trained architect, enthusiastic builder, and inveterate tinkerer, chose a former farm over a mile away from the little town of Charlottesville for the site of his University.  Architectural precedents from the Roman Republic inspired his buildings at the University, as he believed them to be appropriate models for the new American Republic.

This educational community was built around a rectangular, terraced green — the Lawn — flanked by two continuous rows of one-story student rooms. Interspersed among the student rooms are the Pavilions, designed as residences and classroom buildings for the original faculty. Each pavilion has a unique façade in one of the classical orders. The student rooms and the Pavilions open onto colonnaded walkways fronting the Lawn. Behind the Lawn Rooms and Pavilions are gardens enclosed by serpentine brick walls. The gardens and alleys between them lead to another row of rooms on each side called the Ranges. These are broken up by larger buildings called Hotels, which were the original dining halls at the University. The Rotunda, inspired by the Roman Pantheon, is at the north end of the Lawn, while the south end was originally left open to a vista of the mountains. Enslaved African Americans performed most of the labor associated with realizing the Academical Village, from leveling the site to carpentry, brick making and laying, and stone work.

Jefferson’s design integrates housing for students and faculty as well as classroom, dining, and library space – a truly mixed-use community. Students lived on the Lawn and in the Ranges and dined in the Hotels. Faculty members lived and taught in the Pavilions, while the Rotunda housed the library, classroom space, and gymnasia. After the University opened, enslaved workers were essential to its operation, providing services to students, staff and faculty. 

The Lawn remains the intellectual and spiritual heart of the University and continues to serve many of its original purposes. Select students are awarded Lawn rooms 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 contains classrooms and study space, and hosts meetings of the Board of Visitors, dinners and other ceremonial events, as well as many student activities.

The originality and importance of Jefferson’s design are widely recognized. Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable noted in The New York Times, that 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 “the proudest achievement in American architecture in the past 200 years” and in 1987, the Academical Village was listed along with Monticello as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Rotunda was the original library at UVA — the foundation on which the University built a transformative educational community — and supporting the UVA community remains the Library’s main purpose. What we call the UVA Library today is actually an array of spaces, resources, services, materials, and people, all combining to partner with users and collaborate in learning and discovery.

An immense collection of physical and digital materials is available through the Library — more than 20 million manuscripts and archives, more than 1.1 million e-books and 395,000 e-journal subscriptions, and millions of non-text materials such as images, audio, video, data sets, and more. You can get to all of this through www.library.virginia.edu and Virgo, the Library’s catalog. The Library also maintains a portal specifically for undergraduate students with links to resources and services to help with research, navigating Library spaces, browsing Virgo, borrowing materials and equipment, and more. Much more.

The Library has a variety of spaces for study, research, and more, serving the University’s community and supporting all of its academic programs. The Charles L. Brown Science and Engineering Library (along with the Astronomy and Mathematics libraries) serve research needs in those disciplines and fields. Clemons Library contains video materials and provides advanced technology and digital media services in the Robertson Media Center, which has recently added a 3-D printing studio. Clemons also houses the Dathel and John Georges Student Center, a space with academic, professional, and personal advising resources for students. Clemons and Brown are also both particularly popular spots for undergrads to study and meet up.

The University’s main humanities and social sciences library is undergoing a major renovation (it’s expected to reopen by spring of 2023), and the first floor of Clemons has recently been renovated to support the closure, adding extra shelving for collections and many more seats and tables for study space. In addition, the Scholars’ Lab, the Library’s center for the digital humanities, will be housed in Clemons during the renovation.

Additional collections and services supporting Art, Architecture, Music, and related disciplines can be found in the Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library and the Music Library (you’ll also find more study space in those libraries). The University’s renowned collection of manuscripts and rare books is located in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, where public programs and exhibitions are hosted in the building, which is shared by the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature, and Culture. The Library also maintains Ivy Stacks, an off-Grounds shelving and preservation facility containing more than 2 million items. Everything in Ivy Stacks is fully cataloged in Virgo, and items are delivered to Grounds for Library users when requested.

The Library provides access to extensive collections and varied spaces for research and study, but the heart of the Library system is the knowledgeable and experienced staff who contribute daily to the academic experience. They can always connect you with the materials you need, and librarians with subject expertise will collaborate with you on research and teach you how best to use and evaluate information — and the Scholars’ Lab, Robertson Media Center, and Research Data Services offer specialized expertise and tools for technology-intense scholarship.

In addition to face-to-face services, librarians are always available on chat or via online consultation. When in doubt, Ask A Librarian — we are here to help.

University Professors 

Appointed by the Board of Visitors at the recommendation of the president, University Professorships are conferred on a small number of accomplished faculty who are distinguished in more than one discipline. They report directly to the president and have considerable freedom to teach across disciplinary and administrative boundaries university-wide.
Current University Professors are:

• Bradshaw, Catherine P. B.A., M.Ed., Ph.D., Professor of Education (reports to School of Education and Human Development)
• Bruner, Robert F. D.B.A., MBA, B.A., Distinguished Professor of Business Administration (reports to Darden)
• Edmundson, Mark W. B.A., Ph.D.  Professor of English (reports to A & S)
• Freeman, Robert E. B.A., Ph.D., Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration (reports to Darden)
• Grandison, K. Ian B.S., M.L.A., Professor of American Studies (reports to A & S)
• Harding, Harry B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Professor of Public Policy (reports to Batten)     
• Hunt, Donald F. Hunt B.S., Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry (reports to A & S)
• Kumar, Jagdish K. B.A, M.S., Ph.D., Professor of English (reports to A & S)
• Ramazani, R. Jahan B.A., M.Phil., M.Phil., Ph.D., Edgar F. Shannon, Jr. Professor of English (reports to A & S)
• Sabato, Larry J. B.A., D. Phil., Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Government & Foreign Affairs (reports to President and to the Provost as the Director of the Center for Politics)
• Stam III, Allan C. B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Professor of Public Policy (reports to Batten)
• Suarez, Michael F. B.A., M.A., M.S., Professor of English (reports to A & S, and to the Provost as Director of the Rare Book School)
• Sullivan, Teresa A. B.A., A.M, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology (reports to A & S)
• Turner, Elizabeth H. B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Professor of Art (reports to A & S)
• Turner, Sarah E. B.A., Ph.D., Professor of Education and Economics (reports to A & S and Curry and Batten)
• Wadley, Haydn N. G. B.S., Ph.D., Edgar A. Starke, Jr., Research Professor of Materials Science (reports to Engineering)