When authoring his epitaph, Thomas Jefferson omitted
his two terms as the nation’s third president yet included
“Father of the University of Virginia.” The Founding Father
spent the last years of his life not in government but instead
pursuing one of his most treasured 1 missions, it was
creating the University of Virginia. As mastermind of the
university’s architecture and curriculum, Jefferson assured
that his legacy was sound.
Jefferson personally designed and oversaw the
2 construction, of what he would deem, an “academical
village.” At the front and center of a tree-lined lawn area,
Jefferson strategically positioned the Rotunda, a round brick
building featuring classical Greek columns in front. The
domed top of the rotunda contained a library stocked with
7,000 books selected by Jefferson himself, while the area
beneath included two floors of oval classrooms. 3 At that
time, such prominent placement of the Rotunda was a marked
departure from other universities’ designs, which generally
featured chapels for the training of clergy. Maximizing use
of the grassy area in front of the Rotunda, Jefferson added
ten two-story Romanesque pavilions for faculty housing and
connected them to student dormitories with colonnades,
column-lined covered walkways. To 4 sustain faculty
through scholarly debates, Jefferson included dining halls in
his design, referring to them as “hotels.”
5 In the spirit of his new nation, ending what he
termed an “artificial aristocracy,” Jefferson introduced the
notion of what we now call electives. In lieu of a strictly
dictated curriculum, students could select from ten
academic disciplines. 6 These disciplines were subject
areas that ranged from ancient and modern languages
to certain branches of science. (Not one to overlook the
slightest detail, Jefferson showcased the ten categories
by placing a carefully chosen Roman symbol on each of
the ten pavilions.) To support the science components
of the university’s curriculum, Jefferson 7 has included
a botanical garden, an experimental farm, and an
observatory.
8 Whereas Jefferson was highly involved in designing
the architecture of the university, Jefferson ensured that the
university, which would later be named a World Heritage
site, encouraged free choice in classes, respect for classical
roots, and 9 he was curious about the sciences. Those
10 principles are forever remembered in the last portion
of his 11 epitaph. The epitaph could easily have read
“academic visionary for all Americans.”
his two terms as the nation’s third president yet included
“Father of the University of Virginia.” The Founding Father
spent the last years of his life not in government but instead
pursuing one of his most treasured 1 missions, it was
creating the University of Virginia. As mastermind of the
university’s architecture and curriculum, Jefferson assured
that his legacy was sound.
Jefferson personally designed and oversaw the
2 construction, of what he would deem, an “academical
village.” At the front and center of a tree-lined lawn area,
Jefferson strategically positioned the Rotunda, a round brick
building featuring classical Greek columns in front. The
domed top of the rotunda contained a library stocked with
7,000 books selected by Jefferson himself, while the area
beneath included two floors of oval classrooms. 3 At that
time, such prominent placement of the Rotunda was a marked
departure from other universities’ designs, which generally
featured chapels for the training of clergy. Maximizing use
of the grassy area in front of the Rotunda, Jefferson added
ten two-story Romanesque pavilions for faculty housing and
connected them to student dormitories with colonnades,
column-lined covered walkways. To 4 sustain faculty
through scholarly debates, Jefferson included dining halls in
his design, referring to them as “hotels.”
5 In the spirit of his new nation, ending what he
termed an “artificial aristocracy,” Jefferson introduced the
notion of what we now call electives. In lieu of a strictly
dictated curriculum, students could select from ten
academic disciplines. 6 These disciplines were subject
areas that ranged from ancient and modern languages
to certain branches of science. (Not one to overlook the
slightest detail, Jefferson showcased the ten categories
by placing a carefully chosen Roman symbol on each of
the ten pavilions.) To support the science components
of the university’s curriculum, Jefferson 7 has included
a botanical garden, an experimental farm, and an
observatory.
8 Whereas Jefferson was highly involved in designing
the architecture of the university, Jefferson ensured that the
university, which would later be named a World Heritage
site, encouraged free choice in classes, respect for classical
roots, and 9 he was curious about the sciences. Those
10 principles are forever remembered in the last portion
of his 11 epitaph. The epitaph could easily have read
“academic visionary for all Americans.”