Post job

University of Virginia company history timeline

1819

1819 On January 25, the General Assembly formally approves Central College in Charlottesville as the site for the University of Virginia.

Founded by Thomas Jefferson, it was chartered in 1819.

1824

1824 On November 5, the Marquis de Lafayette is feted by Jefferson and James Madison, along with about four hundred guests, in the topmost floor of the yet-unfinished Rotunda.

1825

March 7, 1825 First classes are held.

July 14, 1825 The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is founded by 16 members of the Patrick Henry Society.

1826

1826 Jefferson visits his university for the last time in early June.

1828

1828 First degree conferred: doctor of medicine.

1835

Proposals for a chapel on Grounds started as early as 1835.

1840

12, 1840 Student disorder has persisted, to the point of a professor being horsewhipped near the Rotunda the previous year by two expelled students.

1842

July 4, 1842 The seed of the Honor Code is planted when, in response to a perceived rise in cheating, the faculty approves a resolution by Faculty Chairman Henry St George Tucker that requires students to sign a written pledge “on honor” that they have received no help on exams.

1852

26, 1852 The first fraternity at the University, Delta Kappa Epsilon, is established.

1853

1853 An expansive annex is added to the north side of the Rotunda to increase classroom space.

1861

July 1, 1861 Wounded Confederate soldiers from the war’s first major battle at Manassas are brought by train to Charlottesville.

26, 1861 Students briefly display the Confederate flag on the Rotunda dome, said to be the first time the flag is flown in the state.

1861–65 The University remains open throughout the Civil War, but with few students enrolled.

1865

258 students enroll for the 1865-66 term; 490 the following year.

1866

1866 Baseball is first played at the University.

1877

In 1877, a permanent club for intercollegiate sports is established.

1885

March 30, 1885 A cornerstone is laid for the University Chapel in the shadow of the Rotunda, Jefferson’s deliberately secular centerpiece of his Academical Village.

1888

1888 Students choose orange and blue as the school colors, replacing silver gray and cardinal red that symbolized the Confederate uniform stained with blood.

1890

1890 College Topics, the school newspaper, founded.

1899

1899 At 664 students, enrollment for the first time exceeds the peak before the Civil War.

1905

April 13, 1905 Edwin Alderman inaugurated as first president of the University.

1907

1907 Phi Beta Kappa chapter established.

1916

1916 For the first time, public school students outnumber private school students enrolled at the University.

1919

1919 Sidney Fiske Kimball arrives in Charlottesville to establish a School of Architecture at UVA.

1929

1929 In 25 years under Alderman’s presidency, student enrollment grows from 500 to 2,200.

1933

6, 1933 After more than two years, the BOV elects Newcomb as the University’s second president.

1938

1938 Boxing team wins the University’s first NCAA championship.

1940

June 10, 1940 In an address at Finals, President Roosevelt delivers the “dagger in the back” speech in response to Italy joining Nazi Germany’s war on France.

1947

1947 The Garden Club of Virginia begins its curation of the pavilion gardens.

1951

Mary Munford Hall, built in 1951, is the first residence hall at UVA built specifically for women.

1955

1955 To encourage economic development and management skills, the University establishes the first graduate school of business in the South.

1963

March 25, 1963 Invited by a small coalition of African-American and white students, Martin Luther King Jr. speaks on civil rights and social justice at Old Cabell Hall.

1965

1965 University Hall opens as the home for UVA basketball.

1969

1969 The BOV proposes limited admission of women over a 10-year period.

1972

1972 The Honor System single sanction undergoes the first of what will be 14 student referendum challenges over the ensuing 44 years.

1974

9, 1974 Frank Hereford (Col ’43, Grad ’47) inaugurated as fifth University president.

1976

July 1976 Renovated and remodeled to reflect Jefferson’s original interior, the Rotunda reopens.

1980

Fall 1980 For the first time, the number of women entering the University exceeds the number of men.

1987

1987 The first Black Alumni Weekend leads to the creation of the Ridley scholarship for African-American students from Virginia.

1989

Congratulations to Professor Penny M. Von Eschen on the publication of her new book, Paradoxes of Nostalgia: Cold War Trumphalism and Global Disorder Since 1989 (Duke University Press)

1989 Women’s Center opens to support women’s lives and leadership at the University.

In 1989 he founded Northeast Energy Management, Inc., which was involved with energy-conservation initiatives.

1992

1992 New business school built, designed by modern-day classicist Robert A.M. Stern.

1998

1998 Larry Sabato (Col ’74) founds the Center for Politics to improve politics and civic engagement.

2004

2004 AccessUVA financial aid program begins, enabling students from low-income families to attend UVA free of debt.

2007

2007 Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is founded.

2010

1, 2010 Teresa A. Sullivan takes office as the University’s first female president.

2013

September 2013 President’s Commission on Slavery and the University created, building on previous initiatives to discover and commemorate the role of enslaved people in the University’s history.

After taking office in 2013, he caucused with the Democratic Party, though he continued to be known for his bipartisan efforts.

2017

11, 2017 The night before a deadly “Unite the Right” demonstration in Charlottesville, national white supremacists march on Grounds with torches, brawling with student counterprotesters surrounding the Jefferson statue on the Rotunda’s north terrace.

Work at University of Virginia?
Share your experience
Founded
1819
Company founded
Headquarters
Charlottesville, VA
Company headquarter
Get updates for jobs and news

Rate how well University of Virginia lives up to its initial vision.

Zippia waving zebra

University of Virginia jobs

Do you work at University of Virginia?

Does University of Virginia communicate its history to new hires?

University of Virginia history FAQs

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of University of Virginia, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about University of Virginia. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at University of Virginia. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by University of Virginia. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of University of Virginia and its employees or that of Zippia.

University of Virginia may also be known as or be related to University of Virginia.