This reminds me of the mission statement in businesses and organizations. It’s clearly laying out the objectives of what they want students to learn through this university education. While secondary education prepares you for college, college itself is much more long term and supposed to help prepare you for a job and for life. Furthermore, the sentence structure has a patriotic undertone with the emphasis on rights (constitution). The line ‘to observe with intelligence & faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed’ is interesting because it is easy to see their concern a student’s social standing. This depicts their want for students to do well and have a good position in society in a way that will better reflect the University. We see this even now, when UVA advertises its alumni being in high standing positions around the world. ‘To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express & preserve his ideas, his contracts & accounts in writing’ shows UVA’s dedication to preserving ideas in history by wanting to keep everything in writing. In another section of this document, they were looking down on indigenous populations for being backwards thinkers, but they are willing to preserve their own history and culture.

This passage is focusing on always looking forward in terms of society and civilization, instead of mourning for the past (in relation to the indigenous people at the time). For example, this may translate to someone today thinking civilization should go back to the way it was before cell phones ‘ruined everything’. This passage is against that idea, because everyone should try to better society. However, this makes me think of the argument between STEM and Arts courses. While one shouldn’t stay stuck in time and constantly wish for the past, that does not mean they should ignore it. As we often hear, ‘learning history helps from repeating past mistakes.’ The way this sentence is phrased makes it seem like looking at the past has a negative connotation. There should be a balance of innovation and industrialization, as well as truly appreciating and learning from the past. Even if we might have more advancements and technology in this age, we still have a lot to learn from the past. Thus, the way the previous few sentences were framed denouncing indigenous people was uncalled for and only took away from the argument.

The progressive thinking of UVA is shown here, where the basic principles of the institution seem to germinate. At the time, students were described to have certain “indiscretions” that were natural for their age. However, instead of using fear or force as a corrective measure, the university government was founded on the praise of morals and ambition, which through repetition, would help develop and mature a student’s future character. This contrasts with the use of fear which was properly deemed “degrading.”

In my Engagements class, we toured the Lawn with the Professor of Architectural History, Louis Nelson, who is working on a project to understand the use of slavery at UVA. As we walked through the lawn gardens, he explained the extensive use of “white space” in the history of the university, which separated the students and faculty from the slaves with the layout of the pavilions. This method kept the slaves on the outside of the U-shaped lawn, behind tall garden walls, and the students on the inside, so as to maintain complete separation of the black and white populations. It is interesting that these motives are not explicitly mentioned when describing the layout of the academic village. Perhaps this is included under the advantages of “tranquility and comfort” or “morals and uninterrupted study.”

I feel that the University of Virginia has stayed true to this goal. When something looked upon as morally wrong occurs, UVa responds. Students often protest, and faculty often share their concerns on the topic and make it known when something is not okay. After the alt right, white supremacists were in Charlottesville, there was a huge response, further enforcing the idea that morals are an extremely important part of a person.

Jefferson was not only trying to form a University that would teach young adults the basics of higher education. He was attempting to do something much deeper. He wanted to create lifelong students, that were well-rounded and had a good understanding of many different aspects of the world. Based on where our University is today and the New Curriculum, I think that his goal has been accomplished.

I had no idea what vegetable pharmacy was until I did a little research. According to this website, vegetable pharmacy is essentially just the study of nutrition. The website explains that “vegetable pharmacy” is essentially prescribing vegetable cocktails to assist overweight children at risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. While learning this was helpful, I am a little confused as to why it was important in the nineteenth century, since these first world diseases were not common back then. Why was vegetable pharmacy and botany important enough to the authors to explicitly include it in the University’s founding document? http://voicesforahealthysouthcoast.org/fruit-and-vegetable-prescription-programtm-fvrxtm/

The authors insist that the location of UVA will be chosen based off quality alone and will not be sold to the highest bidder, which I find symbolic and slightly ironic. I think this principle is a symbol of the democracy the founding fathers wanted to actualize. The founding fathers, including Jefferson, wanted to create a system of government for America in which money did not hinder political equality, and here, this same principle is being implemented in the founding of UVA. While money is ideally not supposed to influence the success of an individual in politics or at UVA, in reality, it is far easier for wealthier individuals to succeed in both the broader sphere of American democracy and within the university setting. While the University certainly values merit, like these authors did in choosing the location, money will always be a factor in the success of a student.

I thought that this statement was rather strong coming from a man who failed to recognize any of the children he had with Sally Hemings. To say that all of a parent's affection is concentrated on their offspring seems rather hypocritical and insincere when said by Jefferson.

I find this segment especially significant because one of Jefferson's sincerest desires was for man to be governed by reason. In creating an institution that would cultivate one's reasoning and logic, he intended to create a society that indeed would be able to be governed by reason.

How would you even teach something like ideology? It's an extremely broad subject so I would think they'd narrow it down... but about what exactly, that's the question. Is it just politics? Economics? Did they teach what makes an ideology what it is? Goals and purposes? History of ideas?

The document emphasizes the goal of self-sufficiency and independence by stating "his own" and "for himself." These ideas are still heavily emphasized today. However, because only "he" is used, it indicates how women were not allowed to attend to UVA for quite some time and were not able to experience the such independence.

This quote shows UVa's emphasis on educating students who will engage in the society. It shows that one of UVa's goal in education is to educate student who will use their knowledge in their social roles. This claim ties back to what we read in Hidden Figures at the beginning of the year. During the Cold War Era, under the influences of space race with USSR, large amount of people study science and become scientists. This phenomenon could ties to this claim that people pursue their major to fulfill their social responsibilities.

Before I read this article, I thought UVa was located in Charlottesville because it is close to Monticello. I was amazed by how people chose the location for UVa not on its accessibility to transportation, available land and or weather but on the "degree of centrality to white population." This quote also shows the racism and segregation at that time. UVa at the beginning wasn't build for diversity. It concerned only the white population and excluded the minority. In our discussion, our TA showed us a letter written by an African American women applicant who was rejected by the school during this era. In the letter she questioned the school that the sole reason she got rejected was due to her ethnicity and gender. And this letter ties to this claim in this article.

This statement speaks to the founders’ goal of making the University of Virginia a focal point of education for the entire state of Virginia. The founders wanted schools all throughout Virginia to prepare students for the immersive learning experience they would encounter at the University of Virginia. Today, the university is not only a center of learning for Virginians, but also for students from the other 49 states and from around the world. UVa’s impact has grown to reach far beyond the state of Virginia, and UVa’s name represents excellence in higher education throughout the world. The University now attracts students from across the world to engage with its unique educational experience.

This statement shows the inherent white, ethnocentric attitude that dominated the minds of the founders. The academical village, built from slave labor, was erected to foster a community of learning for white people only. These white people were solely white men until 1970, when the university began to admit women. The dominance of white men in all aspects of American society during this time was only reinforced by the initial exclusivity of UVa. Contrasting the initial beliefs of the founders, the university is now home to an incredibly diverse community that prides itself on being a place of acceptance and celebration of different cultures.

This statement here seems to be the reason for why we are living in dorms. I think that having dormitories is an essential part for any school because not only does it allow for students to reside on campus, but it also allows for students to meet other people and foster a great and loving community. I have made so many friends in my dorm and hall and I am grateful that it was this sentence that transformed the experience for UVA students for years.

It is remarkable to notice how much has changed at the University for a student who aspires to go into the field of medicine. As a pre med student and after reading this, I show nothing but appreciation for the many resources we are given. Back when this document was created, the authors intended for a hospital to be near grounds so that students can get to shadow doctors and receive educational benefits. We now can see Jefferson's intentions manifesting itself in the University and students today through the UVA hospital being a great spot where students can do research.

To me this is interesting in multiple ways. The first being the more apparent one that Jefferson was obviously violating the equal rights of others by participating in and perpetuating slavery. The other reason that I find this interesting is because it highlights Jefferson’s strong Anti-Federalist beliefs by stating that there should be limited restrictions on people other than to protect others. Jefferson was one of the main actors in the political debate of the time regarding how large of a role the federal government should play in The United States. Jefferson believed in the rights of individuals and state governments over the power of a large federal government, and he brought those political beliefs into the founding of the University of Virginia. It could also be argued that this is the root of student self-governance as we know it now.

The report clearly states before this that the centrality to the white population was an important factor in deciding where The University was going to be located. However, it is interesting that this was even more of a factor than the resources that each location would provide. While I’m sure that they did not want to be bound to choosing a location based solely on the financial incentives a location would provide them, it seems like they would have been more concerned with the financial incentives than the centrality to the white population. This really underlines how important it was during the conception of The University that this was a white institution.

It is remarkable to think that there were ever people well-versed enough in multiple subjects within broad umbrella categories (such as “modern languages,” or “pure mathematics”) to be able to teach all of the classes in any such overarching group. Nowadays, many professors have rather specific specialties and teach within only one department. Was it the case that academics had a broader knowledge base 200 years ago, or was that a higher education didn’t go in-depth enough into topics to make having more specialized professors necessary?

When writing this document, the founders seem to have had the idea that education would not simply be for the sake of getting a job in the future or creating a specialized track of study. Education would be for the betterment of the individual as a part of a bigger society. They wanted the University to expand each student’s abilities as an academic person, but also as a member of a knowledgeable community that would help the betterment of the country’s society as a whole.

It seems interesting that the founders of the school were worried with the distribution of primary schools throughout the district. They’re deciding on this because of what they want the entrance standards to be for the University at this time, and they don’t want rambunctious children attending the school with little grammar and language skills, but it still seems odd that the people writing the University charter would have the power to request primary schools throughout the state. Why are they able to dictate the distribution and content of primary education when they’re actual job is to found a University.

This judgement of the Native American community underlies the hypocritical nature that formed this institution. Jefferson felt that education was the only means to foster “order and love and virtue,” leading him to believe that the indigenous people of America lacked any sense of love and virtue. After taking a psychology course, the development of morality is so much more complex than simply receiving an education as it heavily relies on relationships and the level of socialization that a community promotes. Jefferson’s views of Native Americans as barbaric and wretched appears to be such a blatantly offensive and narrow-minded view of a population. It seems to me that people like Jefferson who want to distinguish an entire community are the ones who actually lack morality.

While anatomy seems like a fairly typical course to take nowadays, this was actually quite groundbreaking during the founding of the University as it marks a deviation from standard college courses in the 1800s. One of Jefferson’s notable contributions to the University was its establishment independent of religion, and in an average college of this time, religion courses would be the norm; however, Jefferson combatted this by introducing more scientific classes to his curriculum. The courses presented by Jefferson mark an important shift in the educational system of America and demonstrate the church’s loss of power over some realms. This transition could have triggered the rise in the belief that truth lies in science rather than in the church. Interestingly, public primary educations today are not affiliated with the church either, and I believe that Jefferson’s founding of the University of Virginia had a profound influence on the idea that there needs to be a separation between the church and the classroom.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_University_of_Virginia

I find it incredible that 200 years ago the founders decided to have such a democratic government created by the students for the students. Currently, our school is known for its honor system and the fact that our student body governs itself. Our self-governance creates an environment of respect and responsibility throughout our community and although it started with the founders, the students are really the ones who have carried it on. A the same time I find it hard to believe our founders that envisioned such a democratic community could be so backwards in their beliefs about women and people of color. The fact that these people were not accepted at the university until much later is astounding.

When I read this quote I was reminded of the justification the Spanish used in the colonization of South America. People have been using the justification that formal education leads to a proper society. However, I do not believe that this is true. Many people go without formal college education, or any at all formal education at all, but are able to contribute to society.

Creed Taylor was a lawyer and judge who helped establish Virginia's first proprietary law school in Cumberland, Virginia. From this, we can ascertain that he was interested in education, so it would make sense that he is one of the people responsible for helping create the University of Virginia.Some of his papers can be found in the UVA Special Collections Library. https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=uva-sc/viu00025.xml

Throughout this section, Jefferson describes the power of proper education. One of his hopes is that UVA will make education a collective process. He feels that everyone has unique experiences to share that can increase one’s own expanse of knowledge. I think that this was a valuable principle to lay out in the formation of his institution, as it encourages students to seek out connections and start conversations with other peers and faculty instead of focusing solely on their individual studies. Perhaps this is why Jefferson proposed that the Professors live among the students in the Academical Village, so as to increase the amount of time they spend together and foster a better community.

In my engagement, we are talking about how Thomas Jefferson chose not to incorporate religion into the University of Virginia. We learned that UVA was the first university in America to be founded without a connection to one specific religious denomination. This radical choice aligned with his belief that it is within our reasoning to determine whether or not we believe in God. His choice to offer an ethics class about God reflects how he advocated for individuals to create personal religious beliefs, as he did through his creation of The Jefferson Bible. It’s interesting to see how Thomas Jefferson’s views on how life should be lived were translated directly into aspects of this institution, for better or for worse. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-thomas-jefferson-created-his-own-bible-5659505/

This sounds like the beginnings of UVA's liberal arts curriculum and writing requirements. One of the benefits of a UVA education is that students are encouraged to be knowledgeable in a variety of subjects, and it is interesting to see that this has been a part of Jefferson's vision from the beginning. In the modern job market, it is essential that people have versatile skills to find employment, so it was very forward-thinking of Jefferson to require this of his students. In Jefferson’s day, most people maintained the same job for their entire lives, so the value of this plan is even more evident now than ever.

It was reassuring that the exclusion of a Divinity teacher was included in this report. While Thomas Jefferson is one of the most important founding fathers, he was known to contradict what he wrote including his owning of slaves despite saying every an has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However; following the separation of Church and State was a direct following of the constitution and an important one. Though today, the university has many classes on different types of religion which I think is better than having an ethics class on the existence of God. These classes are there to teach and not preach, which I think is an important element of a person's growth and comprehension of the world around them.

It is fascinating to look at how much importance was placed on the French language during the early 1800s. It was seen as a necessary tool for diplomacy between countries, for that France had been an important world power, especially due to the USA's weak and negative relationship with Great Britain. While French is an important language today, Spanish is seen as the most necessary language to learn because of the high Hispanic population. Also languages such as Mandarin or Arabic are more valuable to global diplomacy than French.

I found this part interesting because by comparison at UVA today, first years do not have an option to buy a meal plan at UVA. In fact, we are required to purchase one of most expensive packages. Another difference we have currently today is first years are required to live on grounds, whereas at least in this time period that was a choice of the student. A question that I have about this situation is why were these policies changed?

During Jefferson’s time, higher education was something reserved for a few, namely the rich and the elite. Thus many thought that any form of higher education was frivolous, and not necessary for a trade such as agriculture, etc. And to be fair, Jefferson’s critics had a good point. Most people during his time would have learned a trade or vocational skill, and only a few people would have really need a higher education. But with the industrial revolution and the shift of America to an information/technology based economy, (from a manufacturing economy), the percentage of people pursuing higher education has increased dramatically. Today, public education is the norm and in many places, it is an expectation that one will attend a university or receive a higher education of some sort.

The writers of this document really stress that they want to be teaching students to become society’s elite. Because of this, they want to make sure students coming in already have a strong foundation in many subjects, including reading and foreign languages. The writers believe that having already studied these subjects will allow students to better prepare for the work field. Now, UVA does accept a more diverse group of people from many different backgrounds, but the requirement of previous education is still held up.

I find this quote particularly interesting. At the time many of the men writing this document were generally considered honorable and intelligent. However, in current times people might have mixed opinions about them because of their involvement in slavery or the fact that neither African Americans nor women were allowed to enroll in the university. While educating someone can change a person’s “virtue” for the better, it doesn’t necessarily positively impact all parts of his or her morality. Later in the paragraph the writers state that they want to “advance the knowledge & well-being of mankind”. While improving the social worth of men can definitely help society improve, they can only get so far. If the writers really wanted to improve the knowledge of society they would have allowed for women and all African Americans in enroll.

The view towards physical education is interesting, especially due to the typical age of students at the time. Students who attended universities such as Harvard and UPenn in the early 1800’s typically entered when they were 12-14 years old. In modern schools, physical education is often required at these ages, and usually involves instruction pertaining to health and exercise. This contrasts with UVA’s Spartan-like training of youth to prepare them for combat through “military maneuvers and tactics,” which were encouraged during their free time. By teaching them at a young age, the focus seems to be on preparing students for “manhood” and cementing the lessons they learn for their whole life.

http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/1800s/1852/studt_origins.html

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/04/harvards-long-ago-student-risings/

It seems as though the general study of pharmacy was included in fields beyond medicine at UVA. At the time, the university aimed to educate its students in order to prepare them for life, which is suggested in the next sentence. Here, it is explained that this degree of medicine is necessary for science based students who wish to “aid human life and health.” This shows a more practical view towards pharmacy, likely focusing on uses of common, organic substances for treatment of ailments, which contrasts to modern, mass produced medicine. It is interesting that the curriculum would include naturopathy and “vegetable pharmacy” in their botany classes, in addition to mineral-based pharmacy in chemistry courses, as these concepts would not be explicitly included in a modern medical school syllabus.

It is interesting how the authors decided to require any formal physical education classes at the University. Many schools today require classes of this nature to promote good health and exercise in within our younger generations. However, the writers did mention that physical education was a "principal" part of education in ancient times. This statement of having no requirement for physical education is still implemented at the university to this day. Students are allowed to take 1 credit physical education classes (for example, tennis class); I think this is a great addition to our curriculum because it gives students the option to achieve good health. There is also added incentive because you can get a grade for essentially learning how to play a sport.

The first time I read through this I was surprised to see military put into mathematics. Perhaps it was put into mathematics because they have to deal with things such as manufacturing bullets and would have to calculate their weight. Or maybe they need to calculate how long it would take to get from one place to another when coming up with routes during battle. Still, it's interesting to see such an emphasis on military education.

While Geography as a subject here is expected, it's interesting that it shows up under Physics-Mathematics. As a physics major interested in geography, I find this interesting; today, geography would definitely be considered more of a social science. Geography does have some pretty complicated math behind it, and this is from well before the age of satellite mapping, so I imagine this class was more about making maps since we were still exploring in this time period.

It’s interesting that from its very conception, UVA begins outsourcing for various aspects of its operation. This aspect of the university has remained unchanged, as the dining functions of UVA are still outsourced to another company. This is common practice among universities now, but I wonder if it was common then, or if UVA was a pioneer in this field.

It is interesting to see how dedicated the founders of the University were to ensuring that UVA was a place where a thorough education would be provided. The fact that it was put into law that certain sciences would be taught served to ensure that everything would be taught at the university, not just what conformed with mainstream beliefs at the time. At this point in history, the vast majority of those who would be learning at UVA would subscribe to some form of Christianity, but the fact that certain sciences are ensured to be taught means that the beliefs of these students will not dictate what is and is not said at the university.

It's ironic that a goal for the students was to improve their "morals" but the honor system wasn't established at UVA until 1842 because a student killed a professor. Improving their morals by reading obviously wasn't effective.

It's interesting to note that Political economy is a major whereas many universities offer economy separate from politics today. This shows how the government and economy believed that politics and economy worked together rather than separately in that time period.

This sentence speaks to the University's goal of not just educating people with external information, but truly building their personalities from within. The University strove to not only teach its students new knowledge, but also to develop their self-reflective and moral capabilities. Jefferson also wrote about "happiness" in the Declaration of Independence, yet here the "happiness" seems to be a more intimate, personal essence. As a student at UVa, I think it is my obligation to myself and to the university to create an environment where happiness is thriving.

Even though Jefferson had an aristocratic upbringing and was obviously affluent (few without wealth had the luxury of pursuing such philosophical endeavors as the founding of a nation), he seemed to want to identify with certain parts of the working class, particularly farmers. Jefferson himself was undeniably an intellectual, but he often his appreciation for agriculture shows up many times in this document (like in this section and when he specified that a purpose of chemistry was “to comprehend the theory of Agriculture”) as well as in some of his other statements too. For instance, he once claimed that “those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever he had a chosen people.” Although UVA definitely catered to privileged youths from the beginning, Jefferson did seem to want to make education more accessible to those the chosen people of God.

http://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/2355

Language and Science has always been valued for Jefferson evident in his political writings and architecture. However; I do not see any use of Hebrew in learning a science. Latin and Greek can be used to help one's vocabulary especially in medicine, but Hebrew is an ancient language that was not widely spoken and is not that prevalent in science. The only use I can think of for Hebrew is to understand Ancient Jewish Texts which is interesting, for there were not many Jews in America and probably not many that would go to the university.

In my engagement class, we discussed the presence of slavery at UVA prior to 1865, and as part of that, the student/slave relations. One particular instance that stood out to me was a story about a ten-year-old slave girl who responded "What?" to a student when she didn't hear his question. He later returned to the boarding house at which she worked, knocked on the door, and beat her. This story stuck with me, especially considering that someone my age would be capable of such violence against a ten-year-old. In relation to this report, the student could have been as young as 15, which really emphasizes the deep roots of this mentality of white supremacy and slave culture. It's sickening enough to think of young adults committing such violent crimes, but kids who would be sophomores in high school in these times were attending college in the 1800's, and some of the brutal student/slave interactions could have easily been with teenage boys.

It is fascinating that, from the University's founding, Hebrew was taught as one of the "antient" languages. As a current student in the Modern Hebrew program here at UVa, and as someone who has lived in Israel during a gap year, I have been exposed to contemporary Hebrew in a variety of settings. The ancient, Biblical Hebrew is much different than modern Hebrew, and undoubtably provides a unique perspective on the Jewish religion. Oddly enough though, the ancient Hebrew that the first students at UVa were studying was probably Aramaic, and not Hebrew, as that is the language seen in most Jewish ancient texts. Considering Hebrew as an ancient language places a historical and religious label on the language that is much different from the Hebrew spoken in Israel and across the world today.

One of Jefferson’s main goals for his new institution was to promote engagement in democracy. Jefferson states here that it should be a primary focus of students to understand the laws which are present in society, as well as the interpretations of these in the context of the world. Through analysis and discussion of such laws, the students would be able to operate in separate and equal spheres of agency, much like Danielle Allen picks at in her book (253). This idea is complementary to the argument presented in the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps Jefferson decided to include hints of this language here because he feels that the creation of UVA is the creation of a society, one which must reflect the ideals of the larger society around it- America.

This is the first point in the document where it addresses the fact that UVA would be a University for the White population. It was not uncommon for colleges to be all-white at this point, but the goal of an all-white college seemed to have driven a lot of the decisions for the University as a whole. Even the location of the school, in Charlottesville, was because of the high white population and low black population at the time. Being caught up with the politics of race definitely played a role in a lot of the decisions made at the beginning of the University.

Why was the current centrality of the white population such an important factor? At the time, only white males were admitted to the University so it was necessary to be in a convenient location for them, but were the founders not thinking about the future? Perhaps they were not considering the far off social inclusion of African Americans and women, but even just the future demographic changes within the white male population of Virginia should have been evaluated. I thought since the goal of the university was to produce “statesmen, legislators & judges”, they would have wanted to be closer to D.C.

This assertion reveals the authors’ opinions on the purpose of education. Today, most people get an education to help facilitate their success in their career or field. In 1818 when this document was written, the authors thought the purpose of education was mainly to produce thoughtful citizens and contributing members of society. The text implies that it is the civic duty of the citizen to maximize their potential to benefit the greater populous, though since then this idea has shifted to the benefit of the individual.

The practicality behind the initial design of the lawn and the dormitories surrounding it really fascinates me. When I think about the lawn, Jefferson’s desire to connect faculty to students in a living community is what first comes to mind, but it interesting to go beyond the ideals of the lawn and think on a more basic level. The advantages of building a structure that allows security from fire and infection highlights the main concerns of the time. Today, we have technology that allows fire safety and healthcare systems as well as sanitary systems that make these issues very little concerns, but around 1819 when UVA was being constructed, these were major issues that had to be addressed in the actual architecture of the buildings. There were no fire departments back in the 1800s or modern hospitals so it is really interesting to see how these factors played a major role in the design of the original structures on UVA grounds.

The model for UVA states that each professor should be able to teach every subject. Professors nowadays are typically highly trained in their field and their field alone; however, this document suggests that a professor should have a good grasp of a multitude of subjects. I cannot tell you how many instances throughout my career in the classroom that a student has asked a teacher a question slightly outside of their subject, and the teacher has simply responded, “that’s completely out of my realm.” The foundations for UVA demanded differently from their professors, and interestingly, I believe that UVA’s new curriculum brings back the original intentions stated in this document as it encompasses a great deal of interdisciplinary skills. Through my Thinking Like a Scientist Course, Professor Morris, a member of the psychology department, incorporates psychological ideals with writing exercises, demonstrating the interdisciplinary ideals of the Engagement programs at play.

Here, Jefferson and the other writers are explaining that they chose the location for the University of Virginia because of its centrality to the white population and “all other circumstances of the place in general being favorable to it”. The document, however, fails to expound these “other circumstances” in depth, suggesting that they are secondary to race. Namely, the report never explicitly states potential social or economic benefits Charlottesville could offer as the location for UVA. The vague argument present in this report parallels the language used in UVA’s rejection letter to Alice Jackson, a black female who applied to a UVA graduate program in 1935. In this letter, the University explicitly denies Jackson on the premise that white and colored people could not attend the same schools and for “other good and sufficient reasons”, which were never directly stated. http://www.virginia.edu/woodson/projects/kenan/jackson/jackson.html

I found it very interesting that when drafting the plans for professors and classes, the authors chose not to have someone teach religion. I understand their view that the Constitution protects our freedom of religion, but even our Declaration of Independence makes multiple references to a higher being. I don't see how providing courses on religion would infringe upon one's right or how it could cause tension between those of different religions.

I love how reflective this is of life at the University of Virginia today. Involving the honor society, it has been at our discretion to devise and perfect a proper system of government here. Students, over the course of UVA's existence, have shaped the government of this university. Our government is built upon both self respect and respect for our community and peers just as it was originally intended.

Although in modern times we generally consider "ideologies" to be political or religious sets of values, the ideology of Jefferson’s time was similar to today's field of psychology. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it used to be defined as the "science of ideas." This is interesting because much of the actual science behind the brain that is taught in current psychology classes wasn't discovered until the late 1800's (at the very earliest). I would be curious to learn more about what the field of ideology consisted of in the early 1800’s, given what little information was known about the brain at that time.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideology

It's interesting how French was considered the most popular second language at the time. I would think the language most important to know after English would be Latin. Most significant documents in past history was written in Latin. Furthermore, most words in the English dictionary come from a Latin root. I also find it interesting how it mentioned Italian was the language to take if you are interested in pursuing a career in fashion and style. It seems as though the writers believed that you were to take a language that would possibly further your passion in a specific field.

Interesting to see that the original purpose of learning was to develop morals and how to be a good citizen; people went to school to learn, not necessarily to just, well, find a job after they graduate. It's sad; we've gone far from being understanding and supporting one another to being overly competitive in our education, and thus we disregard some of our morals in order to aim for the top. Instead of developing character, we tend to put more emphasis into developing our brains. I wonder, how would Jefferson react if he knew the university life has become like this? Would he approve or would he want us to go back to education that helps us think for ourselves and improve our morals...?

The rhetoric used in this section seems to be attempting to justify the way in which UVA will be teaching medicine at this time. At the beginning of the paragraph the Report admits that most medical institutions need to be attached to a hospital to create the necessary holistic education, and that UVA would not be able to support a hospital system at this time. By saying the "degree of medical information is such as... students would wish to possess" the report is basically saying that even though they will only have one professor teaching both medicine and anatomy, any student wishing to pursue a medical education at UVA will have the same holistic education without the assistance of lectures and doctors at a hospital.

It is interesting that these three places were considered due to being mostly white even though about have the population were slaves. Rockbridge County had 8900 people in 1800. Albermarle had 14500 people and Augusta had 11700 people. These were medium sized counties in this time, but had a large slave population.

I was surprised to see that Hebrew was on the course list. At this point in time, the American Jewish population was very, very small. I suspect this would have been taught in the context of history, relating to the bible, as the old testament was written in biblical/classical Hebrew. From what I know about Western education historically, many of the "humanities" type subjects were very interdisciplinary, so I could understand religion and history being incorporated into this course.

When the report stated that an object of primary education would be to "preserve" certain ideals, it can be brought to light that the goal was not progression among society but rather a preservation of it. Change within the University's walls began as limited; thereby the foundations of the University subject the institution to struggle in changing policies in the future. It's not hard to see now why diversity remains a struggle for the University even today, it was never wanted; the thought of the Caucasian male students was to remain pure of racial and gender change. It's not hard to understand now why KKK rallies still come to Charlottesville either, they are coming to fulfill the document---to preserve the ideas originally stated within one of the founding documents of the University. To be shocked that progression remains difficult for the University of Virginia, is to wonder why a waterfall won't flow upstream. It was never designed to from the start.

It is hard to imagine general grammar as a major. I am sure that good and effective grammar was much more rare then, than it is today. This major was probably very useful and impressive at the time. Even more general than the major, "general grammar," I feel that the type majors have very much evolved.

It's interesting to me that they knew language would be the key aspect of the school. They didn't know how big the school would be, yet they knew how language would be key to understanding to the other subjects. They would probably be surprised to see what the schools become and the amount of respect this schools classes hold

I found it very interesting that these languages were taught to help classes the language flowed with. French was wide spread so it was taught in trade, Spanish was taught since a majority of the population spoke it, and Italian was the major language of the of the fashion industry. The languages now would change depending on majors and would help in different ways now.