The writers of the Rockfish gap report clearly did not have a highly favorable view of the arts. While not everyone views the arts in a positive light nowadays, the arts have still become much more integrated into the core of education. This reflects the growing trend of liberal arts education. While in the past, universities were mainly meant to teach practical skills to use in the world, nowadays there is a push for education that enriches the mind instead. It's not a black and white situation, as the arts are still looked down upon by many, but I think the increase in appreciation for the arts is a good thing.

I find it fascinating that latin and greek were considered to be useful for anyone, even if they didn't pursue a university education. This reflects a change over time in what we value in learning, as nowadays knowing latin and greek is essentially meaningless in the everyday world. While the spread of technology and global communication has advanced society, the declining ability to know multiple languages is one of its major drawbacks, and it would probably be upsetting for Jefferson to see.

I find it fascinating that the University's founders decided to fix the number of professors to 10. At first glance it seems to be limiting the potential knowledge on grounds, which is contradictory to the University's values of the pursuit of learning. However, I view it as a great example of the extensive planning and detail that went into the founding of UVA. The University was so thought out and structured that even the number of professors was planned. The architecture, the lawn, the subjects, and now even the number of professors reflect the high level of organized detail that contributed to the founding of UVA.

I looked up Fortescue Aland and found that he was an English lawyer, judge, and politician whose publications influenced Thomas Jefferson. In fact, Jefferson mentioned Aland's ideas in many of his writings, especially about Anglo-Saxon language. However, Jefferson disagreed with Aland's description of the relationship between church and state (Ten Commandments and English common law), as Aland left it open to interpretation. Jefferson's feelings here thus parallel his desire to make UVA a non-divinity school, which is why, for example, the Rotunda was made the center of the University instead of a chapel, which was the norm at the time. https://web.archive.org/web/20150105154722/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/fortescue-aland-john-1670-1746 https://web.archive.org/web/20021110200336/http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/jefferson_cooper.html