Creed Taylor was born in 1766 and he served in the Revolutionary War under Col. George Carrington Jr. He then entered politics serving in the Virginia House of Delegates and in the State Senate. He was a delegate in 1788 and a senator from 1798 to 1805. He then became an elected judge of the General court in 1805. In 1806 he was Chancellor of the superior court for the Richmond District. Taylor was also the founder of the Needham Law School in Farmville, VA.

https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=uva-sc/viu00025.xml https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-05-02-0459 http://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1100835

I think it is interesting to see "tuition" used in the more antiquated sense to describe "safe-keeping, protection, defense, custody, care, tutelage" instead of the more common modern definition that simply refers to the cost of attendance. The old definition fits much smoother into the listing of key components "in the education of youth." It is interesting to juxtapose this list of qualities with the stories of rowdy behavior of the students during the early days of the university.

OED definition

With inflation, this is worth about $80,000 today which is incredibly cheap to build a building. This pricing likely reflects the cost savings of unpaid slave labor. Inflation Calculator Referenced

Despite the University not having a strong focus on military studies today, it interesting to look at the importance that was placed on it at the time of its founding. We can also connect this early focus on drawing to the strength of the School of Architecture today.

This follows with the vision that learning the central tenant of the University as opposed to religion like it was at others. While "rooms for religious worship" are mentioned, they are simply one entry on a laundry list.