History Of The University Of Virginia

Submitted By sammyw21
Words: 2560
Pages: 11

Awesome Guy #1
That Class 101
Individual Paper/Presentation
12/12/12
The University of Virginia is located in the City of Charlottesville. This institution has nearly sixteen thousand undergraduate students. The University of Virginia is a public, coeducational institution where all first year students are required to live in campus housing(“At a Glance”, ). The tuition for in state students is $12,006 per year, while it is $37,336 for out of state students (“At a Glance”,). Approximately seventy three percent of the student body comes from within the state of Virginia, with slightly more women than men(“At a Glance”,). While the University of Virginia has fairly historic campus within itself, the City of Charlottesville is also the home of the Monticello, A historic landmark where former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson used to live. Jefferson founded this University back in 1918(UVA short HISTORY). The University of Virginia has a very interesting business plan called “Virginia 2020”, this plan is divided into four segments where the University puts its primary interests in growth and improvement("Virginia 2020: Agenda,"). These categories are: Fine and Performing Arts, Sciences and Technology, Public Service and Outreach, and Finally International Activity ("Virginia 2020: Agenda,").
The University of Virginia president at the time of the new plan was John T Casteen III. When referring to the University of Virginia he said the schools mission statement was the following: “The central purpose of the University of Virginia is to enrich the mind by stimulating and sustaining a spirit of free inquiry directed to understanding the nature of the universe and the role of mankind in it. Activities designed to quicken, discipline, and enlarge the intellectual and creative capacities, as well as the aesthetic and ethical awareness, of the members of the University and to record, preserve, and disseminate the results of intellectual discovery and creative endeavor serve this purpose. In fulfilling it, the University places the highest priority on achieving eminence as a center of higher learning.”( “Statement of Purpose,”). The strategy of the Virginia 2020 plan states that the University is a top public institution in the nation and is actively making improvements necessary to make UVA the top public school in the country("Virginia 2020: Agenda,"). They label themselves as: “a semi-mature institution: mature enough to have made hard choices and dramatic progress, yet young enough to show surprising potential for growth as well as obvious needs.”( "Virginia 2020: Agenda,"). According to collegeboard.com ninety three percent of incoming freshman had a grade point average of 3.75 or higher entering their freshman year(“At a Glance”,). These high scores reveal the serious competition between applicants, explaining why the University of Virginia is the top ranked public school in the state and tied for the second public institution in the country, according to US News (“Top Public Schools”). These statistics help prove that UVA has indeed proved themselves as a top notch institution in the country. University of Virginia is continually making steps necessary to improve there school both academically and through out the community as well. After the tragic school shooting at Virginia Tech back in 2007, the campus police and securities services made proactive decisions to try and be prepared for a similar terroristic attack occurring in Charlottesville(“President’s Report 2010,”). An article written by Rob Seal on April 17, 2007, directly examines how the University would learn as much as they could from this tragedy to avoid or minimize a similar incident, interviewing the UVA police captain Michael Coleman(“President’s Report 2010,”). In the article Coleman began by saying : “UVa officials have plans in place for on-campus emergencies ranging from natural disasters to plane crashes, he said.