Our OBJECTIVES
The Jefferson Council is made up of a robust network of concerned and invested alumni who are committed to leading the University of Virginia back to Thomas Jefferson’s legacy of freedom and excellence. Our events, original research, and valuable partnerships work in coordination toward this mission by championing the following four objectives.
Promote a culture of civil dialogue, intellectual diversity, and the free exchange of competing ideas
The Jefferson Council and our members are committed to promoting a culture of civil dialogue, intellectual diversity, and the free exchange of competing ideas at the University of Virginia through our events, original content, and partnerships. This honors the “illimitable freedom” of the human mind, “for as long as we may think as we will and speak as we think, the condition of man will proceed in improvement.”
“In every country where man is free to think and to speak, differences of opinion will arise from difference of perception, and the imperfection of reason. but these differences, when permitted, as in this happy country, to purify themselves by free discussion, are but as passing clouds overshadowing our land transiently, and leaving our horizon more bright and serene.”
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Restore fiscal stewardship and ACADEMIC accountability
Mr. Jefferson wanted his university to be a place for useful knowledge and the free discussion of ideas. Today, the UVA administration has instead decided to prioritize ideological agendas, resulting in wasteful spending, soaring tuition costs, discriminatory faculty selections, and a toxic monoculture. Our team is shining a light on the facts, calling on UVA’s Board of Visitors to recommit themselves to fiscal accountability and academic excellence. Check out the many ways we are doing this alongside our members and partnership network.
“It’s object should be defined only generally for teaching the useful branches of science; leaving the particulars to the direction of the day.”
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Preserve the beauty of the Lawn as THE historic center of The academicAL Village
When he designed UVA’s Grounds, Mr. Jefferson aimed to create an environment where students could learn both inside and outside of the classroom. The Lawn demonstrates Mr. Jefferson’s love of beauty and serves as the historic center of his academic village and the symbolic center of UVA. As such, it has been designated as a US National Historic Landmark District and is one of only twenty-six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States.
“The whole of these arranged around an open square of grass and trees would make it, what it should be in fact, an academical village, instead of a large and common den of noise, of filth, and of fetid air.”
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Champion and reinvigorate the Honor System
One of UVA’s oldest and most distinct traditions, the Honor System is a reflection of our students’ longstanding commitment to integrity and excellence. It is becoming increasingly concerning that the Honor System is being weaponized against students who do not fit the preferred ideological narrative. The Jefferson Council is monitoring and sharing stories from students, parents, and faculty who are dedicated to the original spirit of the Honor System.
“I am sure that in estimating every man’s value either in private or public life, a pure integrity is the quality we take first into calculation, and that learning and talents are only the second. After these come benevolence, good temper &c. But the first is always that sort of integrity which makes a man act in the dark as if it was in the open blaze of day.”
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