Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the University of Virginia is today a vigorous, modern institution that remains animated by Jefferson's forward-looking spirit. His powerful convictions that the university exists to train young people for public affairs and the belief that the liberal arts constitute the foundation for any education continue to inspire its students and faculty and guide the development of its programs.

In its 12th annual "America's Best Colleges" issue, U.S. News & World Report once again ranked the University of Virginia among the top twenty-five best national universities in the country (August 24, 1998). U.Va. ranks No. 1, tied with the University of California at Berkeley, among the Best Public Universities. This is the fifth consecutive year that the University has been the top-rated public university in the magazine's rankings. U.Va. ranked twenty-second among 228 public and private national schools. U.Va. also tied for No. 10 with Princeton in the Best Values category, based on "high quality education at a reasonable cost."

The University enrolls 18,000 students, two-thirds of them Virginians and two-thirds undergraduates. There are roughly equal numbers of women and men, and students come from all fifty states and many foreign countries. The ten schools of the University offer forty-eight bachelor's degrees in forty-six fields, ninety-four masters degrees in sixty-four fields, six educational specialists degrees, first-professional degrees in law and medicine, and fifty-five doctoral degrees in fifty-four fields.

The University's full-time faculty numbers almost 2,100. Most faculty members conduct research and publish their findings on a regular basis. The University has established more than 373 endowed professorships for outstanding scholars, and the Center for Advanced Studies plays a major role in attracting and retaining scholars of national and international distinction.

The University of Virginia was chartered by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1819. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees. The University is one of a select group of 58 American and Canadian universities chosen for membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities.