The University of Virginia (U.Va. or UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original eight Public Ivy institutions. The university is known for its historic foundations, student-run honor code, and secret societies. The Cavalier Daily newspaper is the oldest college daily newspaper in the South.
The University of Virginia’s initial Board of Visitors included former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Other notable early trustees include future Chief Justice John Marshall and sitting Federal judge Edmund Pendleton. In contrast to many other American colonial colleges at the time, which were primarily religious seminaries, UVA was conceived and built as a secular institution from its inception. The first classes met on March 7, 1825.