Jefferson’s University—Early Life Project, 1819-1870 (JUEL) is a place to encounter what life was like in the first years of the University of Virginia. Jefferson’s vision of a secular university, dedicated to enriching public life and sustaining the new republic, was both embodied in and transformed by the people who lived, worked, and studied at the University. Bringing together a trove of personal and administrative documents, as well as archival images of the university and three-dimensional digital renderings, JUEL invites users to discover the people and places of the University’s early years, stretching from its founding in 1819 through the end of the Civil War.
the President’s Commission (2013-2018) represents the first University-wide institutional and sustained effort: to investigate the history of slavery at the University, to examine the lives of the enslaved who labored here, to understand the political and social environment in which they lived and worked, to consider the lasting legacies of that past, and to create lasting acknowledgement, atonement, and memorialization.
Universities Studying Slavery (USS)
Universities Studying Slavery (USS) is dedicated to organizing multi-institutional collaboration in fostering truth-telling and atonement projects helping universities come to terms with slavery and racism in institutional pasts. USS addresses both historical and contemporary issues dealing with race and inequality in higher education (and in university communities) as well as the complicated legacies of slavery in modern society. USS hosts semi-annual meetings to discuss strategies, collaborate on research, and learn from one another.