Fall 2024 Board of Visitors Welcome Brief: Letter from the President

University of Virginia Board of Visitors
NW Wing the Rotunda
Charlottesville, VA 22904

Rector Hardie, Vice Rector Brown, and distinguished Board of Visitors members,

Thank you for your commitment to the University of Virginia, the sacred institution of education, and the future of our Commonwealth.

As president of The Jefferson Council, I am proud to lead a network of UVA alumni, students, faculty, donors, and other community members who — like many of you — are fiercely committed to preserving Thomas Jefferson’s legacy of freedom and excellence at the University of Virginia.

In less than five years, TJC has impacted UVA in significant ways, including:

• Convincing the UVA administration to adopt a set of free speech principles

• Coordinating with student groups to bring ideologically diverse speakers to Grounds

• Building relationships with faculty who are committed to the free exchange of competing ideas

• Elevating the voices of students who were victims of vicious attacks by a radical minority of students, left unprotected by the UVA administration

To help you prepare for the 2024 fall semester, we have compiled a welcome brief complete with information on our organization, our objectives, and how we can support you with tangible resources, timely reporting, and diverse perspectives in the semester to come. After you have had a chance to look over this brief, our executive leadership would like to meet individually with each of you to discuss how we can work together in the upcoming academic year.

Thank you again for your commitment to Mr. Jefferson’s University and the future of the Commonwealth of Virginia. May your tenure on the Board of Visitors be one of personal satisfaction and professional productivity.

Thomas M. Neale

President
The Jefferson Council
University of Virginia, BA ’74