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Meet the Presidents

A new exhibit illuminates the leaders of the University

Did you know World War II veteran Edgar F. Shannon Jr. was sympathetic to students protesting the Vietnam War in 1970? Have you seen Frank L. Hereford Jr. hobnobbing with Elizabeth Taylor?

Using archival images, Edward Gaynor and Petrina Jackson illustrate the lives and times of the eight presidents of the University of Virginia. Gaynor and Jackson are the curators of the exhibit at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, “Students, Scholars, Leaders: The Academic Lives of the University of Virginia’s Presidents,” which displays photographs, books and other documents that shed light on the history of the University presidency.

Click below to watch an audio slideshow narrated by Gaynor and Jackson.

Slideshow images from the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, UVA Today and other sources.