Menu

Object Lesson

Telling the history of UVA one piece at a time

This collection of historical objects contains some of the tangible reminders of the University’s past that can be found on, or nearby, Grounds. From a lock of Thomas Jefferson’s hair cut off just after his death in 1826 to the basketball net cut down just after the Cavaliers won the 2014 ACC Tournament, each of these objects has a story to tell.

Credits

Text by the magazine staff

Objects courtesy of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, the Office of the Architect for the University, the Rotunda, the Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry, the Lorna Sundberg International Center, UVA Athletics, the UVA Alumni Association, the McIntire School, the Leander McCormick Observatory, Monticello, the Virginia Historical Society, Bill Wulf, Paul Mott and Fred Shields

Photographs by Luca DiCecco, Stacey Evans, Stephanie Gross and Chris Tyree

Comments

Rick Hodges on 01/01/2018

I finally know where the “loving cup” lyric comes from.

Michele L. Faison on 10/09/2017

This is why I am College of A&S ‘75! Especially appreciated the Coeducation Lawsuit article, online and in print. I was aware of the lawsuit at the time and followed it in the Richmond T-D. However, I don’t think I realized all of the details. Thanks so much!  WahooWa!

Nancy M. Staub on 06/19/2014

Loved this “Object Lesson.” Delightful.

Highlights

The Underground Refuge

The Underground Refuge

How UVA’s first Black students, excluded elsewhere, found a community of their own off Grounds.

The Cost of a Telegram

The Cost of a Telegram

To cool student unrest in 1970, the Alumni Association did a very uncool thing. People stayed hot about it for years.