About the Foundation

Mission

The fundamental mission of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation is to identify, attract, and nurture individuals of extraordinary intellectual range and depth who possess the highest qualities of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship. We seek those with great promise, and give them sufficient financial support so they are free to develop their talents and to use them for the good of the University community.

History

In the mid to late 1970’s a small group of University of Virginia alumni began planning to create a merit scholarship program for the University. Their dreams were soon embraced by the Board of Managers of the University of Virginia Alumni Association, and in the 1980-81 academic year the first selection cycle for Jefferson Scholarship recipients began.

The intent of the scholarship program was to further Mr. Jefferson’s ideals by identifying and then attracting to the Grounds individuals who possessed exceptional potential in the areas of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship, individuals who represented the “aristocracy of virtue and talent” that Mr. Jefferson believed to be “scattered with equal hand” through all conditions of society. His University was to provide for the education of these future leaders of the democracy.

In the first year of the Jefferson Scholarship competition approximately 180 secondary schools in 10 geographic regions were invited to submit nominations to the competition, and 12 Jefferson Scholarship recipients were enrolled in the fall of 1981. Over the ensuing years, the Jefferson Scholars Program became the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, an independent 501(c)3 organization governed by a self-perpetuating board of directors. Today the Jefferson Scholars Foundation has an endowment of $230 million, invites over 3500 secondary schools in 57 geographic regions to participate in the annual competition, and has 520 undergraduate program alumni and 25 graduate fellowship alumni.