Quashing A Rumor

Thomas Jefferson's letter to José Corrêa da Serra, 2 Mar. 1819Named to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors on 13 February 1819, Thomas Jefferson oversaw numerous facets of the infant institution. He worked closely with the successive proctors Nelson Barksdale and Arthur S. Brockenbrough to hire and oversee builders and craftsmen. Jefferson also responded to unsolicited applications for professorships, often repeating the board’s decision to devote all of the university’s funds initially on construction rather than hiring a faculty. Read more »

Previously Featured Letters

Learn more about the complex and important work of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series.