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University of Virginia is a publicly funded institute of higher learning in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded by former President Thomas Jefferson in 1819, although the first classes did not meet until March, 1825. Until his death in the following year, Jefferson hosted Sunday dinners at his home in nearby Monticello for students and faculty, among them Edgar Allan Poe. Also, William McGuffey, the creator of the McGuffey Readers, served as a professor at the University.
The term "Public Ivy" was first used to describe this university on a literary conference visit by Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winner William Faulkner. ("Public Ivy" has since come to be used generically by any public university that is or wishes to be regarded as highly as the private Ivy League Conference universities in the northeastern United States.) Later, in 1957, Faulkner returned to become writer-in-residence, keeping open office hours at the University until his death in 1962.
Many of America's political leaders have gravitated to the University over the years. Former President James Madison became Rector of the University after Jefferson died, while former President James Monroe was a member of the Board of Visitors. Future President Woodrow Wilson and Robert Kennedy attended the University's highly regarded law school.
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