One University. Two hundred years. Endless stories. Since three U.S. presidents – Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe – witnessed the laying of UVA’s cornerstone on Oct. 6, 1817, millions have etched their own stories onto this place: stories of breathtaking achievement, breakthrough research and beautiful art; stories of compassion, of progress, of fighting for justice and righting wrongs.

These stories are the University’s most treasured legacy 200 years on, and we will be sharing some of them here as we celebrate this special bicentennial moment.

Already, UVA has welcomed its 200^th anniversary in style with a Oct. 6 Bicentennial Launch Celebration on the Lawn. Two historic events followed: the “Universities, Slavery, Public Memory and the Built Landscape” symposium in October and the Women’s Global Leadership Forum in November. Read about these events below and check out this video, shown at the launch celebration to capture the excitement surrounding the dawn of UVA’s third century.

You might want to bookmark this page, as we will be adding stories from UVA’s past and present and highlights from ongoing bicentennial celebrations. For details and updates on those celebrations, visit bicentennial.virginia.edu.

Most of all, look for the stories yet to come in the next 200 years. Thousands are already hard at work writing them.