Board of Visitors minutes :: June 5, 1964 :: University of Virginia Library

The President presented a revised Statement of Institutional Purpose incorporating the suggestions
made at the Board meeting on 18 April 1964 (Minutes, Board of Visitors, University of Virginia,
No. 13, 18 April 1964, p. 8). The Statement was submitted to and approved by the University
Senate on 29 May 1964.

After amending the Statement by substituting the words "Commonwealth of Virginia" or "Commonwealth"
for the word "state" when it appeared in the Statement, the Board adopted the following
resolution:

RESOLVED by the Board of Visitors of The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
that the following Statement of Institutional Purpose be and it is hereby approved.

A university is a community of scholars having as its central purpose the enrichment of the
human mind by stimulating and sustaining a spirit of free inquiry directed to an understanding
of the nature of the universe and man's role in it. This central purpose is served by activities
designed.

(a) To quicken, discipline and enlarge the intellectual capacities of the members of the
university, and
(b) To record, preserve and disseminate the results of intellectual inquiry.

The University of Virginia, committed to this central purpose, seeks to achieve its aims
through the pursuit of the following specific goals:

1. To make a living reality in the consciousness and the daily lives of the students and
faculty the special historic commitment of this University to the character of its members,
symbolized in the invitation carved upon its portals to "Enter by this gateway and seek the way
of honor, the light of truth, the will to work for men."

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2. To give to able undergraduates the highest quality instruction leading to baccalaureate
degrees in the arts and in the sciences, not merely by transmitting established skills and knowledge,
but by developing their ability to think, to respond to ideas, and to test hypotheses and interpret
human experience anew.
3. To train young men and women for the professions in
- (a) Undergraduate schools and programs leading to degrees in Architecture, City Planning,
  Commerce, Education, Engineering and Applied Science, and Nursing, and
- (b) Graduate schools and graduate professional programs leading to advanced degrees in
  Arts and Sciences, Architecture and Planning, Business Administration, Education,
  Engineering and Applied Science, Law, and Medicine.
4. To perform graduate instruction, study, and research directed to the advancement of
knowledge, and to make discoveries on the frontiers of knowledge available to students, scholars,
and the general public through all appropriate means.
5. To offer various kinds of public service to the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation
through specialized knowledge and research as may be provided by the various special divisions and
institutes of the University.
6. To provide programs of continuing education.
7. To co-operate with and assist other colleges and educational institutions, especially in
the Commonwealth of Virginia, through the experience, counsel, and facilities of the University,
to make the greatest possible contribution to education in the Commonwealth, and beyond its borders.
8. To establish appropriate new programs, schools, and degrees, and to undertake such advanced
and special research as the educational requirements of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation
may indicate.
9. To serve as the intellectual and cultural center of the Commonwealth of Virginia, especially
through special programs, lectures, drama, music, and library services.