Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, April 13, has been celebrated at the University of Virginia since the University’s first academic session. Locally, the celebration is known as Founder’s Day.
On Founder’s Day, UVA and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello join together to present the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals to recognize achievements of those who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. president, excelled and held in high regard. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals in Architecture, Citizen Leadership, Global Innovation, and Law are the highest external honors bestowed by the University, which grants no honorary degrees.
Schedule of Events
- Monticello Wreath Laying Ceremony
- Friday, April 12, 2024
- 9:00 a.m.
- More Information
- Monticello Founder's Day and Jefferson's Birthday Celebration
- Friday, April 12, 2024
- 10:00 a.m.
- More Information
- UVA Tree Planting
- Friday, April 12, 2024
- 11:00 a.m.
- Adjacent to the Contemplative Commons and the Dell, between the tennis courts and the picnic area.
- Public Talks
- The Honorable Roger Gregory
- Date: Thursday, April 11
- Time: 1:30 p.m.
- Location: School of Law’s Caplin Pavilion
- Kate Orff
- Date: Friday, April 12
- Time: 3:30 p.m.
- Location: Old Cabell Hall Auditorium
- The Honorable Roger Gregory
2024 Recipients of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals
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Architecture: Kate Orff, Founding Principal, SCAPE
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Citizen Leadership: Julieanna L. Richardson, Founder and Executive Director, The HistoryMakers
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Law: The Honorable Roger Gregory, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
In addition to a formal dinner at Monticello, the medalists will be recognized at a luncheon in the Dome Room of the Rotunda. It is at this luncheon where Jim Ryan, president of UVA, and Jane Kamensky, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, will present this year's recipients with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals. While on Grounds, each medalist will give a free public lecture in their field of expertise. Additionally, Julieanna L. Richardson, the Citizen Leadership medalist, will be the featured keynote speaker at Monticello’s commemoration of Jefferson’s birthday on April 12 at 10 a.m. on the West Lawn of Monticello.
Lastly, on Founder’s Day, the University plants a tree in celebration of a member of the UVA community who has made significant, lasting contributions to University life. This year's recipient is Nancy Takahashi, UVA Associate Professor Emeriti, Landscape Architecture.
Past Recipients of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals
- Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture
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1966 Mies van der Rohe
1967 Alvar Aalto
1968 Marcel Breuer
1969 John Ely Burchard
1970 Kenzo Tange
1971 Jose Luis Sert
1972 Lewis Mumford
1973 Jean Labatut
1974 Frei Otto
1975 Sir Nikolaus Pevsner
1976 I.M. Pei
1977 Ada Louise Huxtable
1978 Philip Johnson
1979 Lawrence Halprin
1980 Hugh A. Stubbins
1981 Edward Larrabee Barnes
1982 Vincent Scully
1983 Robert Venturi
1984 H.H. The Aga Khan
1985 Leon Krier
1986 James Stirling
1987 Romaldo Giurgola
1988 Dan Kiley
1989 Paul Mellon
1990 Fumihiko Maki
1991 John V. Lindsay
1992 Aldo Rossi
1993 Andres M. Duany & Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk
1994 Frank O. Gehry
1995 Ian L. McHarg
1996 Jane Jacobs
1997 Jaime Lerner
1998 Jaquelin T. Robertson
1999 Lord Richard Rogers
2000 Daniel Patrick Moynihan
2001 Glenn Murcutt
2002 James Turrell
2003 Tod Williams & Billie Tsien
2004 Peter Walker
2005 Shigeru Ban
2006 Peter Zumthor
2007 Zaha Hadid
2008 Gro Harlem Brundtland
2009 Robert Irwin
2010 Edward O. Wilson
2011 Maya Lin
2012 Rafael Moneo
2013 Laurie Olin
2014 Toyo Ito
2015 Herman Hertzberger
2016 Cecil Balmond
2017 Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara
2018 Sir David Adjaye Obe
2019 Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa
2020 Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi
2021 Francis Kéré
2022 Kenneth Frampton
2023 Andrew Freear - Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership
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2007 Alan Greenspan
2008 John W. Warner
2009 Warren M. Christopher
2010 Joseph Neubauer
2011 Peter G. Peterson
2012 Jessica Tuchman Mathews
2013 Wendy Kopp
2014 James H. Webb, Jr.
2015 John Lewis
2016 Marian Wright Edelman
2017 Alice Waters
2018 Morgan Carrington "Cary" Fowler Jr.
2019 Sylvia Earle
2020 Rajiv J. Shah
2021 Not awarded due to Covid-19
2022 Sherrie Rollins Westin
2023 Jason Rezaian - Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Global Innovation
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2016 Gordon Moore
2017 N. R. Narayana Murthy
2018 N/A
2019 N/A
2020 Ted Turner
2021 Not awarded due to Covid-19
2022 N/A
2023 N/A - Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law
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1977 Carl McGowan
1978 Henry J. Friendly
1979 Paul Abraham Freund
1980 Erwin N. Griswold
1981 Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
1982 Warren M. Christopher
1983 Lord Justice Scarman
1984 Griffin B. Bell
1985 Warren E. Burger
1986 William H. Webster
1987 Sandra Day O'Connor
1988 Edmund S. Muskie
1989 Sam Nunn
1990 Collins J. Seitz
1991 Robert M. Morgenthau
1992 Marian Wright Edelman
1993 William H. Rehnquist
1994 Richard A. Posner
1995 Lloyd N. Cutler
1996 Rex Lee (posthumously)
1997 Ruth Bader Ginsburg
1998 Alan K. Simpson
1999 Elaine R. Jones
2000 Guido Calabresi
2001 Mortimer M. Caplin
2002 Seth P. Waxman
2003 Anthony M. Kennedy
2004 J. Harvie Wilkinson III
2005 Patricia M. Wald
2006 Ronald M. Dworkin
2007 Anne-Marie Slaughter
2008 Antonin Scalia
2009 Peter J. Neufeld and Barry C. Scheck
2010 Janet Napolitano
2011 Cynthia D. Kinser
2012 George Mitchell
2013 Robert S. Mueller III
2014 Kenneth R. Feinberg
2015 Joan E. Donoghue
2016 John Gleeson
2017 Loretta Lynch
2018 Frank H. Easterbrook
2019 Carlton Reeves
2020 Sonia Sotomayor
2021 Not awarded due to Covid-19
2022 Stephen G. Breyer
2023 Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju