Jefferson Trust Staff, Author at The Jefferson Trust

January 28, 2025January 28, 2025

Jefferson Trust Grants Emphasize Student Learning and Experiences

The Jefferson Trust Board of Trustees has awarded nearly $1.5 million to 17 new projects and programs across the University of Virginia.

Student experiences, enhancing student learning through internship and research opportunities, and community outreach were key grant themes this year.

“Only the Jefferson Trust and its Trustees can fund a concert series and a dark matter telescope in a single afternoon. Project diversity is a hallmark of this organization, and it is thrilling to see how each shapes the University and student experience over time” says Brent Percival, Executive Director of the Jefferson Trust.

The 2024-25 Grants:

Undergraduate Composers Concert & Performance Series: $33,415
Funding helps create a concert series featuring performances of original music by student composers.

Possibilities in Pulp: Reusing Paper Waste on Grounds: $15,000
This project aims to reduce paper waste at the School of Architecture by further developing and testing paper pulp manufacturing techniques, and piloting strategies for scaling this process for long-term use.

Virginia Student Film Festival: $30,000
A two-day student film festival will showcase undergraduate filmmakers across Virginia. Programming will include screenings, networking events, and panel discussions with industry professionals.

Dark Matter Radio Telescope at UVA’s Fan Mountain Observatory: $249,850
The Astronomy Department will purchase and install a fully steerable DSA-2000 radio telescope, increasing student training and research opportunities.

Simulated Lunar Surface Arena for Robotics Testing: $86,000
The Mechatronics and Robotics Society (MARS) is building a simulated lunar surface arena to test lunar robots and better compete in NASA’s Lunabotics competitions.

Office of the Architect for the University Student Internship Initiative: $70,000
This three-year pilot engages students in the University’s variety of design and planning projects and provides access to mentorship and internship opportunities.

VLPP Education Program: $70,000
In partnership with The Decarceration Clinic at UVA Law and Resilience Education, funding expands the Entrepreneurial Reentry Education Program model to include UVA’s first legal studies course, designed for incarcerated learners, and developed and taught by UVA law school students.

Criminal Justice Data Training Center: $78,594
Funding establishes a new Criminal Justice Data Training Center in the School of Data Science, which will train students in data analytics of the criminal justice system and support them as community partners.

Sound on Grounds: Student Podcast Production and Distribution Team: $83,500
This project aims to increase students’ knowledge of and access to podcasting resources at UVA and support their creative development.

Cyber Systems and Operations: $30,000
This speaker series brings industry experts to the classroom, exposing students to real-world insights and experiences, enhancing their critical thinking, and preparing them for careers in cybersecurity.

Equitable Healthcare Access: Evidence-based Concussion Management for UVA Students: $297,191
The Sports as a Laboratory Assessment Model (SLAM) will be implemented within Student Health & Wellness to improve outcomes through equitable access to clinical care for UVA students with a concussion.

Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Young Children in Virginia: $80,000
Funding helps to develop a flagship clinic to increase access to Parent-Child Interaction Therapy by training UVA psychologists, graduate students, and community therapists, reaching more parents and children in need in underserved areas.

STREAM Ambassadors Expansion: $60,000
Funding expands the Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math (STREAM) Ambassadors program at UVA Wise, involving students and local youth through new workshops, camps, and speaker series.

Increasing Local Non-Profit Community Impact with UVA Student Internship to Improve Data Collection: $76,350
An initiative of the UVA Statistics Department, this project supports student interns’ work in data collection, analysis, & interpretation strategies for local non-profits.

Safeguarding Science: Developing Knowledge and Tools to Prevent Scientific Fraud: $86,987
A taxonomy of scientific fraud is being developed to identify types of wrongdoing, involved organizations and their motivations, then engineering tools and methods to address the problems.

The Fried Center for Advancement of Potential (FCAP) Intern Training Program at Student Health and Wellness: $104,162
This project provides internship opportunities and experiential learning for undergraduate students pursuing healthcare careers and affordable functional exercise intervention for students in need of care.

Jefferson Engineering Lectureship at UVA: $30,000
A lecture series will bring experts in the fields of data science, healthcare, and environmental sciences to UVA, exposing engineering students and faculty to pioneering research ideas and interdisciplinary innovation.

November 1, 2024October 29, 2024

Grants in the News

Undergrad students participate in a week-long summer Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp.

Our grantees have been busy! Catch up on projects recently featured in the news:

The MADAYIN exhibition opened at the Asia Society Museum in New York City in September. This exhibit is in partnership with UVA’s Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum, and the Trust was a supporter of the accompanying exhibition catalogue created with the exhibit. MADAYIN is on display in NYC until January 5, 2025; we strongly recommend viewing! More information and features from the Asia Society and National Indigenous Times.
The Cavalier Autonomous Racing team competed at the Indy Autonomous Challenge in September and won the time trial competition (with record setting speed)! See more in this UVA Today article and video feature in UVA Today. The Trust was an early supporter of Cavalier Autonomous in 2020.
A group of students participated this summer in a Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, designed for budding social entrepreneurs. Read about one student’s experience in HER Campus. This ChangeMaker Bootcamp was a 2024 grant recipient.
Nursing Narratives received an annual grant this year to add a recurring editorial section to both print and digital versions of “Virginia Nursing Legacy,” the School of Nursing’s quarterly magazine. Read essays from their summer edition.
The Air Force ROTC received a flash grant this spring to increase virtual reality flight simulator training for cadets. Hear about their experiences in this CBS19 News feature.
UVA’s first Escape Room Tournament occurred in September. A 2024 flash recipient, learn more in this CBS19 feature.
Associate Professor Bryan Berger received a $93,000 Trust grant in 2022 to lead undergraduate students in research and training of industrial hemp as a tool for phytoremediation of PFAS-polluted agricultural soils. The team recently received a $1.59 million grant from the EPA to continue and expand their research! Learn more from the Maine Morning Star and EPA. Bryan shared, “None of this would have been possible without the grant you funded—thank you so much! The preliminary data and papers we published were the key to this opportunity. Really appreciate it and I think what you are doing is so important for UVA—it allows us to take risk on new ideas, build partnerships and take on big challenges in communities we otherwise wouldn’t have the means to do.”
The Trust awarded a team of professors and researchers $133,000 in 2022 for “Optimizing pediatric donor heart utilization” using big data analytics to optimize pediatric heart transplants by analyzing data sets from the United Network of Organ Sharing to help improve clinical practice and create predictive modeling to assess specific donors for specific candidates. They have received an additional $1.03 million in funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This additional five-years of funding will aid in their research and testing efforts.

November 1, 2024October 28, 2024

Funding University Priorities: Supporting First Generation Students

Roadmap Scholars participate in their summer cohort on Grounds.

This article is third in a series on Trust grants that directly support University priorities.

Each Trust grant funds a new idea. Some of these ideas are in areas of particular importance to the President or Provost. ‘University priorities’ are not permanent but rather time-bound areas of focus where administrators put additional resources toward advancing UVA. Trust support can play a unique role in jumpstarting a project or program toward having an immediate impact.

First-generation college students face many challenges, as organizations such as Pew Research have cited. UVA has developed both financial and programmatic resources for first-generation students and students from low-income families.

Many on the programmatic side, collectively known as ‘Hoos First’, are Trust grant recipients, such as:

Hoos First Look is an enrichment program for juniors in high school to better understand the college-application process, financial aid/scholarships, and student life at UVA. This student-led initiative received $10,479.25 in 2018 from the Trust.
FLIP at UVA aims to create and advocate for a community of first generation and low-income students. It started in 2020 with a $14,161 grant and is an on-going part of the UVA culture.
Starr Hill Pathways middle- and high-school scholars are given the opportunity to explore different career pathways through summer camps and school-year programming days with community partner organizations. The program was kickstarted with a $150,000 grant in 2022.
Roadmap Scholars Initiative began with a $200,000 grant in 2022 to build a pipeline for undergraduate students from every background into the legal profession. Students receive an intro to the legal profession, LSAT prep, and internship support.

These are just a few of the ways the Trust has enriched the patchwork of UVA, strengthened the community, and supported University priorities.

August 5, 2024August 8, 2024

Grant Projects in the News

Air Force cadets participate in Virtual Reality simulation training. (Credit: Dan Addison)

Our grantees have been busy! Check out projects recently featured in the news:

Year three of the Starr Hill Pathways program occurred this summer!
“Developing Future Leaders in Autism Healthcare Through Emergency Medical Training” received a flash grant in 2022 to develop and distribute Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) autism response training to emergency professionals. The program’s success has resulted in additional funding for training expansion, increased partnerships, nationwide inquiries about the program, and a new Virginia law.
- “Autism Training for First Responders Expands Across Virginia“
UVA Law students taught business law classes to local incarcerated people this spring. The Trust was a supporter of this flash grant in 2023.
- “Students Teach Business Law Classes to Incarcerated“
Nursing Narratives received an annual grant earlier this year to add a recurring editorial section to both print and digital versions of “Virginia Nursing Legacy,” the School of Nursing’s quarterly magazine. Read insights from three nurses in their spring edition.
Cville Tulips received an annual grant in 2023, bringing student volunteer together with local refugee women and their children to support English instruction, digital literacy, and youth programming.
- “Community Conversation: Danait Haddish with Cville Tulips“
The Air Force ROTC received a flash grant this spring to increase virtual reality flight simulator training for cadets.
- “Air Force ROTC Expands Flight Opportunities for Cadets“
In 2013, the Trust supported the Darden Prisoner Reentry Program. Read about their growth, continued impact, and partnership with other institutions in “Agreement Takes Program for the Incarcerated Nationwide“
“The Green Book” was created as a travel guide from 1936–1966, listing safe places for traveling African Americans to stay across the country. A 2021 flash grant helped launch a website database to document listings. Check out “Architecture of the Negro Travelers’ Green Book” in UVA Arts Magazine to learn about the project’s progress and growth.
In spring 2020, two grad students received a flash grant to assist with preserving the historic Alderman Library card catalog system for future research. “The Last Card Catalog in the Library” from UVA Today explains more about the historical significance of the card catalog system.

Follow the Trust on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date on grant news.

August 5, 2024August 5, 2024

Funding University Priorities: STEM Success

Students play Orgopoly: Organic Chemistry Gameboard, helping in their review of Organic Chemistry I and II.

This article is the second in a series on Trust grants that directly support University priorities.

Student success in science and mathematics courses and exposure to technology or engineering fields, collectively known as STEM, is a current University priority and one that the Trust has supported often.

The University’s STEM Initiatives are vast and when combined with individual school efforts can manifest in everything from maker spaces to calculus tutoring to biomedical research. Each element helps shape the UVA experience for all, and the advances the positive outcomes this education and research can have in a tech-driven world.

STEM is ever-changing, and fresh ideas are always being introduced to advance the field. In the last two years alone, the Trust has helped jumpstart many of these projects such as:

A Partnership to Promote Innovation and Excellence in Lower Division Mathematics Courses ($170,000) which aims to increase students’ success in calculus classes through growth-based assessments and a summer bridge program;
UVAi Vanguard ($112,870) which integrates Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) into academic settings including research, mentorship and teaching;
UVA Cyber Range ($71,548.79) which provides students the opportunity to increase cybersecurity education, research and training outside of the classroom;
Preparing Students for Careers in Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (CTAP) ($90,000) which aims to provide UVA students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in the growing trustworthy AI workforce;
Southwest Virginia Can Code Regional Student Showcase ($9,750) which brings together UVA Wise, local schools and community organizations to teach coding, web app development, problem-solving, prototyping, and entrepreneurial and communication skills to local middle- and high- school students;
Air Force ROTC VR Simulator ($10,000) which brings increased virtual reality simulator training to Air Force ROTC students at UVA;
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Research and Teaching ($8,040) which offers a series of workshops to the University and local communities to illustrate the benefits and weaknesses of AI;
Piloting an Open-source Educational Manufacturing Model ($49,900) that provides open access to high-quality, peer-reviewed educational resources while developing a CAD library;
Printers 4 Kids ($30,000) which takes discarded electronic equipment and creates STEM kits for local Charlottesville schools, and recycles plastic waste from University labs; and
Orgopoly: The Organic Chemistry Gameboard ($1,522) that aids students in their review and understanding of Organic Chemistry I and II.

Beyond this direct support, the Trust is committed to being part of the STEM ecosystem across Grounds, funding ideas and fostering innovation that will make UVA an event better place.