The University of Virginia was founded by retired president Thomas Jefferson about 1819 near his home in Charlottesville. The traditional college, which Jefferson had attended, was William and Mary College established in 1701 as an Anglican university in the then capital, Williamsburg. Over the almost two centuries, the University of Virginia has gained the highest reputation in history, law and business. The 21,000 student university has moved from 26 percent government support to 7 percent government support during the two decades since Governor Doug Wilder called on state university presidents to move from state to private support. In the 2010 U. S. News and World Report rankings of universities, U-VA ranks second among public universities along with UCLA, and behind UC-Berkeley which has large non-state financial support. Berkeley ranks 23rd and U-VA 24th overall compared to private universities. U-VA has been famous for its Virginia School of Property Rights which included James Buchanan, Gordon Tullock, Ronald Coase, and others. The U-VA board of visitors has elected a new president, Teresa A. Sullivan, provost of the University of Michigan; previously she had been chief academic officer of the nine campuses of the University of Texas.
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