The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals recognize the exemplary contributions of recipients to the endeavors in which Jefferson – the author of the Declaration of Independence, the third U.S. president and the founder of the University of Virginia – excelled and held in high regard. The medals, given in Architecture, Citizen Leadership, Law and Global Innovation are the highest external honors bestowed by the University, which grants no honorary degrees.

The awards are presented annually in observance of Jefferson’s birthday, April 13 – known locally as Founder’s Day – by the president of the University and the president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the independent, nonprofit organization that owns and operates his home, Monticello. 

“Jefferson’s vision for this nation (and the world) began with his belief in progress,” said Leslie Greene Bowman, president emerita of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. “The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medalists serve as an inspiration to future leaders. Like Jefferson, they have shaped our world for the better.”

PAST THOMAS JEFFERSON FOUNDATION MEDALISTS IN ARCHITECTURE

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 & SHELLEY MCNAMARA  
2018 SIR DAVID ADJAYE 
2019 KAZUYO SEJIMA & RYUE NISHIZAWA
2020 MARION WEISS & MICHAEL MANFREDI
2021 DIÉBÉDO FRANCIS KÉRÉ
2022 KENNETH FRAMPTON
2023 ANDREW FREEAR & RURAL STUDIO
2024 KATE ORFF
2025 WALTER J. HOOD
2026 JEANNE GANG

The Certificate in Historic Preservation is pursued by students with a variety of backgrounds, both professionally and educationally. Coursework in preservation is open to both undergraduate and graduate students in all departments. This allows for the program to have a truly interdisciplinary nature while creating further academic connectivity within the A-School. Graduates of the certificate program in Historic Preservation at UVA become part of a strong network of alumni who go on to work for architecture firms, preservation organizations, local governments, historic houses, and museums. Learn more about our alumni through the profiles shared below:

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Andrew Marshall

Andrew Marshall was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia, and studied architecture at Virginia Tech. After graduation, he practiced in the fields of construction, preservation, and exhibit design at several architectural and design firms. During those years, he became fascinated with the many historic structures that comprise the urban fabric of Virginia's towns and cities. As an extension of his training and interests, he decided to pursue an MA in Architectural history at UVA.

While a member of StudioAmmons, Inc. of Petersburg, Andrew participated in the renovation & restoration of the Robert Russa Moton Museum in Farmville, Virginia, a key site in the struggle for Civil Rights in education. The former school was the site of a student-led strike in 1951 and the consequent court case was eventually included in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, which led to the desegregation of schools across the country. Andrew served as project architect, participated in the exhibit design process, and managed the exhibit installation of the museum. The renovation and exhibit projects received awards from Preservation Virginia, Southeast Association of Museums, and the American Association for State and Local History. To find more information about the museum, click here: motonmuseum.org.

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Elizabeth Nowak

Growing up, Elizabeth Nowak and her family spent most school breaks at historic sites and museums. She chased her love for history in her undergraduate studies at James Madison University. Her path took an unexpected turn when she chose to spend a year teaching English in South Korea. Her time in Uijeongbu-shi, a small city just north of Seoul, and her subsequent travels in Europe brought up a lot of questions about cultural heritage she had not considered before.

When she returned to the United States she worked at several sites, both as a volunteer and employee, and ultimately decided to pursue a Mater's in Urban and Environmental Planning. Pursuing work as a preservationist planner would allow her to work within the larger picture, the greater context of historic preservation. When she graduates, she plans to find work with a Main Street America program or as a preservation planner.

For the past year, Elizabeth worked at Preservation Virginia’s Cape Henry Lighthouse as a historic interpreter and volunteer education coordinator. While there, she created several education programs for elementary school groups about the history of the lighthouse. She has also worked as an educator at Nauticus in Norfolk and at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

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Aisha Sawatsky

Aisha Sawatsky's decision to pursue the Master's of Architecture degree at UVA was strongly influenced by the interdisciplinary opportunities presented by the Certificate programs. She was drawn to the idea of studying Historic Preservation at a UNESCO World Heritage Site because the skills and knowledge acquired could be supported by and applied to her daily environment.

With the recently renewed interest and investment in urban cores, the adaptive reuse of historical buildings is becoming more common and necessary. Understanding historical construction and preservation techniques becomes essential in order to best integrate these sites with modern sustainability and living standards.

She was also interested in the ways that historical buildings express culture and identity as these lessons can be applied to new constructions and aid in the further development of regionally specific architecture.

Engaging in the Historic Preservation course of study will enable me to be a better architect and to contribute positively to our future cities and environments.

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Lindsay Luria

In Lindsey's academic work at UVA and in her professional work with Wolf Josey Landscape Architects, she maintained a focus on the physical and cultural connections between people and their environments. Prior to graduate school, she spent three years working for the National Geographic Society,  AmeriCorps, and in the government contracting to promote public and environmental health.

Since starting her Mater's degree at UVA, she also interned for the Historic Preservation department's Venice (Italy) Program and worked as a Teaching Assistant in the Planted Form and Function Courses. While in Venice, she worked with a preservation firm and kept a public blog detailing her experience and observations of the city as a landscape. Incorporating her interests in history, health, and ecology, her additional writings have been published in Abode magazine and Cville Weekly.

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Sarita Marie Herman

Sarita Marie Herman's graduate thesis focused on the work of Landscape Architect Lawrence Halprin, and his firm's design of the Charlottesville Pedestrian Mall and Master Plan. Since graduating, she has contributed essays on the topic to The Cultural Landscape Foundation's Pioneers of American Landscape Design, and to the Magazine of Albemarle Co. History.

Herman is now a Historic Preservation Manager in the University of Virginia's Facilities Planning & Construction Department. As a member of the Historic Preservation Team at UVA, she had the opportunity to work on a daily basis with a diverse and knowledgeable group of preservation professionals, including architects, planners, archaeologists, scholars, and craftspeople.

She served on the project management team for the once-in-a-lifetime renovation of the Rotunda. She continues to work on numerous preservation efforts in Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village and other historic sites at UVA.

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Peyton Hall, FAIA

Peyton Hall's professional degree in architecture predates the historic preservation certificate at UVA. During the 5 years he completed 5 courses in architectural and urban history, and was a member of the school's chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians. He studied with Mario di Valmarana and Robert Vickery, and traveled to Venice and Vicenza with Frederick Nichols and Carlo Pelliccia in 1972, the second year of the Italian program.

He settled on the west coast, where he directs Historic Research Group, a consultancy that employs architectural historians, preservation planners, and historic architects. Their work ranges from surveys and cultural resource reports to historic structure reports, materials studies, design assist, and construction monitoring. As Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California, he enjoys working with a new generation of Heritage Conservation majors. Projects include SurveyLA, a master plan for the Doheny Greystone Mansion, adaptation of Julia Morgan’s Herald Examiner Building, renovation of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and a comprehensive survey of LAX.

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Lori Snyder Garrett, AIA

Intrigued by architecture from an early age, Lori Snyder studied math and art at Messiah College in preparation for pursuing her graduate degree in architecture at the University of Virginia. In 2003, she joined Glave and Holmes Architecture as an Associate and currently serves as Senior Principal and Director of the Higher Education Studio. She worked on a range of building typologies for colleges and universities; frequently these involved rehabilitations to existing buildings or new work in historical contexts.

She has had the opportunity to rehabilitate or design additions to a number of State and National Historic Register projects. Striving to make the best uses of a University’s resources, she enjoys working with her team to breathe new life and vitality into obsolete or worn buildings. At UVA, she led the historic renovation of O’Neil Hall (formerly the Rugby Road Building), which involved adaptively reusing a building originally designed as faculty housing. She oversaw the renovation of Washington and Lee’s iconic Colonnade, completing the rehabilitation of five individually-significant buildings in a National Historic Landmark district.