University of Virginia History and Research

When conducting research on the history of UVA, the best place to start for nearly every topic is the Cavalier Daily. The Cavalier Daily (CD), formerly College Topics (CT), is the longest running student newspaper at UVA - published since 1890. The CD is an excellent resource for information on student life, administration, faculty, staff, Grounds, and the local Charlottesville-Albemarle area.

• The Cavalier Daily is available in print in Shannon's Reference Room (all issues) and online (1890-1916).
• The Cavalier Daily is also available online via their website. Articles from 2010 are consistently published online; some articles 1999-2010 are online but not always searchable. 

To find materials in the pre-internet Cavalier Daily/College Topics, you'll need to use these two tools: the Clippings Files and the Card Index. 

• Clippings Files: newspaper clippings, flyers, press releases, paper ephemera and much more, organized by topic. Find a list of subject headings, or folder names, for the UVA History Files and the Charlottesville-Albemarle Files. Housed in Shannon Library: make an appointment to use this collection by emailing library@virginia.edu. 

• Card Index to the CD and CT: like an index in a book, except each item (person, event, topic, etc) has been written on an index card with a list of articles pertaining to that item. Housed in Shannon's Reference Room - ask at the 4th Floor Service and Information Desk for help using the index. 

Book resources: 

Online resources: 

Oral histories are an important part of many archival collections, including those in the UVA Special Collections and in the University Archives. Some oral history interviews have been transcribed, but most have not. Some oral histories (OH) are housed only at Special Collections; for some, copies are available at the Robertson Media Center (RMC) in Clemons Library. Both locations offer listening stations or equipment. The copies at Clemons are also available for circulation. 

These oral histories cover a wide range of topics within UVA history. The links below take you to a catalog search for that collection - from there you can search within the results for topics, individuals, programs, departments, buildings, and more. 

• Oral histories available at Clemons Library - RMC - walk up or request in Virgo. 
• Oral histories available at Special Collections. 
• Oral histories available online: 
  • Medical Alumni Oral History project; ongoing, 7 histories available so far. 
  • School of Law LGBTQ Oral History Project: ongoing, 5 histories available so far. 
• Oral histories available online via History Makers, a national non-profit organization. Find nearly 3500 clips mentioning the Black and African-American experience at UVA, from the 1960s through the 2010s. Most interviews include transcripts and all include videos; results can be filtered by topic, decade, and more. 

Looking for articles about UVA in other local and national publications can be a great way to learn more about the history of the university or gain another perspective. Use these resources to conduct newspaper (primary source) research. 

• The Daily Progress, 1849-present
  • The Daily Progress (DP), the Charlottesville area newspaper, has reported - and still reports! - extensively on UVA. You can read the Daily Progress: 
    • In print in Special Collections. 
    • Online via digitized microfilm - browse by date. 
    • On microfilm. 
    • Online in America's News, April 2008 - present, plus a few outlier issues. 
• Other Charlottesville newspapers can be found in Virgo - formats and availability will vary. 
• The Magazine of Albemarle Charlottesville History, formerly the Magazine of Albemarle County History (MACH), has been published by the Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society since 1940. Search the PDF index for issues through 2010. Available online, 1952-2019; in print in Shannon's Reference Room and by request, 1940-2019, includes printed index.