Society Ties: A History of the Jefferson Society

By akl3b |

As the University of Virginia's oldest student organization, the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society counts the likes of 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson and author Edgar Allan Poe among its members. Today, nearly two centuries after its founding on July 14, 1825, the Jefferson Society remains one of the largest and most active organizations on Grounds. This exhibition, curated by authors Thomas Howard and Owen Gallogly, adapts portions of Society Ties, the recently-released history of the Jefferson Society and student life at UVA.

Christopher Welte

As Director of User Experience, Christopher is dedicated to creating meaningful, barrier-free experiences for all library users (current and future). Grounded in accessibility, human-centered design, and proven best practices, he leads with a core UX principle: we are not our users, and that distinction drives everything. 

Christopher collaborates closely with the Assessment and Content teams to ensure that design decisions are informed by solid data and expressed through consistent, purposeful messaging.

Erich Purpur

Erich uses his background in geography, his GIS expertise, and his MLS to provide department liaison support and outreach to science and engineering disciplines, including subject and information databases, data management and use, and information literacy and spatial methods. As part of the Social, Natural, and Engineering Sciences team, Erich serves as the liaison to Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Statistics, and Systems & Information Engineering.

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