During today’s Fall Convocation at the John Paul Jones Arena, UVA President John Casteen was given the Thomas Jefferson Award for service, while the award for scholarship went to Biology Department Chairman J. Thomas Parsons.
The Thomas Jefferson Award is the highest honor bestowed upon members of the University community.
Casteen became president of the University in 1990 and he will stop down from the presidency next August after 20 years.
According to a UVA press release, Larry Sabato wrote a letter nominating Casteen for the award.
"Every year the University has looked more like Virginia, America and the world, as the numbers of women, minority, and international students and faculty have grown substantially. The quality of life and the educational experience have been considerably enhanced as a result,” he wrote referring to Casteen’s commitment to student financial aid.
Parsons was nominated by UVA’s Microbiology Department. He was awarded an $80 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for his research.
Parsons was involved in the creation of the field of cancer cell signaling. Parsons was also given the Distinguished Scientist at UVA award.