"Enlighten the People" : Research, Education, and Preservation at Monticello and Beyond

"Enlighten the People" : Research, Education, and Preservation at Monticello and Beyond

In 2024, we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies (ICJS). Rigorous scholarship has always underpinned the work of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. In 1994, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation consolidated its scholarly initiatives under one roof with the creation of the International Center for Jefferson Studies. Since then, ICJS and its member departments have supported every aspect of the Foundation’s work. ICJS has enabled Monticello to meet the challenges of telling a more complete story of this place, the people who lived here, and the world in which they lived. At the same time, many ICJS programs have served as models and training grounds for institutions and individuals beyond Monticello.

Roughly thirty adults dressed in summery clothing standing outdoors in a line, smiling at the camera.

ICJS’s programs have not only supported the work of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. They have influenced and supported the work of staff at other historic sites, members of the scholarly community, and members of the general public.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation thanks the following ICJS supporters and our many generous friends for their groundbreaking and ongoing support: 

Marguerite Allen

The Batten Foundation

The Berkeley Family Foundation

Mary Scott and John Birdsall

J.F. and Peggy Bryan

The Cabell Foundation

The Coca‐Cola Company

John and Diane Cooke

The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation

Harlan and Katherine Crow

Charles Cullen

Terry and Courtnay Daniels

Martin and Luella Davis

Bob and Kitty DeMento

Grady and Lori Durham

First Union Corporation of Virginia

Linda Ford

Ford Foundation

Richard Gilder and Lois Chiles

The Gilder Foundation

John and Amy Griffin Foundation

John and Renee Grisham

The Richard Gwathmey and Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust

Brent and Lindsay Halsey

Alice Handy and Peter Stoudt

Robert and Jennifer Hatcher

The Philadelphia Fund

Mrs. Walter H. Helmerich III

Roger and Susan Hertog

Institute of Museum and Library Services

George and Betty Johnson

Don and Janemarie King

Ronald and Sandra Kossar

Fritz and Claudine Kundrun

Charles and Joan Longley

Luck Companies Foundation

John C. R. Taylor III and Peter Flagg Maxson

Richard and Sara Page Mayo

Mellon Foundation

Edward and Janet Miller

Westwind Foundation

Howard and Abby Milstein Foundation

The Estate of Jane Tarleton Smith Moore

Marietta McNeill Morgan and Samuel Tate Morgan, Jr. Foundation

Gerald and Mary Morgan

The Estate of Renee A. Muller

National Endowment for the Humanities

John L. Nau, III

Jonathan and Sonja Hoel Perkins

The Pew Charitable Trusts

The Reed Foundation

The Richard S. Reynolds Foundation

The Estate of Mary Clark Rockefeller

David Salem

Tom and Jordan Saunders

Family and Friends of Edgar F. Shannon, Jr.

Robert and Clarice Smith

The Robert H. Smith Family Foundation

Carl and Hunter Smith

The Honorable and Mrs. John Charles Thomas

Exhibition curated and designed by

Anna Berkes, Manager for Public Services and Collection Development, Jefferson Library

Megan Brett, Manager for Collections Processing and Digital Initatives, Jefferson Library