Charlottesville, VA, April 10-13, 2008

The Constitution and the Presidency –

Legacies of Jefferson and Madison

(Tentative Program as of 3/18/2008)

Thursday, April 10, 2008

3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.               Registration/Information Desk Open

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.               Welcome Cocktails and Dinner in the Omni Hotel

                                                Ballroom, with Jefferson & Madison reenactors

Friday, April 11, 2008

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.                Breakfast in the Omni Hotel Atrium

9:00 a.m.                                  Buses to the Miller Center, Ivy Road

9:15 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.                Informal Tour of the Miller Center

10:00 a.m.                                Welcome & Miller Center Presentation by Governor Baliles, and

11:00 a.m.                                Jim Baker presentation

12:15 – 1:30 p.m.                     Box Lunch at the Miller Center

1:30 p.m.                                  Buses to the Omni

2:30 p.m.                                  Buses from the Omni to Monticello

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.               Tour of Monticello House & Grounds

9:30 p.m.                                  Buses return to the Omni

Saturday, April 12, 2008

7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.                Breakfast at the Omni Hotel Ballroom

9:00 a.m.                                  Buses to the Miller Center

9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.              Presentation on Presidential Tapes & Interviews

11:00 a.m.                                Buses leave for Montpelier

                                                Tours of House & Grounds

4:00 p.m.                                  Buses from Montpelier to the Omni

6:00 p.m.                                  Buses from the Omni to the Boar’s Head Inn

9:30 p.m.                                  Buses return to the Omni

Sunday, April 13, 2008

7:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.              Good-bye Breakfast in the Omni Hotel Ballroom

Mini Headquarters: Omni Charlottesville Hotel, 235 West Main Street, Charlottesville VA 22902, 434-971-5500 or 1-888-444-OMNI (6664).   To reserve a room, call 1-800-THE-OMNI (800-843-6664) or go online to www.omnihotels.com. 

Alternate Hotel: Courtyard Marriott, 638 Hillsdale Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22901, 434-973-7100 or 1-800-321-2211.  It’s about 4.5 miles from the Omni north of the city, just off Route 29 via Branchlands Blvd.  It has set aside 30 rooms for us until March 13.

Directions to the Omni:

From I-64 (East or West): Exit 120; Follow 5th Street North 2 miles to Historic Downtown; Hotel is located on the right.

From Charlottesville Airport (15 miles): Make a right off of Airport Road. Follow route 29 South for 8 miles to Route 250 Bypass East. Take 250 Bypass East to third stoplight. Turn right on McIntire Road. Go 7/10 mile to the second stoplight. Go through the stoplight and the hotel will be on the left.  Taxi service: about $25-35 one way; shuttle bus: about $19 one-way or $38 roundtrip.

From RichmondInternationalAirport (80 miles): Take 295 West to I-64 West. Stay on 64 West to exit 120 Charlottesville/5th Street. Turn right from the exit ramp. Go approximately three miles or through five stop lights. Hotel is on the right.

From the North: Take Route 29 South into Charlottesville to Route 250 Bypass East. Take 250 Bypass East to third stoplight, turn right onto McIntire Road. Go 7/10 mile to the second stop light. Go through the stoplight and the hotel is on the left.

From the South: Take Route 29 North to Route 250 Bypass East (29 North will turn into 250 Bypass East). Take 250 Bypass East to third stoplight, turn right onto McIntire Road. Go 7/10 mile to the second stop light. Go through the stoplight and the hotel is on the left.

Airlines.  Charlottesville Albemarle Airport has daily nonstop service by Northwest from Detroit, by Delta Connection from Cincinnati and Atlanta, by United Express from Washington Dulles, and by US Airways Express from Philadelphia, Charlotte, and New York (LaGuardia).  AirTran, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, Skybus, U.S. Airways, and United fly to Richmond International Airport.

Parking:  For guests not staying at the Omni, parking will be available there at the rate of $6.00 per day.  Parking is free for guests staying at the hotel.

Transportation during the Mini: We’ll have buses for all activities Friday and Saturday.

Weather:  Temperatures in early April in Charlottesville are typically in the mid to upper 60’s. Rain showers can pop up although they are usually a bit later in the month.

Dress:  Reunion jackets, blue blazers, or suits at the Class dinner Saturday evening; sport jackets at other occasions; corresponding attire for women. 

Coordinator: Jennifer Carroll, of Jennifer Carroll Events, www.jennifercarrollevents.com.

Questions? Address them to:

Steve Rogers, 703-941-6686, stevrogers@aol.com.

George Towner, 703-538-6300, gc.towner.jr@att.net.

Jim Wright, 434-984-1428, jameswright3@aol.com. 

Jennifer Carroll, 434-823-7607, jennifer@jernnifercarrollevents.com. 

The Program

• Monticello (www.monticello.org) is Jefferson’s architectural masterpiece, which he designed and built beginning in 1769 with frequent modifications of style and construction for forty years.  It is set on a 5000-acre plantation that was a center of agriculture and industry.  House, gardens and plantation give evidence of Jefferson’s dedication to scientific inquiry and improvement. 
• Montpelier (www.montpelier.org), about 35 miles northeast of Charlottesville in Orange County, was Madison’s home.  A $25 million restoration program is nearing completion to return it to what it was when Madison lived there.  It is where Madison did most of his thinking and drafting of the Constitution and our Bill of Rights.  The Montpelier Foundation, which owns the estate, founded the Center for the Constitution there in 2003 to increase understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights through educational programs at all levels, with the aim of becoming the nation's leading resource in high-quality constitutional education. 
• The Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (millercenter.virginia.edu) is a national non-partisan center to research, reflect, and report on American Government, with an extensive academic and public policy program.  It sponsors the National War Powers Commission, led by former Secretaries of State James A. Baker, III and Warren Christopher, which is examining how the Constitution allocates the powers of beginning, conducting, and ending war.  The Center is the repository of an extensive collection of the secret recordings from the Oval Office.  Its oral history project interviews and collects information from prominent people in various administrations.
• The Center for Politics of the University of Virginia, of which Dr. Larry J. Sabato is Director, promotes the value of politics and seeks to improve civic education and increase civic participation through comprehensive research, pragmatic analysis, and innovative educational programs.  Dr. Sabato’s latest book, A More Perfect Constitution: 23 Proposals to Revitalize our Constitution and Make America a Fairer Country, has stimulated thought and debate about how adequate the U.S. Constitution is for today’s needs. 

Beyond

Nearby attractions of particular interest that you may also wish to visit:

Ÿ         Ash Lawn-Highland, just outside of Charlottesville at 1000 James Monroe Parkway, is a historic house museum, 535-acre working farm, and performing arts site in Albemarle County, and was the home of the fifth president of the U.S. from 1793 to 1826.  Information at www.ashlawnhighland.org, or call Susan Garrett S52 at 434-979-5366.

Ÿ         The Universityof Virginia Academical Village (www.virginia.edu/academicalvillage), which Jefferson designed, includes the Rotunda and the UVA Special Collections Library.  The University was among Jefferson’s proudest achievements, noted on his tombstone; his presidency was not mentioned there. 

Ÿ         Poplar Forest, about 76 miles southwest of Charlottesville, was Jefferson’s private retreat, his most personal architectural creation and landscape, a place where he came to find rest and leisure, to rekindle his creativity, and to enjoy private time with his family. It is in the final phase of restoration to Jefferson’s original plan of an octagonal house with wings surrounded by ornamental landscaping.  For more, go to www.poplarforest.org or contact Bob Jiranek, 434-793-2987 or jiranek@alumni.princeton.edu.

Ÿ         Woodberry Forest School is an outstanding boys’ boarding school, founded in 1889, on 1300 beautiful acres in Madison County about 37 miles northeast of Charlottesville.  For information, contact classmate Walter Craigie ’52, 804-200-1475 or vatiger@aol.com, or go on line to www.woodberry.org.

Ÿ         The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, 18-24 North Coalter Street, Staunton, Virginia 24401, www.woodrowwilson.org, is at the birthplace of the 13th President of Princeton and 28th President of the U.S.  The library and its museum, which was opened in 1990, are dedicated to "history in the nation’s service” – research and education on Wilson’s ideals and aims and how his vision continues to affect the world.

Other sites, visits, and tours of interest:

Ÿ          Michie Tavern, c. 1784 an "Ordinary" and museum, Tour of Museum and lunch in the "Ordinary" approximately 2 hours. www.michietavern.com; 683 Thomas Jefferson Parkway, Charlottesville, VA 22902, 434-977-1234.


Ÿ         University of Virginia Art Museum  The fine arts museum of the University of Virginia. Tour time approximately 1 hour. www.virginia.edu/artmuseum/; 155 Rugby Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903, 434-924-3592.

Ÿ         Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia
Collections of Australian Aboriginal art. Tour time approximately 1 hour. www.virginia.edu/kluge-ruhe/; 400 Worrell Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22911, 434-244-0234.

• Blue Ridge Parkway & Skyline Drive 
 Enjoy the scenic beauty atop the Blue Ridge Mountains. Entrance 22 miles west of Charlottesville. www.blueridgeparkway.org/ OR www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm; intersection of I-64 exit 99 and the Skyline Drive, Afton, VA 22920, 540-999-3500.

• Oak Ridge Estate 
Owned by Thomas Fortune Ryan, one of the ten richest men in the United States in the early twentieth century. Nelson County, Virginia, 40 miles south of Charlottesville. www.oakridgeestate.com/; 2300 Oak Ridge Road, Arrington, VA 22922, 434-263 – 8676.
• Walton's Mountain Museum 
Special blend of history, nostalgia and entertainment. Houses replicas of sets from "The Waltons." Schuyler, Virginia, 35 miles south of Charlottesville. www.waltonmuseum.org/;  6484 Rockfish River Road Schuyler, VA 22969, 434-831-2000.