Press Release

May 24, 2007
Contact:
                                    Sheryl Hayes
                                    Phone: (434)924-3296
                                    Fax: (434)296-4714
Sheryl@virginia.edu
www.virginiafoundation.org
For Immediate Release

Encyclopedia Virginia Receives Grant from Dominion Foundation

Charlottesville, VIRGINIA – The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) today announced a $100,000 grant from The Dominion Foundation for Encyclopedia Virginia (EV), a comprehensive online resource of Virginia history and culture.

The funding will be used to begin to provide the core content for the Encyclopedia.  Dominion, the first major corporate sponsor of EV, joins the General Assembly of Virginia, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and private donors in helping to make this exciting and accessible educational tool possible.

“Gathering the content for Encyclopedia Virginia is a massive undertaking.  This generous donation will allow us to begin the process of working with historians and scholars to ‘fill the pages’ of this rich resource,” said Robert C. Vaughan, VFH president  “We are extremely grateful to Dominion for a gift that exemplifies the company’s genuine commitment to making the proud heritage of an uncommon place globally accessible.”

“Encyclopedia Virginia will be the first, ultimate on-line reference work about Virginia history, business, politics and geography,” said William C. Hall Jr., president of the Dominion Foundation and vice president of Corporate Communications & Community Affairs at Dominion.  “The Dominion Foundation is pleased to help make Virginia’s proud heritage in the arts, religion, culture and folklife readily available to everyone with Internet access.”  
The Dominion Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Dominion, one of the nation's largest producers of energy.  Headquartered in Richmond, the company also serves retail energy customers in nine states. The Dominion Foundation donates more than $15 million annually to non-profit organizations in states in which the company does business.
Encyclopedia Virginia (EV) will be an exciting and publicly accessible online publication. A compendium on the people, history, government, economy and culture of Virginia, EV will be the first and ultimate online reference work about the Commonwealth.  EV will chronicle the state’s history, politics and geography; describe the state’s heritage in arts, religion, culture and folklife; provide information on science, medicine, education, business and technology; and provide a framework for interpreting the state’s significance to citizens of Virginia, the nation and the world.

In its first phase, which is scheduled to launch in 2007 and 2008, EV will focus on topics related to literature, 20th century history, cities and counties, and business and industry.  To help present these entries in their proper context, EV will offer users sound and video excerpts, images and maps, links to articles on related topics, lesson plans, advanced cross-referencing and search functions, and bibliographies for further research. 

The Virginia General Assembly and organizations such as the Virginia Cultural Network, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Library of Virginia have endorsed the project. VFH is committed to bringing together institutions and individuals in collaboration to make this publication a success.  

Encyclopedia Virginia has a technical advisory board and an Editorial and Content Advisory Board to help guide the editors on particular decisions related to technical and editorial and content matters.  These boards are composed of professionals in various fields who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to this undertaking.

From its pre-European history to its present-day leadership in technology, transportation and industry, Virginia holds a unique position in the founding and development of the nation. Encyclopedia Virginia will weave together the threads of that history into a digital, user-friendly resource to educate Virginians and will encourage worldwide exploration of the Commonwealth.

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, founded in 1974 and based in Charlottesville, is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the humanities and to using the humanities to address issues of broad public concern.

The Foundation works to make scholarships accessible, to promote understanding and discussion of enduring and contemporary issues, and to broaden the range of educational opportunities available to all Virginians.   

For further information, contact Sheryl Hayes at 434-924-3296 or Sheryl@virginia.edu.