Brown College at Monroe Hill

Brown College at Monroe Hill is one of three residential colleges at the University of Virginia. Originally named Monroe Hill College, Brown opened in 1986 as the first modern residential college at the University of Virginia. It was renamed Brown College at Monroe Hill in recognition of the endowment donated by the Brown family (of the Brown-Forman Corporation) in 1994. The college is led by Dr. Melissa Thomas-Hunt, principal, and Dr. Stephen Plaskon, Director of Studies. About fifty faculty fellows from many departments and schools of the university maintain close ties to the college.The compound that conforms the college is principally made of the following buildings known as portals: Davis, Smith, Mallet, Long, Venable, Gildersleeve, McGuffey, Harrison, Tucker, Holmes, Rogers and Peters. Each portal houses approximately 24 students and all twelve are connected by underground passages frequently referred to as tunnels.MembershipBrown College's population is made of undergraduate students. The acceptance process into Brown College is competitive requiring completion of a formal application which includes several out-of-the-ordinary essay questions, such as "You have taken yourself hostage. Write a list of your demands." and "You are a 7-year-old child with the diction and lexicon of a 35-year-old college professor, but an emotional depth befitting your age. Have a temper tantrum." Applicants are also given a blank page and instructed to use it as they see fit.Applications are written, read, and scored by only current Brown College residents. Afterwards, a waiting list of students is posted online on the Brown College website. Students whose names on the waiting list become highlighted green are offered a room in Brown. Once a student has been accepted and chooses to live in Brown College, that student is guaranteed residence until he or she graduates from the University.