Department of Student Health records

During the early days of the University of Virginia, there were no hospital facilities for ill students, who were typically attended in their rooms by a medical faculty member or local physician. In 1857, the Board of Visitors allocated funding for the construction of a student infirmary, which, once completed, would become one of the first academic student health centers in the country. The Infirmary was located just east of the south end of the Lawn. The structure still exisits and is known today as "Varsity Hall." Responsibility for the care of sick students lay with the medical faculty and the Infirmary was used for both outpatient and inpatient student health services until the opening of the University Hospital, which then became the location of inpatient care.

By the 1930s, due to growing University enrollment, the medical faculty realized a more formal system of student health care was needed. After a successful appeal to the President of the University, a Committee on Student Health was appointed. On this Committee's recommendation, the Department of Student Health was created in 1938 under its first director, Dr. Andrew D. Hart, Jr. Student Health was located in the Entrance Building (now known as the Corner Building, which currently houses the University's Women's Center).

As UVA continued to grow during the mid-20th century, so too did the Department of Student Health. Additional staff were hired to meet the demands of rising student enrollment and increasing numbers of clinic visits. After UVA became fully coeducational in 1970, gynecology services began to be offered to meet the needs of the new group of female students. During the 1980s, the mission of Student Health expanded to include health education programs and peer educator initiatives.

By this time the physical facilities of the Department of Student Health were proving inadequate, and planning began for the construction of a new building. In 1989, the Elson Student Health Center was completed on Brandon Ave, where the Department has been located for over three decades. A new UVA Student Health and Wellness Center is scheduled to be completed in 2021.