Describes the focus of a comprehensive restoration program. Occupancy changes in several pavilions characterized by severe decrepitude have allowed rapid progress toward professional restoration and curatorship. The first actions were a prolonged program of roof repairs and renovation of Pavilion IX. In 1984, the university created the Jeffersonian Restoration Advisory Board, some 20 professionals and philanthropists charged with establishing a permanent endowment and advising on care of the Academical Village, and appointed a full-time architect/guardian. Work on the pavilions has engendered numerous philosophical discussions. There is agreement that the Venice Charter constitutes the fundamental reference; that the site must remain vital, rather than becoming a museum; that greater emphasis must be placed on research; and that the site is not mere real estate. There is agreement that the site should become a focus of study, a laboratory for research, thus continuing Jefferson's desire that it play a pedagogical role. The University of Virginia has established a lasting curatorial program unique among American universities. As continuing research identifies issues, work at the site must be cautious, allowing objective analyses of attitudes about management, restoration, and that most elusive but most eloquent concept, appropriateness.