Jefferson was intimately involved in the university to the end, hosting Sunday dinners at his
Monticello home for faculty and students. Jefferson viewed the university's foundation as having such great importance and potential that he counted it among his greatest accomplishments and insisted his grave mention only his status as author of the
Declaration of Independence and
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia. Thus, he eschewed mention of his national accomplishments, such as the
Louisiana Purchase and any other aspects of his presidency, in favor of his role with the young university.