"Rector" is commonly used in Virginia, however. The University of Virginia (Charlottesville), University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg), George Mason University (Fairfax), Virginia State University (Petersburg), Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond), Longwood University (Farmville), Washington and Lee University (Lexington), the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg), Old Dominion University (Norfolk), Christopher Newport University (Newport News), and Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) all use the term "Rector" to designate the presiding officer of the Board of Visitors (or "Board of Trustees," in the case of Washington and Lee). Thomas Jefferson served as the first rector of the University of Virginia, beginning in 1819, and intended that the school would not have a president; it lacked that position until 1904.