When Jefferson walked through the yards of his home in Virginia at Monticello (meaning little mountain in Italian) he glared

down from the mountain one day and spotted a perfect place for the University of Virginia below. So he climbed upon his horse and rode down the mountain to this vacant and perfect spot he had summarily concluded, and he pounded stakes into the ground to mark the sites of future buildings in what would ultimately become the first steps in 1817 towards the eventual creation of the school and charter in 1819.

Image Source: http://faculty.virginia.edu/villagespaces/essay/prints00018.uva-from-the-south-bohn-serz.1856.jpg

Of particular interest is the fact that although Jefferson appointed "honorable and distinct men" to teach in such diverse fields as Astronomy, Architecture, Botany, Philosophy, Mathematics, Horticulture and Political Science, nobody who came to listen had to pay or even register. If you wanted to learn, you just opened the door and walked into the room of your liking and sat down. And you were granted permission to stay... as long as you were quiet and respectful.

"This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.
~ Thomas Jefferson 1819