Campuses:
This is an old revision of the document!
Thunderbird has a setup wizard which will lead you through most of the settings. Unfortunately it leaves out one vital setting, the SSL security feature, without which you can't access your email.
To set this, open the “Account Settings” window found under the “Tools” menu 1), choose the “Server settings” item, and in the “Security settings” group select the “SSL” radio button.