"Challenging Times Demands Exceptional Leadership"

Dear Wahoos:

The true test of leadership does not occur when the seas are calm and still.  True leadership shows itself during the tempest. The seas in Charlottesville continue to be choppy, and we continue to be in search of leadership at UVA that can navigate the waters and deliver the ship to safe harbor.

The Good

This week we saw Interim President Mahoney announce that two of the investigations brought by the Department of Justice against the University had been closed. The investigations into admissions policies for the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the McIntire School of Commerce, as well as the investigation into antisemitic discrimination, have ceased. Although we do not know the circumstances for the closing of these investigations, there are no reported findings of any wrongdoing by the University. We applaud Interim President Mahoney for his efforts in working with the Department of Justice. We are forced to wonder, however, why such a result could not have occurred in May or June, when the BOV could have provided the DOJ the supporting documentation, compiled by former President Ryan and his staff, refuting any wrongdoing by the University. Had that been done, perhaps President Ryan would not have been forced to resign.

We hope that Interim President Mahoney can continue that leadership and resolve the remaining investigations without binding the University to a Voluntary Resolution Agreement that would have negative impacts on the independence and academic freedom of UVA, and the broad and inclusive community that the University has become.

The Bad

At the same time that Interim President Mahoney was announcing the closing of the two DOJ Investigations, students and faculty were being shut out of the Board of Visitors meeting on the grounds that there was not enough seating.  While he was stating that the "right to peacefully assemble, openly disagree and humbly learn from each other is central to the American project,” student organizers were told to step away from the Rotunda steps and ordered to leave or face charges of trespassing. Exceptional leadership does not attempt to hide behind closed doors to keep out voices of disagreement.  Exceptional leadership opens doors, welcomes the views of dissenting voices and seeks to find reasonable solutions that meet the needs of the persons they were appointed to lead. Exceptional leadership does not attempt to keep students and faculty at arms-length, it attempts to address their concerns, as they are the community that is most impacted by the decisions of the leaders.

The silver lining, however, is that the community of students and faculty continue to make their voices heard. Notwithstanding the barriers placed on their participation in the BOV meeting, they persevere. We at Wahoos4UVA continue to stand with them and support their efforts as they seek transparency, a credible search process for the tenth University President and overall proper governance of the University’s affairs.

The Ugly

Exceptional leadership requires honesty, integrity and acting in good faith. In furtherance of our goal of transparency and good governance, we continue to seek answers for what happened leading up to and in the aftermath of President Ryan’s forced resignation. We continue to challenge the presidential search process that will likely yield a candidate pool that is less than the best that the University deserves due to the chaos surrounding this Board of Visitors and its actions. We continue to question the composition of the Board of the Visitors, and challenge the very actions it is taking as being ultra vires – void from the start. But yet, we are met only with the silence of a Board of Visitors that refuses to respond. Exceptional leadership requires the willingness to answer questions, even those that are most difficult to address.

This week we saw Rector Sheridan’s and Vice-Rector Wilkinson’s white shoe law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton, and its white collar criminal attorney David O’Neil, respond to State Senator Creigh Deeds’ second letter. In that response, Mr. O’Neil essentially stated that it would not answer the questions posed, that the Board of Visitors was being directed by two opposing political bodies, and pointed to the General Assembly and the Attorney General of the Commonwealth to figure out who had jurisdictional oversight of the Board of Visitors. Exceptional leadership does not deflect from its responsibilities, it accepts the challenges and meets the moment.  

Finally, in his response letter, Mr. O’Neil states, “At this difficult moment, we believe that all those of us who are working to navigate these challenges would benefit from treating one another with grace and an assumption of good faith.” In our message last week, we cited the Honor Committee’s statement on UVA’s Community of Trust.

“We aim to cultivate habits that will inform our work habits long after we graduate; to assume the best in each other; and to hold fast to notions of right and wrong, even when doing so comes at personal cost. Through this collective effort, our ultimate end is to live and work in a Community of Trust, where honesty and mutual respect are the baseline for all our interactions and academic endeavors.”

Honesty and mutual respect are indeed what we are seeking. It is difficult, as Mr. O’Neil requests, to assume good-faith actions when the search for honesty and truth have been thwarted at every turn. When requests for discussion, answers and accountability are met with deafening silence, we are left only to question the motives of the actors. Exceptional Leadership requires actions that comport with our Community of Trust.

The tempest rages on, and the ship continues to sway in the rough seas. The question is, are its captain and crew equipped, both skillfully and ethically, to direct it home safely? An exceptional University deserves Exceptional Leadership.

It is important that those of us who are invested in the cause spread the word about Wahoos4UVA broadly. If this email was forwarded to you by someone, please sign up on our website in order that you may receive these emails and additional updates directly.

With appreciation and resolve,

Ann Brown (College ’74, Law ’77) and Chris Ford (Engineering ’87)

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