The next chapter of Wahoos4UVA

Dear Wahoos,

Since May of 2025, Wahoos4UVA has focused its efforts on responding to an unprecedented governance crisis at UVA and on demanding, publicly and persistently, that the Board of Visitors fulfill its duty to protect the University from political interference.

That work unfolded during a period defined by deep partisan fracture. Across the United States, institutions are under strain, public trust is thin, and many people across the political spectrum feel frustrated, sidelined, and powerless. The events at UVA are not separable from those broader currents.

And yet what has been happening here also represents something rare.

Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members came together across political and philosophical differences to pursue a shared purpose: to right the wrongs done to this University by those who either pursued, allowed or enabled the ouster of President Jim Ryan, and to defend the principles of honor, integrity, academic freedom and shared governance. People who disagree on many other issues stood shoulder to shoulder on this one.

Last week, Governor Abigail Spanberger took action to ensure that UVA’s Board of Visitors has a full complement of members who will serve the best interests of the University and the Commonwealth. All her appointees are alumni who have served UVA in significant volunteer roles. With the reconstitution of the Board of Visitors, the UVA community should feel a tremendous sense of pride.

Collectively, we spoke up. We kept speaking up - even when it was uncomfortable, even when it was exhausting, and even when it put some at personal and professional risk. Doing the right thing is never easy. But our community did it anyway. That matters. And that effort will remain part of UVA’s institutional memory.

Because of your courage and your engagement, Wahoos4UVA became a force that simply couldn’t be ignored. You helped demonstrate that this University does not belong to any political party or faction. It belongs to the vibrant, pluralistic community willing to defend it.

As a newly reconstituted Board takes office, the University is entering a new phase. And so is Wahoos4UVA.

In the weeks ahead, Wahoos4UVA will pivot from a rapid-response, action-oriented effort to an alumni organization focused on dialogue, education, and the University’s institutional health for the long haul.

What this means in practice:

• We will begin to move away from weekly action alerts and toward monthly communications that feature thoughtful perspectives on issues affecting UVA, from within and outside our great community.
• Rather than mobilizing around immediate demands, we will aim to inform, connect, and elevate serious conversation across the UVA community.
• We are still working out the details, but these messages will likely include guest columns on topics such as General Assembly activity relevant to higher education, protecting UVA from political interference, and the importance of maintaining academic freedom, and hearing from and involving voices across many spectra.
• At the same time, as Wahoos4UVA’s co-chairs, we will be reaching out to both the new and continuing members of the Board of Visitors to begin building respectful, collegial and collaborative relationships. Our goal is to establish lines of communication and explore how Wahoos4UVA can serve as an independent advisory voice grounded in the perspectives of the alumni and other engaged supporters. Our community is strong and thoughtful and has much to offer as a resource. We believe Wahoos4UVA will continue to have a useful role to play and we hope each of you will want to remain involved.

Wahoos4UVA has been consistently supported by an Advisory Council that has been pivotal in crafting and pursuing the mission of Wahoos4UVA. That group will continue to play a central role in shaping this next chapter. They will help to envision what productive alumni engagement should look like as a mission-driven organization.

This transition is an exciting one for all of us at Wahoos4UVA. We’re shifting from protest to stewardship; from emergency response to long-term care for the institution; from reacting to events to building conditions in which crises are less likely to take hold.

We are grateful to the new members of the Board of Visitors for answering the call to service. We’re equally grateful to the continuing members of the Board for their willingness to move forward and work collaboratively with the new members for the betterment of the University. Together, the new and continuing members of the Board will face difficult decisions in the coming weeks. We are confident they can chart a direction that will help the University heal from the crisis that began with Jim Ryan’s ouster, and forge a path that is worthy of this institution’s elite place in this nation.

Wahoowa!

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

Co-Chairs, Wahoos4UVA

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