Dear Wahoos,
When the UVA Board of Visitors convened last week, Rector Rachel Sheridan dismissed legitimate concern about the Board’s conduct these last many months as “divisive politics” and “attacks” that “get in the way of UVA’s mission” and are “sadly aimed to paralyze everyone’s efforts to do what’s right for UVA.”
Soon after, the small alumni group that paid for full-page ads calling for Jim Ryan’s firing earlier this year published an essay arguing “the leadership of UVA’s Faculty Senate have in essence become avatars of politicized, partisan advocacy rather than a voice for academic excellence.” (We won’t link to the essay: unfounded hit pieces don’t deserve more oxygen).
The facts are these: in the 2012 governance crisis, the Faculty Senate’s principled, forceful stand saved this University. And in 2025, UVA is once again fortunate to have a faculty governing body courageous enough to speak truth to power. We hope neither the Rector’s comments nor smear campaigns will intimidate the Faculty Senate into silence.
Public service on a governing board does not confer immunity from critique. Members of the University community have the right to criticize the Board’s actions and ask questions about them. UVA deserves leadership confident enough to face the community’s scrutiny and principled and transparent enough to deserve the community’s trust.
The Presidential Search
It appears that the Board of Visitors is poised to select finalists, if not attempt to elect a president, before inauguration day. The Rector and Vice Rector have called a special meeting of the Presidential Search Committee for Thursday, December 11. We also understand that second-round interviews will be held in Washington, D.C. this weekend, and the Board has just announced they will be holding special meetings of the Board of Visitors on December 19 and January 6 to discuss candidates for the presidency. Neither of those meetings will be live streamed, and both meetings are scheduled on days when the vast majority of students are off Grounds.
Selecting a president in such a rushed fashion, without legitimate questions answered about this Board’s conduct and methods, would ensure UVA’s next president begins their tenure with no legitimacy, no mandate, and no trust from the University they are meant to lead. Even the most impressive candidate could not* overcome the stigma of having been chosen by a Board whose own authority is now openly questioned by faculty, students, staff, alumni, and the incoming Governor.
No leader — no matter how gifted — can succeed when their appointment is viewed as the product of a rushed, contested, questioned and compromised process. That is not a burden any president could carry, and it is not a burden UVA should impose on its tenth president.
Register to Watch Friday’s Faculty Senate Meeting
The Faculty Senate will be meeting on Friday, December 12 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. We encourage you to register to watch the meeting online: https://virginia.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Fg6SLCAtSsGmcMzeRQfplQ
Please join us in watching. The more our community leans in, the stronger andmore resilient UVA becomes. Together, we’re charting a better path forward.
With determination and resolve,
Ann Brown (College ‘74, Law ‘77) and Chris Ford (Engineering ‘87)
In The News
Ann Brown & Chris Ford. The Cavalier Daily. “BROWN AND FORD: U.Va.’s Board of Visitors cannot escape accountability with silence.” https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/brown-and-ford-uvas-board-of-visitors-cannot-escape-accountability-with-silence
Michael King. The Cavalier Daily. “KING: The absurdity of Wilkinson’s veto.” https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/king-the-absurdity-of-wilkinsons-veto
Cecilia Mould. The Cavalier Daily. “Full Board hears from Mahoney on Justice Department agreement and research at U.Va.” https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/full-board-hears-from-mahoney-on-justice-department-agreement-and-research-at-uva
Editorial Board. The Cavalier Daily. “EDITORIAL: A university president guarded from his constituents cannot lead them.” https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/editorial-a-university-president-guarded-from-his-constituents-cannot-lead-them
Kate Nuechterlein. 29News. “UVA Board of Visitors holds final meeting of the year amid tensions on Grounds.” https://www.29news.com/2025/12/06/uva-board-visitors-holds-final-meeting-year-amid-tensions-grounds/
Cecilia Mould. The Cavalier Daily. “Sources say the provost search this spring was ‘unusual.’ Here’s why.” https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/sources-say-the-provost-search-this-spring-was-unusual-heres-why
Other ways to take action
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