"UVA’s Crisis, Friday’s Meeting, and What Comes Next"

Dear Wahoos,

With so much going on at UVA, it’s easy to get distracted. The Wahoos4UVA vision statement is a good reminder of what we’re working toward:

At the University of Virginia, the pursuit of truth is fearless, Honor is lived, and the Community of Trust is impervious to political interference.

The fearless pursuit of truth inevitably involves differences of opinion regarding how that pursuit should be carried about. Wahoos4UVA supporters hold a diverse array of opinions about the agreement Interim President Mahoney signed with the Department of Justice (DOJ), and about how Wahoos4UVA should react to the signing of the agreement. 

While most of the messages we’ve received from Wahoos4UVA supporters have been positive about our last two weekly messages, we’ve heard from some folks who disagreed with our take on the DOJ agreement.  

They reminded us that Mahoney wasn’t selected as the Interim President to solve UVA’s crisis with the Department of Justice. The Board chose him for one narrow purpose: to keep the University stable until a permanent president could be hired through a national search. When viewed through that lens, his decision to sign the DOJ “standstill agreement” could be seen as an attempt to hold things in place until UVA’s tenth president is selected and can chart a course out of this conflict. While we may not always agree with the results, we acknowledge and respect Interim President Mahoney’s efforts to steady the ship during a turbulent time.

We remain concerned about the DOJ agreement.

There have been serious-minded analyses of the DOJ agreement by members of the faculty. Those analyses have reached varying conclusions about the relative risks and benefits of the agreement. We can only speculate how the implementation of the agreement will play out, but on balance, we think the risks outweigh the rewards that some argue flow from the agreement.

But the DOJ agreement is a symptom, not the cause, of UVA’s deeper governance crisis.

An Improperly Constituted Board

Because of partisan obstruction, the Board composition is no longer congruent with Virginia law. Senate Democrats offered to work with the Governor to identify mutually acceptable nominees, but reportedly, the Governor refused.  Despite being improperly constituted, the Board has continued to move forward with the presidential search as if nothing were amiss.

Now the Board seems to be rushing to select a president at the December 4–5 Board meeting, just weeks before Governor-elect Spanberger takes office and restores the Board’s lawful composition. This should set off alarm bells. What else could this timing mean except that the current leadership intends to install a president ideologically aligned with their own vision and that of the outgoing Governor?

UVA deserves better. The University’s next president must be chosen through a legitimate, transparent process, not one rushed through by an improperly constituted Board seeking to cement political control.  The long term health and welfare of the University is at stake and this should warrant a thorough, complete and very thoughtful process, not one that is heavily influenced by the political philosophy of a lame-duck Governor.  

Remember, the process for selecting the ninth University president took nine months – seven months after community engagement sessions began. The process for selecting the tenth president was initiated less than four months ago.

The Rector and Vice Rector must be held accountable.

The Board of Visitors’ own Statement of Visitor Responsibilities makes clear that Board members must actively safeguard academic freedom, protect the University from improper outside influence, and uphold a fiduciary duty to act in UVA’s best interests. Yet, during the October 24 Faculty Senate meeting, the faculty representative to the Board, Jim Lambert, confirmed publicly that Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson never informed the full Board of the DOJ agreement’s terms before authorizing Interim President Mahoney to sign it and announcing it to the media. In doing so, Sheridan and Wilkinson deprived the Board of its collective duty to govern transparently and responsibly — and also deprived the faculty’s representative of the ability to fulfill his obligation to advocate for faculty interests. The Rector and Vice Rector’s continued refusal to answer questions from the Faculty Senate only underscores the pattern. 

Until Rector Sheridan and Vice Rector Wilkinson resign, no action this Board takes will have legitimacy.

Shortly after President Ryan’s forced resignation, both the Faculty Senate and Student Council passed votes of no confidence against the entire Board of Visitors. Since that time, the Rector and Vice Rector’s actions have further eroded confidence in the Board. Many Wahoos4UVA supporters have told us they hope Governor-elect Spanberger will “wipe out” the entire Board of Visitors and appoint all new members, but we don’t think that’s necessary or wise.  What’s needed is for good people of conscience on the Board to speak up.

We believe most Board members want their time on the Board to be remembered for something other than being part of a governing body that lost the confidence of the UVA community. Board members have an opportunity to restore confidence in the Board, stabilize the University, and be on the right side of UVA’s history, though: they can encourage Rachel Sheridan and Porter Wilkinson to resign from the Board. 

UVA’s tenth president should not be selected by Rachel Sheridan and Porter Wilkinson.

We’ve been told the Search Committee is expected to narrow down the pool to three finalists next week after they interview the candidates in DC.  Once the Search Committee gives Rector Sheridan and Vice Rector Wilkinson the names of their three finalists, there’s nothing to stop the Rector and Vice Rector from naming a new president. Members of the General Assembly have urged the Rector and Vice Rector to slow down the search, but to no avail. Yesterday, the New York Times broke the news that Governor-elect Spanberger has asked the Rector and Vice Rector to delay naming a new president until after new Board members have been confirmed by the General Assembly.

If the Board pushes through a presidential appointment before Governor-elect Spanberger has time to rebuild confidence in the Board’s composition, it will be seen for exactly what it is: an attempt to lock in a president while Governor Youngkin’s influence still dominates the Board. Governor-elect Spanberger has clearly articulated her intent to depoliticize BOV appointments.  We hope the Search Committee will refrain from naming three finalists until after Governor-elect Spanberger has been inaugurated.

Tune in for Friday’s Faculty Senate meeting!

We encourage every Wahoos4UVA supporter to tune in to the upcoming Faculty Senate meeting on Friday, November 14th at 2:00 p.m. Interim President Mahoney has agreed to speak directly to the Senate. Meanwhile, the Rector and Vice Rector have once again declined to appear or answer questions.

Given everything unfolding right now, this meeting is already shaping up to be electric. It’s a rare chance to watch shared governance in action and to see, firsthand, the leadership choices being made in real time.

Register to watch via Zoom

As always, we’ll keep you informed. And we’ll keep working–constructively, strategically, and passionately—to defend UVA’s future.

With gratitude and determination,

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

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