"What line will they cross next?"

Dear Wahoos4UVA Members,

Thirteen days ago, the Board of Visitors, along with a silent, complicit Governor

and Attorney General, surrendered to demands from Trump administration

operatives who threatened to “bleed them white” if they didn’t force President

Jim Ryan to resign.

Let that sink in.

Without due process or any finding of wrongdoing, our state’s highest elected

officials allowed the federal government to dictate a personnel decision at the

University of Virginia. The Board of Visitors did not even convene a meeting

before capitulating. This is not only an abdication of our state officials' and

Board members’ responsibilities as stewards of the Commonwealth and the

University, it is also an affront to the values of fairness and integrity at the heart

of the University's Honor System and Community of Trust. The Honor System

taught us to choose the hard right over the easy wrong, even if doing so comes

at great personal cost. The Board failed this fundamental test at the most

critical time for the University that we love and cherish.

The Board of Visitors took action against Ryan based on mere allegations of

wrongdoing, without demanding hard evidence, and without challenging

allegations that were and are provably false. This is an offense against

honor, UVA’s most cherished value. The Board then forced Ryan’s departure

without holding a Board meeting or a vote.

“Sic semper tyrannis”—"thus always to tyrants"—is the motto of our

Commonwealth. The motto and flag of the Commonwealth declare that those

who abuse power will be met with resistance and suffer negative

consequences. Thirteen days ago, the Governor and Attorney General lost

sight of that motto and surrendered control of the University to the political

whims of unaccountable Department of Justice bureaucrats, whose allegations

were based on unverified complaints. When those officials reportedly told the

Board of Visitors that UVA would be stripped of its federal funding unless

President Ryan resigned, the Board of Visitors capitulated without a public

meeting, without a vote, without any interrogation of the Department of

Justice’s allegations, and with embarrassing swiftness.

The Board of Visitors has abandoned its fiduciary duty to act in the best

interests of the University. This leaves UVA defenseless against political

overreach from the Trump administration. What line will the Board of Visitors

cross next in their efforts to appease the Trump administration?

• Will they allow the Department of Justice to veto — or choose — UVA’s
• next President?
• Will they abolish student self-governance?
• Will they require faculty research to be reviewed for political loyalty before it
• can be published?
• Will they demand that books expressing ideas contrary to their political
• ideologies be removed from UVA’s libraries?
• Will they revoke tenure from faculty whose scholarship is deemed too
• "woke"?
• Will they demand the expulsion of students who protest against the Trump
• administration?
• Will they wrest control over the curriculum?

The Board of Visitors has demonstrated their willingness to cross unimaginable

lines, all in a quixotic attempt to save UVA's federal funding. Anyone who has

read the news lately knows how that story ends: when you cave to the

demands of bullies, their demands never cease, and they will continue taking

until they have all they want.

The Rector and Vice Rector of the Board must be publicly called to

account for the Board’s secretive actions and their role in President

Ryan’s forced resignation. We need answers from the people who sold out

UVA.

As the co-chairs of Wahoos4UVA, we sent a list of questions to the Rector and

Vice Rector on July 3, along with an offer to share their answers to those

questions with Wahoos4UVA members. We haven’t received a response from

them yet. If and when we do, we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, we need every single one of you to attend the Faculty

Senate meeting on Friday, July 11th at 1:00 PM — President Ryan’s final

day in office. The Faculty Senate EXCO passed a resolution calling for the

Board of Visitors to come before the full Senate to answer questions about

President Ryan’s forced resignation. The Rector and Vice Rector will be

answering questions from members of the Faculty Senate during this two-hour

emergency meeting. The meeting will be held in Chemistry 402, a large

capacity lecture hall.

We need that room overflowing.

If you live outside the Charlottesville area, please register to attend online via

Zoom: https://virginia.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iBm24EDXTiS2afPPwyIy6

With resolve,

Ann Brown and Chris Ford, Co-Chairs

Wahoos4UVA

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