"Why We Asked the Presidential Search Committee to Pause the Search"

Dear Wahoos4UVA supporters,

This time last year, President Jim Ryan was enthusiastically helping new Hoos

move into their dorm rooms. Load after load of gear, he never stopped smiling

and laughing with incoming students and their families. He loved welcoming

students to their new home at UVA, and to his family’s home at Carr’s Hill.

This year, though, things are different.

Instead of moving students into their dorms, Jim just finished moving his family

out of Carr’s Hill. The absence of Jim and his family is palpable: after seven

years of Jim and Katie “keeping the light on” for thousands of UVA students

and alumni, Carr’s Hill has reverted to being just another red brick building on

Grounds.

Loss of a President, Loss of Trust

Under Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson, the Board of

Visitors has suffered an unprecedented collapse in trust, earning votes of no

confidence from the Faculty Senate, General Faculty Council, Student Council,

and UVA’s chapter of the AAUP. Despite these extraordinary rebukes, Sheridan

and Wilkinson have yet to answer questions about their role in the DOJ

investigation and negotiations that led to President Ryan’s forced resignation.

Losing the confidence of every major governing body is not symbolic. It is a

declaration that the Board can no longer be trusted to act in UVA’s best

interests. A Board without trust is a Board without legitimacy. And without

legitimacy, it cannot credibly conduct a national search for UVA’s 10th

president.

Although we’ve lost trust in the Board, we haven’t lost hope that members of

the Presidential Search Committee will do the right thing and insist the search

be paused until trust in the Board has been restored. That’s why we wrote to

the Committee earlier this week.

In our letter, we made clear that:

• The Board that appointed them lost the trust of UVA’s governance
• bodies and has not made efforts to regain it. The Faculty Senate,
• General Faculty Council, and Student Council have all issued votes of “no
• confidence” in the BOV. The Rector and Vice Rector have failed to answer
• questions about the BOV’s response to the Department of Justice (DOJ)
• letters, the circumstances of President Ryan’s forced resignation, the
• rationale for or potential terms of entering into a “voluntary resolution
• agreement” with the DOJ, or the urgency of rushing to hire a permanent
• presidential replacement. Beginning a search while the Board remains
• under a cloud of suspicion is deeply unwise and rushing it will only sow
• further distrust.
• The membership of the Board that appointed them is uncertain. The
• BOV is under a court order disallowing at least one nominated candidate
• from serving. Several new nominees, including some now seated on the
• Search Committee, have not yet been confirmed by the General Assembly.
• The Board that appointed them was told by the General Assembly not
• to proceed with the search. Leaders of Virginia’s General Assembly have
• warned the Rector and Vice Rector not to proceed until the BOV answers
• questions about its actions and until conflicts over representation are
• resolved. Ignoring these directives risks aggravating tensions among the
• BOV, University leadership, and elected officials.
• The Board that appointed them failed to prioritize the University’s
• academic mission. The committee has numerous Board members, but
• undergraduate students and deans have minimal representation. The
• College of Arts & Sciences, our largest school, is nearly absent. Neither the
• Faculty Senate Chair nor any humanities faculty were appointed.
• The outcome of a search conducted by this Board is doomed. No
• credible candidate would want to work for a Board that failed to protect, and
• forced out, President Ryan, and that has lost the trust of students and
• faculty alike. Any president hired through this search will lack the legitimacy
• and support needed to govern effectively.

In short, we told the Presidential Search Committee that a presidential search

conducted by this Board, under these conditions, cannot possibly succeed.

The only responsible step is to pause the process until trust, transparency, and

legitimacy are restored.

You can read the full text of our letter here: Read the Letter

In the News

We don’t usually share news articles with you in our weekly messages, but

UVA alum Greg Easley published a piece in Airmail that has created a lot of

buzz. Airmail graciously agreed to provide Wahoos4UVA supporters with a link

to read the article for free. You can read “How to Destroy a University” here:

Read the Article

What You Can Do This Week

Come to Grounds for the “We Are UVA” rally on Tuesday, August 26th at 4:30

p.m. — Student Council and Faculty Senate are co-hosting “We are UVA,” a rally to

celebrate the first day of classes and the vibrant community we create together

—faculty, staff, and students who live, work, and learn together on Grounds.

Through every challenge in recent years, faculty and staff have continued to

teach, mentor, and support students who in turn grow, form lifelong friendships,

and become citizen leaders. Together, WE embody the spirit of UVA every

single day. Parents and alumni are encouraged to join in honoring this shared

commitment.

As always, we are grateful for your support and resolve. Together, we will keep

pressing for accountability, transparency, and the protection of our University

against political interference.

With dedication and resolve,

Ann Brown (College ’74, Law ’77)

Chris Ford (Engineering ’87)

Co-Chairs, Wahoos4UVA

www.Wahoos4UVA.com

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