Category: Education (higher ed)
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Jeri Seidman Must Resign
Before her appointment as faculty representative to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, the then-chair of the Faculty Senate manipulated the student council president to advance her campaign against the previous board. by the Jefferson Council UVA’s Faculty Senate has spent the better part of the last year delivering lectures on transparency, trust, and…
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Alleged: Scott Told VMI to Boot Board Members or Suffer State Funding Cuts
The Cadet staff Virginia’s House Speaker demanded the resignation or change of roles of two Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors (BOV) members or suffer budget consequences, allege sources with direct knowledge of the threat. Lt. Gen. David Furness’s continuance as superintendent is conditioned on compliance. The Cadet is investigating, has submitted formal questions, and…
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Gordon K. Davies, RIP
by Gordon C. Morse I learned earlier today of the death of Gordon K. Davies, the former head of the State Council for Higher Education. He was ousted from that post almost 30 years ago, and Virginia was the less for it. Occasionally, the commonwealth attracts brilliance to its service, and Gordon was brilliant enough…
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Good News for Medical Research in Virginia
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Remember that edict by the Trump administration capping the indirect costs portion of grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at 15 percent? There was vigorous discussion of that announcement on this blog, with many commentators supporting the move. Well, the Trump administration has given up on that effort. As soon as…
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UVA’s New Quarterly Compliance Report
by the Jefferson Council The second quarterly compliance report from the October 22, 2025 agreement between the Department of Justice and UVA is the first certification done by President Scott Beardsley, signed on March 31, 2026. It’s worth noting what’s new and what’s not in this installment.
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DREAM On
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Virginia law provides that a student attending a public institution of higher education shall be eligible for in-state tuition, regardless of citizenship or immigration status if the following conditions are met: Federal law provides: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall…
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Ex-Cadet Behind Attacks on VMI Has Activist History
Jeremiah Woods has been a left-wing activist since high school with questionable credibility. by Victoria Manning The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) has been under fire from Virginia Democrats who introduced legislation that could significantly change the school’s oversight structure. These bills follow allegations of racism by a former black cadet and left-wing activist Jeremiah Woods, who transferred…
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Collective Bargaining Will Only Further Divide Virginia’s Universities
by Derrick A. Max Cardinal News ran my guest column this morning warning that collective bargaining at Virginia’s public universities will only further deepen the political divides that are undermining Virginia’s once esteemed system of higher education. The push to unionize university workers in Virginia is not about increased pay, better working conditions, or fairness. Beneath…
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VMI Under Siege
The fight for military excellence is only beginning. by Bronson Winslow After regaining full control of Virginia’s government in November, Democrats swiftly abandoned their carefully cultivated image of moderation. Already by January they had begun advancing sweeping ideological priorities, with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates at the forefront. Among their most prominent targets was…
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Hazing Revisited
by Buddy Weber Last week, the Free Press published an article by Catherine Morrissette, “Why Hazing Makes Better Men.” The impetus for the article was the release of some police body cam footage of an initiation ritual in the basement of a fraternity at the University of Iowa. The footage went viral and the responses…
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191 UVA Faculty Materially Mislead the UVA Community
by The Jefferson Council Prejudiced professors fail to do their homework A letter signed by 191 University of Virginia faculty members accuses the Board of Visitors of running a “sham” process, engaging in “hasty” behavior, and conducting a “secretive” search in selecting Scott Beardsley as UVA’s next President. These are serious charges leveled against serious people.…
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Cadet Crisis: VMI’s Culture on Trial
Proposed legislation reopens questions into the validity of the state’s investigation into VMI student culture. by Jackson Doane It’s commonly said that good fences make good neighbors. Between Washington and Lee (W&L) and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), nothing separates us but a short walk, yet we have long been good neighbors. So when news…
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Time to End the Baseless Attacks on UVA’s Presidential Search
by The Jefferson Council If you have listened to some of the continuous, repetitive commentary surrounding UVA’s recent presidential search, you might be led to believe it was some kind of rushed, politicized backroom maneuver. The facts and the truth tell a totally different story. In fact, the search committee was the broadest and most…