by the Jefferson Council
A number of recent mysterious events have brought into the open serious concerns involving the issues of transparency and accountabilityโtwo topics that have been subjects of repeated controversy by various elements of the University community. As devotees of Conan Doyle and the sleuth of Baker Street, we have put on our deerstalkers and utilizing deductive reasoning combined with the testimony of credible sources have reached conclusions of the utmost importance to our University:
1. The Mystery of the Missing Meeting: Was there Governmental Interference in the Selection of our New Rector?
Anyone who regularly follows UVA Board of Visitor (BOV) meetings knows that the BOV meets quarterly, with the meeting spanning two days, usually a Thursday and Friday. Last week, the BOV held its first meeting of 2026, which was also the first meeting of the Board after Governor Spanberger engineered her hostile takeover of the Board. What made this meeting unusual from the outset, is that it was the first time in the history of the Commonwealth that a newly elected governor had previously appointed a controlling number of Board membersโin this case 10 of 17. However, this was not the only unusual aspect of this Board meeting.
As noted above, BOV meetings generally span two days and include reports from most of the standing committees of the Board including the Academic and Student Life, Buildings and Grounds, Advancement, Finance, College at Wise, and Audit, Compliance and Risk committees. Last weekโs BOV met for only one day and heard reports from only one committee. To paraphrase a question asked each year at the Passover SederโโWhy was this Board meeting di๏ฌerent than all other regularly scheduled Board Meetings?โ
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