Tag: University of Virginia
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DEI by Any Other Name Is Just as Noxious
Did UVA eliminate DEI or merely rebrand it? by the Jefferson Council For over a decade, successive UVA administrations spent millions of dollars building one of the most extensive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracies in American higher education. A 2021 survey ranked UVA second among major universities in the number of DEI employees, and…
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Former UVA President’s Sabbatical Raises Governance Questions
by Scott Douglas Gerber When former University of Virginia President Jim Ryan recently sat for a friendly interview with Cville Right Now, he sounded delighted to be off the clock. He described mornings spent writing a leadership book; afternoons kite surfing, skiing, golfing, biking and traveling; and he joked, “I’m really good at not working.” The joke…
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Drip, Drip, Drip
The truth slowly emerges about what UVA leaders knew about the Health System scandal. by The Jefferson Council A bombshell disclosure in a recent FOIA proceeding reveals that UVA’s Board of Visitors, led by Robert Hardie, quietly retained Williams & Connolly (W&C) as “special counsel to the BOV and the Audit, Compliance, and Risk Committee…
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Still Addicted to Opacity in Governance
From The Jefferson Council: The UVA BOV will have their Quarterly Board Meeting on Thursday and Friday, June 4-5. UVA still has *NOT* published the agenda or Board materials, only a schedule. You can find that here. The Quarterly Board meeting will be followed by a retreat on Saturday at Morven, with sessions on:*Accountability &…
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The More Things Change at UVA, the More They Stay the Same
Despite the shake-up in leadership at the University of Virginia, at least one senior administrator regards Thomas Jefferson with antipathy. Kenyon Bonner, chief student affairs officer at the University of Virginia, delivered the keynote address to the graduating class of 2026 during Final Exercises. The Daily Progress provided this excerpt: “Graduates, you symbolize the possibilities…
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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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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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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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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…
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Larry Sabato for UVA President
by Scott Gerber On June 13, 2017, I published an op-ed in the Charlottesville Daily Progress nominating professor Larry Sabato to be the ninth president of the University of Virginia. Jim Ryan was selected instead. The seemingly never-ending scandals that have unfolded at UVA in recent years demonstrate the Board of Visitors should have picked Sabato. Indeed, Sabato…
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The Cabal Is at It Again
Written by the Jefferson Council A rumor circulated this week claiming that the Board of Visitors has developed a short list of candidates for a future University presidency, despite the recent appointment of Scott Beardsley. At the top of the list allegedly is Risa Goluboff, former Dean of UVA Law from 2016 – 2024. After…
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But, of Course, Youngkin Was the One Who Politicized Higher-Ed Governance
From the New York Times: “The head of the board overseeing the University of Virginia and two other top board members, including a major donor to the school, resigned on Friday under pressure from the state’s incoming Democratic governor, according to two people briefed on the matter and letters obtained by The New York Times.…
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Mr. Beardsley Goes to Richmond
Newly appointed UVA President Scott Beardsley (appearing at the 1:06 point in the video) looks old, tired, and drained in his testimony before the General Assembly. Based on this performance, the odds of him standing up to lawmakers’ demands appear to be roughly zero. Interesting question: Will legislators decide to keep him, thinking that he…