![](https://www.baconsrebellion.com/app/uploads/2024/05/DePasquale-150x150.png)
by James A. Bacon
A year ago, University of Virginia Board member Bert Ellis was called to task for referring — in private text to two fellow board members — to his UVA critics as “numnuts.” He also referred to unnamed employees in President Jim Ryan’s office as “shmucks,” and expressed disappointment in the leadership of then-Rector Whitt Clement. The pejoratives, which were mild compared to the accusations of racism and homophobia to which he had been subjected, were deemed so insensitive that The Washington Post devoted a full-length article to the topic.
As the minutes of the March 1-3 board meeting laconically recorded, “Mr. Ellis then apologized for the texts; he said they were private and confidential messages that were still out of place.”
This April Thomas DePasquale, an eight-year board veteran, unleashed a torrent of vitriol against Ellis in a series of draft letters distributed to Rector Robert Hardie, former Rector Frank “Rusty” Conner, board Secretary Susan Harris, and perhaps others. (All emails to President Jim Ryan obtained through the Freedom of Information Act were redacted.) After getting feedback, he blasted out to the full board a toned-down version asking for Ellis’ resignation. (more…)