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Despite vocal calls to stop the search for UVA's new president, the Board of Visitors is pushing ahead
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Government and public institutions
Despite vocal calls to stop the search for UVA’s new president, the Board of Visitors is pushing ahead
by Allie Pitchon
December 16, 2025
The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors is pushing ahead with its search for the university’s 10th president , despite facing numerous votes of no confidence and calls to stop the search until Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger is inaugurated on Jan. 14, 2026.
On Nov. 12, Spanberger sent a letter to Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson, stating that the Board’s actions “have severely undermined the public’s and the University community’s confidence in the Board’s ability to govern productively, transparently, and in the best interests of the University.”
She asked the Board not to name a new president until she has appointed — and the General Assembly has confirmed — five new members so that the Board is in compliance with Virginia law, which requires the Board to have 17 members, including at least 12 Virginia residents and 12 UVA alumni. (There are currently 12 Board members, including 9 Virginia residents and 9 UVA alumni.) Spanberger added that she will make her appointments soon after her inauguration.
Two days later, UVA’s Faculty Senate passed a resolution echoing Spanberger’s request to pause the search until all Board seats are filled. The resolution also called for Sheridan’s and Wilkinson’s resignation. ... But on Nov. 21, the 28-person Special Committee on the Nomination of a President — established by the Board in late July to help select Jim Ryan’s replacement — said in two letters to the Faculty Senate that it would continue the search, adding that it had already completed the first round of interviews for the position.
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Government and public institutions
Despite vocal calls to stop the search for UVA’s new president, the Board of Visitors is pushing ahead
by Allie Pitchon
December 16, 2025
The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors is pushing ahead with its search for the university’s 10th president , despite facing numerous votes of no confidence and calls to stop the search until Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger is inaugurated on Jan. 14, 2026.
On Nov. 12, Spanberger sent a letter to Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson, stating that the Board’s actions “have severely undermined the public’s and the University community’s confidence in the Board’s ability to govern productively, transparently, and in the best interests of the University.”
She asked the Board not to name a new president until she has appointed — and the General Assembly has confirmed — five new members so that the Board is in compliance with Virginia law, which requires the Board to have 17 members, including at least 12 Virginia residents and 12 UVA alumni. (There are currently 12 Board members, including 9 Virginia residents and 9 UVA alumni.) Spanberger added that she will make her appointments soon after her inauguration.
Two days later, UVA’s Faculty Senate passed a resolution echoing Spanberger’s request to pause the search until all Board seats are filled. The resolution also called for Sheridan’s and Wilkinson’s resignation. ... But on Nov. 21, the 28-person Special Committee on the Nomination of a President — established by the Board in late July to help select Jim Ryan’s replacement — said in two letters to the Faculty Senate that it would continue the search, adding that it had already completed the first round of interviews for the position.
{snip}
Report: Beardsley top candidate to be new UVA president
News Staff 11 hrs ago
Scott Beardsley, the dean of UVA's Darden School of Business since 2015, has emerged as the top pick to become the university's 10th president.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Scott Beardsley, the dean of UVA's Darden School of Business since 2015, has emerged as the top pick to become the university's 10th president, according to a report in The Washington Post. ... The Board of Visitors is likely to vote to appoint Beardsley to succeed Jim Ryan when it meets on Friday.
Ryan, who had been UVA's president since 2018, stepped down in July under pressure from the federal government. Paul Mahoney has led the university on an interim basis since then.
Beardsley holds a doctorate in higher education management from Penn. He earned an MBA from MIT and a BS in electrical engineering from Tufts. He is originally from Maine.
{snip}
News Staff 11 hrs ago
Scott Beardsley, the dean of UVA's Darden School of Business since 2015, has emerged as the top pick to become the university's 10th president.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Scott Beardsley, the dean of UVA's Darden School of Business since 2015, has emerged as the top pick to become the university's 10th president, according to a report in The Washington Post. ... The Board of Visitors is likely to vote to appoint Beardsley to succeed Jim Ryan when it meets on Friday.
Ryan, who had been UVA's president since 2018, stepped down in July under pressure from the federal government. Paul Mahoney has led the university on an interim basis since then.
Beardsley holds a doctorate in higher education management from Penn. He earned an MBA from MIT and a BS in electrical engineering from Tufts. He is originally from Maine.
{snip}