UVA begins process of selecting interim president in wake of Ryan’s resignation

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The University of Virginia is moving forward in its effort to select an interim president, now that former President Jim Ryan has officially resigned his post.

With Jennifer “J.J.” Wagner Davis now acting President, UVA says it is turning to the community to decide who will become the interim.

The process comes as faculty are still calling on the University and the Board of Visitors for more transparency when it comes to the circumstances surrounding Ryan’s resignation. Just last Friday, the UVA Faculty Senate adopted a vote of “no confidence” in the Board through an emergency meeting that also featured conversations with Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson.

“The problem here is a lack of transparency,” said Erik Linstrum, a history professor at UVA. “We have the performance of involvement; we have the performance and the appearance of shared governance. We have no evidence that that’s actually going to be enacted in a meaningful way.”

Linstrum is one of 401 faculty who signed a letter to the Board of Visitors, which has also now appeared in the Cavalier Daily as an opinion piece. The main priority, Linstrum says, is to call on the Board for answers about why Ryan resigned and what role the Board played.

“We need answers, we need an independent investigation, rather than the Board investigating itself,” Linstrum said. “I feel, and many of my colleagues feel that we can’t begin to move forward as an institution until we have answers to some of those questions that will help to restore trust.”

Meanwhile, UVA has initiated the next steps for selecting an interim president, most recently launching an online nomination form, where community members can pitch who they think would best fill the role and why.

“It’s important that the University community get an opportunity to share the qualities for an interim president that are important to them,” said UVA spokesperson Bethanie Glover. “We’ll be looking for their feedback and their input in that nomination form and these listening and engagement sessions, and certainly in the process of selecting the tenth president in the future.”

When asked if there is a specific set of criteria that an interim candidate would need to fulfill, Glover said she would need to check.

UVA will also be hosting “listening sessions” with “a wide swath of University constituents, including UVA and UVA Health faculty and staff, Academic Division leaders and students.” 29News asked Glover for details on how many sessions they are planning to host and when they will be, but she did not provide any further information.

“These listening and engagement opportunities are very important to us in this process, and we hope that people will participate,” Glover said.

But Linstrum says faculty need much more than just listening.

“A listening session really doesn’t mean very much,” Linstrum said. “It certainly doesn’t mean that there’s going to be actual faculty or staff involvement in choosing a new president.”

Linstrum added that he hopes the Faculty Senate will be invited to nominate their pick for an interim, or for the finalists for that position to be shared with at least the Senate’s Executive Committee.

Though it won’t be permanent, UVA faculty have frequently emphasized the importance of picking a strong interim president.

“The top priority for the university now is to stabilize the crisis,” Linstrum said. “We need someone who is deeply tied to the university, who has been here for a long time, who understands the institution from the inside, who knows what it’s like to do research here, to teach students here. Picking someone from the inside is especially important for an interim president to defend the university from these outside threats.”

29News reached out to Jeri Seidman, the Chair of the UVA Faculty Senate for comment. She says the Executive Council and the Representation and Governance Committee drafted a process they are recommending to the Rector and Vice Rector, which includes a timeline, suggestions for who should compose the search committee, the groups who should be involved in the listening sessions, guiding principles for the process, and baseline characteristics for the interim.

The stakes, Linstrum says, are higher than ever.

“We’re in a very dangerous moment,” Linstrum said. “If we do allow this to happen here, without protest...it will happen at other universities.”

The nomination form is open for submissions until July 25 at 5 p.m.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.