Governor-elect Spanberger pushes UVA to pause presidential selection

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - A week after winning election to be Virginia’s next governor, Abigail Spanberger has called on UVA leadership to halt its efforts to select its next president.

In a letter to Board of Visitors Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson, Spanberger says the Board has lost the public’s and the university community’s confidence. She also says five Board members have not been confirmed in the General Assembly in violation of statutory requirements.

“Accordingly, I urge you to refrain from rushing this search process and from selecting the finalists for the presidency or a president until the Board is at full complement and in statutory compliance,” Spanberger wrote in the letter, “meaning that I have appointed and the General Assembly has confirmed new Board members.”

Spanberger pointed to votes of no confidence from students, and faculty to illustrate the university community’s attitude toward the Board of Visitors’ decision to assemble a 28-person search committee intended to find UVA’s next president. In its statement of no confidence, the UVA chapter of the American Association of University Professors said only a small fraction of the search committee was represented by faculty and none were selected by faculty.

“As it will be a priority of my administration to stabilize and normalize the leadership of our public colleges and universities,” Spanberger wrote, “I will make appointments soon after my inauguration.”

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