UVA community split over how to move forward with leadership on Grounds

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The controversial appointment of Scott Beardsley as the University of Virginia’s 10th president is sparking a divide among certain groups on Grounds.

The new president, who replaced former President Jim Ryan in Madison Hall, was appointed unanimously by a Board of Visitors and through a presidential search that many students, faculty, and staff argued was illegitimate and rushed.

But groups that were once on the same page in opposing the process are now split on how to move forward with the result.

Student council passed a resolution in support of President Beardsley in the interest of preserving “institutional stability,” while still expressing concern over the “lack of meaningful collaboration” during the search to appoint him.

“By no means do we give the Board of Visitors an out here, [nor] are we giving President Beardsley an out, we’re more so acknowledging that the path forward is most likely to involve him,” Student Council President Clay Dickerson told 29News. “How can we make the most of that?”

But there’s already been some condemnation of the resolution from some faculty, specifically when it comes to money that has been promised to Student Council.

Both Dickerson and UVA confirmed that, shortly after he was appointed president, Beardsley reached out to Dickerson to set up a meeting, which took place on January 23. During that meeting, the new president committed to financing multiple initiatives, including $500,000 over two years to the Student Council and Access Services Branch through part of Fiscal Year 2029.

“He reached out, we met, I worked for a couple weeks preparing my asks, I consulted with dozens and dozens of students figuring out what would mean the most to them,” Dickerson said.

UVA confirmed with 29News that this was a program former President Ryan supported financially, and that Beardsley has simply agreed to continue funding it. The money is primarily allotted for low-income students - Dickerson measures that at least 1,500 students rely on these services - and helps them acquire textbooks, appropriate wardrobes for job interviews, and mutual aid.

Beardsley also agreed to continue support for student events like Lighting of the Lawn and Trick or Treating on the Lawn, to work to increase mental health service accessibility on Grounds, and to join the effort to increase affordable student housing.

The exchange, though, has drawn in criticism from some faculty. The Daily Progress reported earlier this week that George Mentore, the President of the UVA Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, pointed to a quid pro quo.

“When asked if the Student Council resolution could break the bloc that had once opposed Beardsley and the board, Mentore said that’s “exactly what Beardsley wanted by coming in and bribing (the Student Council) into supporting him. I think that’s exactly what he’s doing,’” the Progress article reads.

29News reached out to Mentore and Walt Heinecke, the Immediate Past President of the UVA chapter of the AAUP, for an interview on Tuesday, but neither was available. We asked Mentore for a statement but did not receive one.

Mentore joins 201 faculty who have called for a revocation of Beardsley’s appointment as president, citing a lack of “legitimacy” in the process.

Charles Mathewes, a religion professor at UVA and one of the organizers of the concerned faculty letter, told 29News in a statement that they want to see a significant investigation into how exactly Beardsley was selected as a candidate and ultimately chosen to lead the university.

“For the good of the University, now and going forward, the new BoV must uncover what has happened that led to these hasty and improper processes, and also it must pause the Provost search and restart the Presidential search,” Mathewes wrote. “Scott Beardsley can certainly stand as a candidate in that search—his credentials, while untraditional, are substantive—but the process must proceed as all previous Presidential searches in the past half-century have done."

In a statement similar to Mentore’s, Mathewes also denounced the agreement that Student Council made with Beardsley.

“I don’t know what is more demoralizing, that Mr. Beardsley would imagine students would accept so frank a transaction, or that they would so eagerly confirm his expectations,” Mathewes told 29News.

But Student Council has pushed back, defending the resolution.

“It’s disrespectful,” Imane Akhanous, Chair of the Student Council’s Representative Body, said of the claim. “I can say with complete and 100% confidence that it was not a bribery.”

Akhanous emphasized that the Representative Body is responsible for writing, editing, and ultimately voting on legislation, which she says is independent from the “internal functions” of Student Council.

The resolution passed in support of Beardsley, Akhanous says, was drafted before Dickerson’s meeting.

“I was unaware of Clay’s meeting with Beardsley until two days after the resolution was written, prepared, and sent out,” Akhanous said.

Dickerson says he asked the Council to wait until the meeting with Beardsley was complete to pass any resolutions. After learning of Beardsley’s commitment to student initiatives, Akhanous says, they amended the language of the resolution to more explicitly express support for Beardsley.

“[The resolution] states that we were very much concerned with the process in which Beardsley was selected, the timeline in which he was selected...but Beardsley is in now, and looking forward in the near future, we do not think he will be leaving anytime soon,” Akhanous said. “Our goal with the resolution was to convey that while we do not agree with the process, we have to look forward to the future and see what we can do for students, how to serve them.”

What Student Council wants, though, stands in contrast to the resolution the UVA Faculty Senate passed in January, calling for the newly constructed Board of Visitors to conduct an investigation into Beardsley’s appointment and then determine the best path forward.

“Their resolution does differ significantly, but I think there are a number of reasons why,” Faculty Senate Chair Jeri Seidman said. “25% of their time on Grounds has been disrupted. That feels a lot more dramatic to them. Many of us have been here for a long time, so we see a longer horizon. They’re also younger, and I think faculty need to consider what their role is in mentoring and guiding them before simply criticizing them.”

Even among faculty, there’s disagreement over how to proceed, Seidman says.

“Some faculty are tired of upheaval,” Seidman said. “Other faculty strongly believe that because they didn’t trust the Board, they can’t trust the outcome of the process.”

In mid-January, five members of the Board - including the Rector and Vice Rector - resigned under pressure from Governor Abigail Spanberger. The new Governor then appointed ten new members to the Board.

In order to hire or fire a president, the Board would need two-thirds of the Board, or 12 members, something that students like Dickerson believe is unrealistic, but what some faculty argue is necessary.

“The decision to appoint Mr. Beardsley under these circumstances risks long-term reputational harm to the university,” Brian Owensby, a history professor at UVA and another member of the Concerned Faculty group wrote in a statement to 29News. “For the good of the university, this should not be allowed to stand. The old Board raced to an appointment for purely political reasons: they knew that a new governor would see their actions for what they were. The new Board must see this for what it is and act to correct it.”

Despite the current divide among students and faculty over how to proceed, Dickerson says he will be meeting with Mentore this week and is hoping the groups can once again become united. He added that Student Council’s support of Beardsley is dependent on the president continuing to meet with different groups across Grounds, and not just the “usual suspects.”

“I expect transparency to an extreme,” Dickerson said.

29News also reached out to the United Campus Workers of Virginia at UVA for this piece for its perspective, but the group declined an interview.

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