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New Board member profiles

Griffin, Fay, Genovese are latest Board appointments

Gov. Bob McDonnell appointed three new members to the Board of Visitors this year. They began their terms in July.

John A. Griffin

A Commerce graduate, Griffin serves on the Board’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, Finance Committee, Student Affairs and Athletics Committee, and Committee on the University’s College at Wise. He is president and founder of Blue Ridge Capital LLC, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund based in New York City. In addition to his Board involvement, Griffin serves on the McIntire Board of Trustees and has been a visiting professor and guest speaker. In New York City, he serves on the Board of Directors for iMentor, a program that guides low-income students to successful educational paths. He is a major donor to Republican political campaigns.

“My experience so far has been very interesting,” Griffin said. “It has given me an appreciation of how complex a task it is to run the University.”

While attending the University, he lived on the Lawn and served as a University Guide.
“As a University guide I gave so many tours of the Board of Visitors room in the Rotunda that I never lose sight of how grateful I am to now sit at that impressive table,” he said.

Kevin Fay

Fay serves on the Board’s Advancement and Communications Committee, the Audit and Compliance Committee, and the Buildings and Grounds Committee. In August, Fay and former Rector Helen Dragas cast the two dissenting votes in the Board’s decision to replace AccessUVa grants to low-income students with loans in an effort to cut costs.

“The decision we made in August didn’t make AccessUVa sustainable,” Fay said in an October interview with The Daily Progress. “It’s a short-term Band-Aid that reduces costs for the next few years.”

Fay is president of Alcalde and Fay, a government and public affairs consulting firm based in Arlington, Va. A specialist in environment and energy issues, Fay has been recognized multiple times by the Environmental Protection Agency. He is a 1977 College graduate and a renowned fundraiser for many causes, including the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Catholic education and various election campaigns.

Frank Genovese

Genovese is a Darden alumnus and a Marine Corps veteran. He is president of the Rothbury Corporation, a Richmond-based investment company. Genovese supports University President Teresa Sullivan’s vision for the University.

“I am extremely impressed and pleased with the dedication and work effort of the U.Va. president and her staff,” he said. “Their goal is to keep the University of Virginia one the best universities in the world and to create and implement plans to keep us at the top.”

Before his appointment to the Board, Genovese served as a trustee on the Darden School Foundation, as well as chairman of the Darden School Foundation’s Building and Finance Committee. He awards the Genovese Fellowship annually to exemplary second-year Darden students who wish to work in operating management positions.

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