The Virginia State Conference NAACP executive committee passed a resolution Saturday calling for Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R) to remove Terence P. Ross from the University's Board of Visitors.
Last week Ross said "we are clearly in some cases reaching a little bit down our academic standards" when recruiting black students.
The civil rights group's resolution states that Ross' comments are "disparaging" and the Board must "disassociate itself" from them.
Ross declined to respond to the NAACP, and called the resolution "nothing more than a publicity stunt to get them some more press."
But Julian Bond, NAACP chairman and University history professor, said Ross is underestimating the resolution's impact.
The NAACP "is 90 years old, we don't need to say things to get our names in the paper," Bond said. "We have a long record of defending democracy and we have no need to respond to idiotic statements like that."
The Virginia Conference of the NAACP passed the resolution at its quarterly meeting Saturday because members felt Ross' statement "has no place in this society," said Salim Khalfani, executive director of the Virginia Conference of the NAACP.
In the past few weeks the University's policy of using race as a factor in admissions has been the subject of much controversy. The NAACP, among other organizations, claim the Board plans on eliminating the consideration of race in admissions due to increasing legal pressure from conservative interest groups threatening to sue the University.
Ross, who heads a special Board committee investigating the legality of the University's admissions policies, maintains the University's legal counsel has advised that using race in admissions is not defensible in court.
"We have suggested that racial preferences in admissions were illegal, and we ordered the Dean of Admissions to continue to pursue diversity as a goal," he said. The University should pursue "whatever legal affirmative actions means necessary."
The NAACP chose to direct their concerns to Gilmore rather than Ross because Gilmore appoints Board members and will make any final decision about Ross' position on the Board, Khalfani said.
Through his statements, Ross has alienated the black community at the University, said Paul M. Gaston, a history professor involved in the initial desegregation movement at the University.
"Mr. Ross has made a grave error in judgment as a member of the Board of Visitors and I think it would be useful for everyone for him to either resign from the Board or excuse himself from the special committee," Gaston said.
Ross was out of line accusing the NAACP of only seeking publicity, rather than creating constructive dialogue, he said.
"It is an unusually strange remark for someone on the Board of Visitors to make when you consider the fact that three of the top four leaders of the NAACP local and national members are members of the University of Virginia community," Gaston said.
Gaston was referring to Bond, Mojisola Olaniyan, University faculty member and Charlottesville branch NAACP president, and Elaine R. Jones, the School of Law's first black woman graduate and director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
University Rector John P. Ackerly III, however, disagreed with the NAACP and said Ross is carrying out his duties as committee chairman well.
"I don't think the NAACP's position is justified at all," Ackerly said. "Mr. Ross is keeping up very diligently with all the pending cases" on the legality of using race as a factor in admissions.
College Republicans President John Blair said Ross has a right to make his beliefs known and should not be removed from the Board.
"I think it's a chokehold on the freedom of speech to try to remove someone from the Board of Visitors based on their political beliefs," Blair said.
But Gilmore will not ignore the NAACP's demands entirely, said Larry J. Sabato, government and foreign affairs professor.
"The governor will certainly take it into consideration because he has tried to have a good relationship with the NAACP," Sabato said. But Gilmore "would be very unlikely to remove a Board member simply because an interest group, even one as significant as the NAACP, demands it."
If Gilmore removes a Board member, it could set a precedent for many other interest groups to challenge Board members' positions in the future, he said.
University Historian Raymond Bice said in his recollection no Board member has been removed from office, and no group has ever called for a Board member to be removed.
"It is most uncommon for [anyone] to call for a Board member's removal," Bice said.
Discussion about the use of race in admissions has changed in recent years, he said.
"The situation has gotten more complicated now than ever before," he added.
Student Council College Rep. Andrew Woodson said although he is not in favor of using race as a criterion in the admissions process, Council needs to assess more students' opinions before taking a stance on the issue.
Ryan Blackledge, editor-in-chief of The Virginia Advocate, a conservative student publication, agreed with Woodson.
"I am not for using race in admissions -- I am in favor of merit-based admissions and I think that using race as one of the criteria is inherently racist," Blackledge said.
The Faculty Senate, however, issued a statement yesterday showing its support for the current admissions policies.
"Equal opportunity must be one of the stated goals of higher education," the statement reads. "The consideration of race, as one of many factors for admission to the University, is both appropriate and justified."
Advocates for Diversity in Education, a student group that formed last year to defend current University admissions policies, is planning an all-day "October Camp" on the Lawn Oct. 4 to show their support of using race as a factor in admissions.
William Fishback, English lecturer and former University public relations director, said it is unfortunate that the argument "seems more played out on the pages of the newspaper than people talking with one another.
"I would hope that people instead of shouting across fences would sit down and reason together," Fishback said.
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