Gov. Tim Kaine selected former CarMax president, chief executive officer and co-founder Austin Ligon to serve on the Board of Visitors Friday.
In addition, Kaine reappointed L.F. Payne, John Wynne and Sydney Dorsey to the Board.
Kevin Hall, press secretary for Gov. Kaine, said in choosing Board members, the governor looks for someone who shows a commitment to both higher education in general and the specific institution.
"The names are fitted through an impartial commission that seeks to advance the names of folks who have shown a demonstrated commitment to improving ... education," he said.
He added that Ligon demonstrates these qualities.
"A lifetime of business success, developing a new retail concept and taking it nationally and his service on the [University of Virginia's] Foundation Board certainly shows an interesting commitment to the University," he said.
First-year Law student Carey Mignerey, the incoming student representative on the Board, said Kaine has high standards for the people he appoints.
"Mr. Ligon has been extremely successful in his own right professionally, and I think he'll bring a very positive contribution based on those abilities," he said.
Board Rector Thomas F. Farrell, II said he appointed Ligon to the Foundation Board a year ago. The Foundation Board manages and develops real estate not directly owned by the University, such as research parks and the Boar's Head Inn.
The Foundation Board has "a lot of dealings with the University and how it operates," Farrell said.
Ligon said Kaine appointed him to the Board of Visitors after he expressed interest in working with the University.
"I've been a supporter of [Kaine] for a long time and told him if there was any opportunity to serve the University, that's where my interest laid," he said. "This opening came up to join the Board, which I'm tremendously excited about."
Ligon will replace Georgia Fauber, currently the Audit and Compliance committee chair and a member of the boards of the McIntire School of Commerce, School of Nursing, Education School and Engineering School.
Fauber said she is the only Board member not to have contributed monetarily to politics.
"I applauded [former] Gov. [Mark] Warner in that he saw that I gave of my time and my monies towards education, and he did not look at the monies that I did not give to politics," she said. "That's OK for people [to give to politicians] ... it happens to be something I didn't do because I gave to youth instead through scholarships and participation."
Fauber predicted that Ligon would enjoy his tenure on the Board.
"I'm sure the new Board member will give of himself and it will be a wonderful time in his life because it has been a wonderful time in mine, so he will enjoy it to the utmost, there is no doubt in my mind," she said.
Ligon said although he has much to learn about the University, he brings his business and university experiences to the new position.
"Knowing how universities operate and bringing some of the insights from the private sector from growing and building a new business... hopefully I'll bring a different perspective to the Board and add to the value of the Board and add to the University in that way," he said.
Ligon, an alumnus of the University of Texas, said he owes everything he has accomplished to public universities.
"I didn't have any money, so I had to work my way through undergraduate school," he said. "I could never have gone to [school] if the opportunity to go to a public university at a moderate price ... had not been available."
He added that this position will allow him to give back to the public education he benefited from.
"I'm a big fan of education and that's where I try to put my community efforts," he said.
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