Following the resignation of University President Jim Ryan, the Board of Visitors is now tasked with the responsibility of finding an interim and later, a permanent president. But Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, says if they move forward with choosing one with a particular ideology, there may be consequences.
“I think they should be careful about who they pick as an interim,” Surovell said.
The top Democrat in the Senate warned in particular about choosing former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, or any other candidate without a higher education background.
“Anybody who would be viewed as an excessively partisan actor I think would be a big mistake,” Surovell said.
Surovell and other Virginia Democrats have been in an ongoing battle with state Republicans and officials at three universities over eight blocked appointments to boards of visitors made by Gov. Glenn Youngkin across the state.
One of those appointees is Cuccinelli, who was appointed by Youngkin in March and has served on the Board since. A recent vote in a Virginia Senate committee blocked Cuccinelli’s appointment, though Republicans say Democrats were wrong to vote down the appointments, and that the appointees can continue to serve because they were not voted on by the full General Assembly. Democrats say university rectors are violating federal law.
Which side comes out on top will ultimately be up to a Fairfax County judge. Surovell said he was not aware of a timeline, but that he is confident the judge will ultimately side with Senate Democrats.
Mark Stancil, attorney and partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher who represents the plaintiffs, said in a statement to The Cavalier Daily that his firm is pushing for an expedited timeline for appointees to be blocked and have requested a hearing for July 18.
“We have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that, if granted, would block the refused appointees (including Mr. Cuccinelli) from serving on the respective boards of visitors until the case is finally resolved,” Stancil said.
Even though Democrats have controlled the Senate for the entirety of Youngkin’s term, they have generally approved his nominees. But when Surovell said it became clear that the University Board was following the direction of the Youngkin and Trump administrations, the Democrats decided to ditch the rubber stamp.
But, those nominees have not left and Democrats sued the respective university rectors in response.
Youngkin announced four additional appointments to the Board June 20 and if confirmed, they would replace the expiring four appointees made by Democratic governors. Surovell said Democrats could vote on the new Board appointees, along with more than 60 other appointees to posts across the Commonwealth, at any time.
“We could take them up a few days from now, or we could take them up in February. All I can tell you right now is we're watching them very carefully,” Surovell said. “My caucus has not made any decisions about anything yet.”
The uncertainty over if new appointees will be confirmed shines a light on divided government in the Commonwealth. Appointments to statewide university governing boards are made by the governor of Virginia. Those nominees are constitutionally voted on by the General Assembly during the legislative session, which is held each January. If the Assembly confirms the nominees, they can continue their service.
But at a June 28 Senate Democratic Caucus media conference, Surovell said that the process by which nominees are appointed and confirmed may be changed.
“I'll tell you, the Senate of Virginia right now, we are exploring all options … to deal with what the governor and the Trump administration are doing to our universities,” Surovell said. “When we come back in January, reform is going to be on the table, because we cannot afford to ever let this happen again.”
If the appointees are not confirmed, it is unclear how the Board would proceed with meetings. The next full meeting of the Board is not until September, but the Board scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday and promptly canceled the meeting minutes before it was supposed to start. University Spokesperson Bethanie Glover said the meeting was to address a personnel matter, but was no longer needed and did not reply when pushed for specifics.
Now, the Board sits in a waiting period. If a court grants the plaintiffs a temporary injunction and prevents the Board from meeting, the governing body would not be able to appoint an interim president until the matter is resolved. That may take until after November, when a new governor is elected.
If former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) is elected, she could cancel Youngkin’s unconfirmed appointees and choose new nominees, returning liberal members to university boards. If Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) is elected, Virginians can expect the battle to continue unless the Assembly changes hands.
At the media conference, Surovell hinted at what he hopes Spanberger could do if she wins.
“When we come back in January, we can rewrite the law. We can change the structure of these boards. We can add people, we can subtract people, we can delete positions, as long as the governor goes along,” Surovell said. “[I] would like to note that Abigail Spanberger is an [alumna] of the University … and so I think we need to look very carefully at university governance.”
State Sen. Creigh Deeds echoed Surovell’s statement about changing the law at a June 27 media conference, proposing a change to the timeline for appointing and confirming nominees.
“One specific thing we've talked about is the code might need some tweaking to make sure that people cannot serve until they're confirmed by the General Assembly,” Deeds said. “Because at present the governor makes appointments generally in June and they're not confirmed until the General Assembly takes them up in January.”
Surovell still declined to name any specific consequences for Board members, but made clear his disdain for the way the Board has acted in recent months.
“There's a strong feeling that the Trump administration has secured way too much influence in how we run our schools in this Commonwealth,” Surovell said. “Our universities are run by Virginia Board of Visitors, not by the Trump administration.”
Now, the University will soon be under the direction of a new president, as Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Wagner Davis was announced as acting president of the University beginning July 11. And while her presidency will only be temporary, it could be until the dispute over appointees is settled that a new figure replaces her.
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