Editor’s Note: This letter was sent via email to the Board of Visitors Aug. 6 before it was published as a guest piece in The Cavalier Daily. There are 141 University-affiliated signatories.
We are retired faculty who have dedicated our careers to the University. We have
developed a deep understanding of the institution, its history and its values. We have every good wish for its future, which recent events have gravely darkened.
Since the forced resignation of University President James Ryan, actions by the Board of Visitors and its leadership have engendered mistrust of their fiduciary commitments and ability to act in the best interests of the University in protecting our institutional independence, shared governance and academic freedom. Transparency is the foundation of trust, and without trust, the University community will not be able to unite and move forward towards the bright future it deserves.
We note, in particular, the continued lack of transparency about:
- The events that led up to Ryan’s resignation
- The process for the selection of an interim president
- The negotiations that are taking place with the Department of Justice that will have a profound impact on the teaching, research and scholarly work of the University
Mistrust in the Board and its leadership was further generated by the appointment of a search
committee for the future president without allowing faculty, most importantly, to suggest names
for consideration that would effectively represent their interests and concerns.
Therefore, with a sense of great urgency and deep concern, we the undersigned join the
Faculty Senate and the General Faculty Council in expressing no confidence in the Board of Visitors.
The signatories of this letter are listed below and number 141. They can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this guest letter are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. The letter represents the views of the signatories alone.
Beverly Adams, College of Arts and Sciences
Ralph Allen, College of Arts and Sciences
Michael Atchison, McIntire School of Commerce
A.J. Baglioni, McIntire School of Commerce
Brian Balogh, College of Arts and Sciences
Marva Barnett, College of Arts and Sciences
Tom Bateman, McIntire School of Commerce
James Taylor Beard, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Thomas Bloom, College of Arts and Sciences
Stephen Borowitz, School of Medicine
Larry D. Bouchard, College of Arts and Sciences
Richard J. Bonnie, School of Law
Robert J. Boyle, School of Medicine
Gordon Braden, College of Arts and Sciences
Herbert (Tico) Braun, College of Arts and Sciences
Brad Brown, McIntire School of Commerce
John K. Brown, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Mary Katherine (Kate) Burke, College of Arts and Sciences
Carolyn M. Callahan, School of Education and Human Development
James Cargile, College of Arts and Sciences
Robert Chapel, College of Arts and Sciences
Karen Chase-Levenson, College of Arts and Sciences
James F. Childress, College of Arts and Sciences
Marcia Day Childress, School of Medicine
Pamela F. Cipriano, School of Nursing
Ellen Contini-Morava, College of Arts and Sciences
Jeffrey T. Corwin, School of Medicine
Jenny Strauss Clay, College of Arts and Sciences
Sarah Corse, College of Arts and Sciences
Fred Damon, College of Arts and Sciences
Dean Dass, College of Arts and Sciences
John J. Dobbins, College of Arts and Sciences
Donal Day, College of Arts and Sciences
Daniel Devereux, College of Arts and Sciences
Carrie B. Douglass, College of Arts and Sciences
Emily Drake, School of Nursing
Kandioura Drame, College of Arts and Sciences
John Echeverri-Gent, College of Arts and Sciences
Daniel Ehnbom, College of Arts and Sciences
Dana Elzey, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Victor H. Engelhard, School of Medicine
Robert Fatton, College of Arts and Sciences
Jessica Feldman, College of Arts and Sciences
M. Jamie Ferreira, College of Arts and Sciences
Kathleen Flake, College of Arts and Sciences
James Freeman, College of Arts and Sciences
Sherwood C. Frey, Jr., Darden School of Business
Dorrie Fontaine, School of Nursing
James N. Galloway, College of Arts and Sciences
Harry Gamble, College of Arts and Sciences
David T. Gies, College of Arts and Sciences
Lawrence O. Goedde, College of Arts and Sciences
Doris Greiner, School of Nursing
Charles M. Grisham, College of Arts and Sciences
Paul Groner, College of Arts and Sciences
Daniel P. Hallahan, School of Education and Human Development
Robin Hamill-Ruth, School of Medicine
Jeffrey Hantman, College of Arts and Sciences
Emily Hauenstein, College of Arts and Sciences
Ira Herbst, College of Arts and Sciences
Janet S. Herman, College of Arts and Sciences
Donald Hunt, College of Arts and Sciences
Deborah Johnson, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Rachel Keen, College of Arts and Sciences
William Keene, College of Arts and Sciences
William C. Johnson, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Colleen Kelly, College of Arts and Sciences
Paul W. Kingston, College of Arts and Sciences
Arthur Kirsch, College of Arts & Sciences
George Klosko, College of Arts & Sciences
P. David Kovacs, College of Arts and Sciences
Maria-Ines Lagos, College of Arts and Sciences
Harold Langsam, College of Arts and Sciences
Melvyn P. Leffler, College of Arts and Sciences
Phyllis K. Leffler, College of Arts and Sciences
Worthy Martin, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Jerry McGann, College of Arts and Sciences
Mary B McKinley, College of Arts and Sciences
Susan McKinnon, College of Arts and Sciences
Allan Megill, College of Arts and Sciences
Peter Metcalf, College of Arts and Sciences
Patricia Meyer Spacks, College of Arts and Sciences
H. C. Erik Midelfort, College of Arts and Sciences
John F. Miller, College of Arts and Sciences
Marc Modica, Darden School of Business
James C. Nohrnberg, College of Arts and Sciences
Blaine Norum, College of Arts and Sciences
Vicky Norwood, School of Medicine
Debra Nystrom, College of Arts and Sciences
Vanessa Ochs, College of Arts and Sciences
John O'Connell, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Robert O'Connell, College of Arts and Sciences
Peter S. Onuf, College of Arts and Sciences
Gregory Orr, College of Arts and Sciences
Deborah Parker, College of Arts and Sciences
Karen Parshall, College of Arts and Sciences
William R. Pearson, School of Medicine
Bryan Pfaffenberger, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Loren D. Pitt, College of Arts and Sciences
Stephen Plog, College of Arts and Sciences
Randolph D. Pope, College of Arts and Sciences
Dennis Proffitt, College of Arts and Sciences
William B. Quandt, College of Arts and Sciences
Benjamin Ray, College of Arts and Sciences
Robert Ribando, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Larry G. Richards, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Judith Reagan, Center for Teaching Excellence
Bradly Reed, College of Arts and Sciences
Deborah Roach, College of Arts and Sciences
Bradley M. Rodgers, School of Medicine
James Rovnyak, College of Arts and Sciences
George Sampson, College of Arts and Sciences
Craig L. Sarazin, College of Arts and Sciences
Herman Mark Schwartz, College of Arts and Sciences
John Shepherd, College of Arts and Sciences
John Simmons, College of Arts and Sciences and School of Law
Michael J. Smith, College of Arts and Sciences
Frederick Smyth, College of Arts and Sciences
Martha E. Snell, School of Education and Human Development
Mary Lou Soffa, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Wiliam A. Soffa, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Richard H. Steeves, School of Nursing
Lawrence Thomas, College of Arts and Sciences
Kathryn Thornton, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Christopher Tilghman, College of Arts and Sciences
Carl Trindle, College of Arts and Sciences
Betsy Rudelich Tucker, College of Arts and Sciences
Herbert (Chip) Tucker, College of Arts and Sciences
Pamela Tucker, School of Education and Human Development
Beth Turner, College of Arts and Sciences
Ronald B. Turner, School of Medicine
Adrienne Ward, College of Arts and Sciences
Harold (Thann) Ward, College of Arts and Sciences
Richard Warner, College of Arts of Sciences
Alfred C. Weaver, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Alison Weber, College of Arts and Sciences
Elliott Weiss, Darden School of Business
Stephen K. White, College of Arts and Sciences
Stephen Wilson, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Richard Guy Wilson, College of Arts and Sciences
Tim Wilson, College of Arts and Sciences
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