The Board of Visitors’ Academic and Student Life Committee met Thursday to hear presentations from Interim Provost Brie Gertler, Vice President of Research Lori McMahon, and student participants in the Karsh Institute’s Civic Cornerstone Fellowship. The Committee also discussed the terminated research grants, as well as ongoing initiatives related to artificial intelligence.
The Academic and Student Life Committee oversees all University operations related to student affairs — including athletics, campus culture, safety, residential and social life and food services. It is also responsible for shaping policies on education and research, including academic programs and degrees, as well as the recruitment and retention of faculty.
In her opening remarks, Gertler thanked her fellow leaders, dean, and colleagues for their efforts over the past few months, noting how unusual and eventful the period had been.
Gertler also spoke about a group of colleagues, including herself, who have been meeting regularly to address federal-level changes affecting the University.
“Since early this year, a group of colleagues from across the University have met frequently. We now meet once a week … to figure out how to prepare for and respond to changes coming from the federal level,” Gertler said. “These changes affect research, student, financial aid, international students, faculty and staff and our healthcare system.”
McMahon gave a presentation on research funding at the University and addressed the impacts made to research funding from the federal level. She noted that 76 percent of the University’s research funding comes from federal sources, with the remainder coming from the state, industry, foundations and non-profits and foreign donors.
As of Aug. 26, the University has lost $73.6 million in terminated grants, according to McMahon. She explained that the University initially anticipated a $60.2 million loss, including $40 million in grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants, which have already been cut.
To date, the University has received 45 termination notices and 12 stop-work orders. Of 27 appeals they have submitted, 9 have been successful, while 6 have been rejected.
McMahon reported that the University faculty applied for $2.9 billion in funding for the 2025 fiscal year, a 5.8 percent increase from 2024. She also noted that in FY 2024, the University spent $829 million on research — a 16 percent rise from the previous year. Between July 2024 and June 2025, the University received $570 million in sponsored research awards from various sources, up 3.8 percent from 2024, although this figure does not include recently cancelled grants.
McMahon explained that the University’s current research initiatives do align closely with current federal priorities, such as national defense and security, artificial intelligence, nuclear science and biotechnology. She noted that these are positive indicators.
“We have weathered this, I think, as best we could have expected, so there are positive indicators,” McMahon said. “We are looking and watching very carefully at what's coming out from the House and the Senate and appropriations.”
The Committee also heard a report on the Karsh Institute’s Civic Cornerstone Fellowship from Stefanie Georgakis Abbott, director of programming at the Karsh Institute, and Rachel Wahl, a director at the Institute. Two of the fellowship participants, second-year College student Ahryanna McGuirk and Darden graduate student Ross Williams, also spoke.
The Karsh Institute of Democracy launched the Civic Cornerstone fellowship, formerly known as the Student Dialogue Fellowship, fall 2024 in collaboration with seven different offices and schools at the University. The pilot year had 300 students across 11 of the University’s 12 schools and has grown to 400 students representing all schools.
Abbott noted that 100 percent of Civic Cornerstone Fellowship participants said they would recommend the program, and 86 percent reported an improved ability to engage in political discussions. She also shared that the program was recently awarded an $800,000 grant from Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative, which will allow the Fellowship to expand and reach more universities.
McGuirk and Williams shared their motivations for joining the Civic Cornerstone Fellowship.
“I found that through this fellowship, it was a space for me to engage in honest conversations where everyone's very open and welcoming to different ideas, different perspectives,” McGuirk said.
Williams offered a similar perspective, noting the value of bringing his background to the discussions.
“Being a Black man from New York. I’m a first-gen graduate, I thought I could bring a very unique perspective to the conversation … I thought I could learn a lot from very intelligent and diverse people,” Williams said.
In a separate discussion, Gertler emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence, and discussed the formation of AI @ UVA — a group of faculty members currently being assembled to explore the role of AI at the University. She noted that both the group and its website are still in development.
“My office is now developing a plan for a standing committee [that] could help us to think through … how we ensure that our students understand how to use AI effectively … and ensure that they understand its limits and the ethical and legal dimensions of this technology,” Gertler said.
Gertler also noted that Leo Lo, the University’s incoming librarian and dean of libraries, brings valuable expertise in AI and will serve informally as her special advisor on AI literacy. Lo will officially begin his role Monday.
The Committee also approved of five new University professorships, two of which will be the Joseph R. Chambers Distinguished Professorship in Hepatology and the Jack P. Chambers Distinguished Professorship in Surgery.
Additionally, the Committee approved the Pausic Family Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professorship for the department of systems and information engineering, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professorship in Political Economy, Law and Democracy and the Jon D. Mikalson Professorship in Classics.
The Committee approved renaming the David M. LaCross Professorship to the David M. LaCross Dean’s Chair of the U.Va. Darden School of Business. Darden alumni David and Kathleen LaCross donated $44 million to the school in 2022 and pledged a total commitment of over $100 million in 2023 — the largest gift in Darden’s history.
The Committee is scheduled to reconvene at the next Board meeting Dec. 4-5.
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