Editor’s Note: This letter was sent Jan. 15 via email to the Board of Visitors, Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson before it was published as a guest piece in The Cavalier Daily. There are 201 University-affiliated signatories.
Since our last statement in December, the conduct of the Board of Visitors has gone from bad to worse, confirming our worst fears. Against virtually every publicly-expressed opinion by students, faculty, staff, alumni, as well as Virginia’s elected representatives, senators and the Governor-elect herself, the Board chose to appoint a president in a rushed process that seemed designed to accomplish one thing — to install a new president before the new Governor’s inauguration on Jan. 17.
The Board took these steps after the University was closed for winter break, when they knew students, faculty and staff would be unable to respond meaningfully. This confirms the Board’s indifference to good procedure, long-established academic norms, stakeholder judgment and any regard for the good opinion of all participants in the process. By acting in bad faith, the Board has flouted its fiduciary duties to the University and has violated its own bylaws calling on it to protect the University from outside interference. It has done so while vital questions of its own composition and statutory compliance remain open.
Recent revelations only strengthen the impression that the appointment of Scott Beardsley as 10th president of the University is illegitimate and deserves no benefit of the doubt. Texts released through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Gov. Glenn Youngkin has been improperly involved in the Board’s activities. They demonstrate that Board members abused their authority, failed to act transparently and willfully subverted process at nearly every step of the way — from the resignation of former University President James Ryan, to the appointment of Paul Mahoney as an interim University president, to behind-closed-doors “negotiations” with the Department of Justice, to the launching of a presidential search and to the hurried conclusion of that search in the face of nearly universal opposition from every major stakeholder group that has spoken publicly. At every step, the Board has said “trust us, we know what you don’t” — but now we know what they said to each other when no one else was listening, and it turns out they knew their assurances were duplicitous.
New revelations indicate that the Board failed in its most basic duty in searching for a new president. At a minimum, the Board is responsible for thoroughly vetting candidates to ensure their candidacy meets the norms and standards commensurate with a university of the University’s caliber. There is reason to believe this may not have been done in this case. No less troublingly, there is concern that the firm, Isaacson, Miller, hired to coordinate the search, and its directing partner, may have lacked independence vis-à-vis Beardsley’s candidacy in a politically fraught process. This raises questions about the independence of the firm’s judgment. More worryingly, it may suggest a conflict of interest. Regardless of how these questions might have been or might ultimately be answered, the point is this — they should have been asked and answered, by the Board, as part of the search process.
Text messages among Board members suggest a troubling level of interaction for people bound by the open meetings provision in Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act, as well as inappropriate communication with the Governor’s office, which the Board has previously denied. As to Beardsley, he certainly knew of the concerns that had been raised about the process from its onset in August. Nine of his fellow deans called for the process to be paused until underlying issues could be resolved. As dean of the Darden School of Business and a candidate for the presidency, he could have joined them. If he had, and had the Board agreed, he would have been able to continue as a candidate, knowing that he had done right by the institution he aspired to serve as president and confident that any decision to appoint him to that position would be legitimate.
As things stand, we believe that the Board’s decision to appoint Beardsley cannot be allowed to stand. Any claim that it is better to accept what has happened and move on can only be self-serving on the part of those who created this crisis. Doing so would only make a mockery of the idea that the appointment of a president is supposed to reflect the University’s values. Are we willing to say to the world that this is what we stand for? Board members must abide by their obligations to the institution they profess to love and serve. After the disruptive events of the past year, we must return the University to the path of excellence and honor that has guided it since its founding.
Therefore, because the appointment of a president is so consequential an act and because the Board’s actions are so lacking in candor and legitimacy, we believe that the only sensible remedy is: (1) for the current Board, as a body, to be held accountable for its dereliction, through investigation by the Legislature and through litigation if need be; (2) for the incoming Governor and attorney general, and the Legislature to take all necessary steps to hold individual members of the Board accountable and ensure nothing like this ever happens again; and (3) for the presidential search to be reset, by rescinding the appointment of Beardsley and launching a new presidential search, once underlying issues of process have been addressed.
The signatories of this letter are listed below and number 201. 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.
Kimberly D. Acquaviva, School of Nursing
Michael Allen, College of Arts and Sciences
Jessica Andruss, College of Arts and Sciences
Stephen Arata, College of Arts and Sciences
Phil Arras, College of Arts and Sciences
David Auble, School of Medicine
Lawrie Balfour, College of Arts and Sciences
Rajesh Balkrishnan, School of Medicine
Adam Barnes, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Charles Barzun, School of Law
Ira Bashkow, College of Arts and Sciences
Sarah Betzer, College of Arts and Sciences
Ari J. Blatt, College of Arts and Sciences
George S. Bloom, School of Medicine
Alison Booth, College of Arts and Sciences
Dawn Bourne, School of Nursing
Josh Bowers, School of Law
Erik Braun, College of Arts and Sciences
Herbert “Tico” Braun, College of Arts and Sciences
Anna Brickhouse, College of Arts and Sciences
Edmund “Butch” Brodie, College of Arts and Sciences
Darryl K. Brown, School of Law
Emily Burrill, College of Arts and Sciences
Francesca Calamita, College of Arts and Sciences
Tyler J. Carter, College of Arts and Sciences
Julia Cassaniti, College of Arts and Sciences
Jenny Clay, College of Arts and Sciences
Mrinalini Chakravorty, College of Arts and Sciences
James Coan, College of Arts and Sciences
Sheila Crane, School of Architecture
Ashon Crawley, College of Arts and Sciences
Stephanie Ceraso, College of Arts and Sciences
Sumita Chakraborty, College of Arts and Sciences
Claire Chantell, College of Arts and Sciences
Indrani Chatterjee, College of Arts and Sciences
Sylvia Chong, College of Arts and Sciences
Anne M. Coughlin, School of Law
Robert M. Cox, College of Arts and Sciences
Nicholas Cummins, UVA Library
Stephen Cushman, College of Arts and Sciences
Anastasia Dakouri, College of Arts and Sciences
Shilpa Davé, College of Arts and Sciences
Erin Dickey, UVA Library
Dudley Doane, International Studies Office
Chad Dodson, College of Arts and Sciences
Gerald Donowitz, School of Medicine
Rita Dove, College of Arts and Sciences
Keith Driver, College of Arts and Sciences
Kevin Duong, College of Arts and Sciences
John Echeverri-Gent, College of Arts and Sciences
S. Max Edelson, College of Arts and Sciences
Mark Edmundson, College of Arts and Sciences
Daniel Ehnbom, College of Arts and Sciences
Elizabeth Anne Ellcessor, College of Arts and Sciences
Kyle B. Enfield, School of Medicine
María Esparza Rodríguez, College of Arts and Sciences
Robert Fatton, College of Arts and Sciences
Rita Felski, College of Arts and Sciences
Nichole Flores, College of Arts and Sciences
B. Brian Foster, College of Arts and Sciences
Elizabeth Fowler, College of Arts and Sciences
Susan Fraiman, College of Arts and Sciences
Paul Freedman, College of Arts and Sciences
Peter Furia, College of Arts and Sciences
James Galloway, School of Medicine
Anne Garland Mahler, College of Arts and Sciences
Jennifer Geddes, College of Arts and Sciences
Piers Gelly, College of Arts and Sciences
David Germano, College of Arts and Sciences
Larry Goedde, Fralin Museum of Art
Greg Schmidt Goering, College of Arts and Sciences
Lisa Goff, College of Arts and Sciences
Laura Goldblatt, College of Arts and Sciences
Bonnie Gordon, College of Arts and Sciences
Mark Hadley, College of Arts and Sciences
Grace Hale, College of Arts and Sciences
Paul Halliday, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Law
Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor, College of Arts and Sciences
Jack Hamilton, College of Arts and Sciences
Richard Handler, College of Arts and Sciences
Fern R. Hauck, School of Medicine
Gregory Hays, College of Arts and Sciences
Matt Hedstrom, College of Arts and Sciences
Walt Heinecke, School of Education and Human Development
Natasha Heller, College of Arts and Sciences
Deborah Hellman, School of Law
Daryn Henry, College of Arts and Sciences
Scott Heysell, School of Medicine
Yuki Hibben, UVA Library
Jay Hirsh, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine
Will Hitchcock, College of Arts and Sciences
Laura Hjerpe, UVA Library
Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton, College of Arts and Sciences
Bruce Holsinger, College of Arts and Sciences
Stephen Hopkins, College of Arts and Sciences
Janet Horne, College of Arts and Sciences
Ashley Hurst, School of Nursing
Vikram Jaswal, College of Arts and Sciences
Willis Jenkins, College of Arts and Sciences
Paul Jones, College of Arts and Sciences
Rayford Scott Jones, School of Medicine
Walter Jost, College of Arts and Sciences
Andrew Kahrl, College of Arts and Sciences
Daniel Kinney, College of Arts and Sciences
Matthew Kirschenbaum, College of Arts and Sciences
Michelle Kisliuk, College of Arts and Sciences
George Klosko, College of Arts and Sciences
Thomas Klubock, College of Arts and Sciences
Mary Kuhn, College of Arts and Sciences
Krishan Kumar, College of Arts and Sciences
J. D. La Fleur, College of Arts and Sciences
Carmen Lamas, College of Arts and Sciences
Nicholas Landry, College of Arts and Sciences
Kathryn Laughon, School of Nursing
Jennifer Lawless, College of Arts and Sciences, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Daniel Lefkowitz, College of Arts and Sciences
Angeline Lillard, College of Arts and Sciences
Erik Linstrum, College of Arts and Sciences
Victor Luftig, College of Arts and Sciences
Claire Lyu, College of Arts and Sciences
Jordan MacKenzie, College of Arts and Sciences
Laurie Maffly-Kipp, College of Arts and Sciences
Katya Makarova, College of Arts and Sciences
Charles Marsh, College of Arts and Sciences
Worthy Martin, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Charles Mathewes, College of Arts and Sciences
Katharine Eisaman Maus, College of Arts and Sciences
Deborah McDowell, College of Arts and Sciences
Mary McKinley, College of Arts and Sciences
Molly McShane, School of Law
George Mentore, College of Arts and Sciences
Carol Mershon, College of Arts and Sciences
Erik Midelfort, College of Arts and Sciences
Karl Hagstrom Miller, College of Arts and Sciences
John Miller, College of Arts and Sciences
John Modica, College of Arts and Sciences
Rachel Y. Moon, School of Medicine
Ian Mullins, College of Arts and Sciences
Shankar Nair, College of Arts and Sciences
John Nemec, College of Arts and Sciences
Paulina Ochoa Espejo, College of Arts and Sciences
Robert W. O'Connell, College of Arts and Sciences
Amy V. Ogden, College of Arts and Sciences
Eyleen Jorgelina O’Rourke, School of Medicine
Brian Owensby, College of Arts and Sciences
Ricardo Padrón, College of Arts and Sciences
Deborah Parker, College of Arts and Sciences
John Parker, College of Arts and Sciences
Karen Parshall, College of Arts and Sciences
Brad Pasanek, College of Arts and Sciences
Andrej Petrovic, College of Arts and Sciences
Ivana Petrovic, College of Arts and Sciences
Olivier Pfister, College of Arts and Sciences
Michael J. Puri, College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Kathryn Quissell, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine
Jahan Ramazani, College of Arts and Sciences
Eric Ramirez-Weaver, College of Arts and Sciences
Lisa Reilly, School of Architecture
Deborah Roach, College of Arts and Sciences
Caroline Rody, College of Arts and Sciences
Charlotte Rogers, College of Arts and Sciences
Katie Rojas, UVA Library
Gillet Rosenblith, College of Arts and Sciences
Jennifer Rubenstein, College of Arts and Sciences
Allison Ruffner, UVA Library
Noah Salomon, College of Arts and Sciences
Craig L. Sarazin, College of Arts and Sciences
Kurtis R. Schaeffer, College of Arts and Sciences
Taylor Schey, College of Arts and Sciences
Drew Schield, College of Arts and Sciences
Jalane Schmidt, College of Arts and Sciences
Leonard Schoppa, College of Arts and Sciences
Richard Schragger, School of Law
James Seitz, College of Arts and Sciences
Jennifer Sessions, College of Arts and Sciences
Sandhya Shukla, College of Arts and Sciences
Sam Shuman, College of Arts and Sciences
Karl Shuve, College of Arts and Sciences
Costi Sifri, School of Medicine
David Singerman, College of Arts and Sciences
Michael Joseph Smith, College of Arts and Sciences
Janet Spittler, College of Arts and Sciences
Andrew Stauffer, College of Arts and Sciences
Michael F. Suarez, College of Arts and Sciences
Lana Swartz, College of Arts and Sciences
Mark Schwartz, College of Arts and Sciences
Lean Sweeney, College of Arts and Sciences
Brian Teare, College of Arts and Sciences
Judith E. Thomas, UVA Library
Dominique Tobbell, School of Nursing
Elizabeth Varon, College of Arts and Sciences
Siva Vaidhyanathan, College of Arts and Sciences
Penny Von Eschen, College of Arts and Sciences
Denise Walsh, College of Arts and Sciences
Heather A. Warren, College of Arts and Sciences
Keith Weimer, UVA Library
Bruce Williams, College of Arts and Sciences
Brian Wispelwey, School of Medicine
Michael Wormington, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine
William Wylie, College of Arts and Sciences
Steven L. Zeichner, School of Medicine
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