Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) appointed 10 new members to the University’s Board of Visitors Saturday. Among the new members, Spanberger chose Carlos Brown, former Board vice rector, Class of 1996 and Law Class of 1999 alumnus and president of Dominion Energy and Mohsin Syed, former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Transportation and Class of 2002 and Law Class of 2008 alumnus.
All newly appointed Board members are University alumni, and nine are Virginia residents. To constitute a legitimate Board, according to Virginia law, the Board is required to consist of 17 members, 12 of which are required to be Virginia residents and 12 of which are required to be alumni of the University.
The appointed individuals still require confirmation by the General Assembly, for which the Democrats hold a majority, to assume their roles. If confirmed, the Board would transition from a majority of Republican governor-appointed members to a Democrat governor-appointed majority, and the Board’s membership would exceed the requirements for the number of alumni and residents.
Specifically, if confirmed, the Board would officially constitute 17 voting members — a full Board, which has not been the case since last summer before the Senate rejected five Youngkin appointees. Of those 17, 14 are Virginia residents and 16 are alumni of the University.
Less than a day prior, five Board members were asked by Spanberger to resign, including both former Board Rector Rachel Sheridan and former Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson. Prior to Saturday’s appointments, the Board had just seven of its voting seats filled out of 17 total seats, according to reporting by the Washington Post. All of the seven remaining members had been appointed by Youngkin.
Faculty, alumni and student groups alike have criticized the Board’s appointment of University President Scott Beardsley, arguing that the Board did not hear community input and rushed to complete the appointment before Spanberger assumed office. The hiring or firing of a University president requires a two-thirds vote by the Board, which is 12 of the 17 members. It is unclear the intentions of the 10 new appointees.
Sheridan provided The Cavalier Daily with the resignation letters both she and Wilkinson sent to Youngkin Friday in which they lamented the political pressure the Board faces and recounted achievements they brought to fruition during their time in leadership. In her resignation letter, Sheridan said that she resigned from the Board due to “toxic” politicization that prevented the Board from meaningfully working to improve the University.
New Board members range in career backgrounds, including experience in the law, business, medicine, government and non-profit sectors.
Mike Bisceglia is an appointee of Spanberger and a Class of 1979 alumnus. He serves as chairman elect of the Medical College of Virginia Foundation, and he is also the president and chief executive officer of Stauer — a retail luxury goods brand. Another appointee, Evans Poston, is a Darden Class of 2017 alumnus, and he currently works as director of federal and state affairs at Troutman Strategies — a government affairs firm.
Victoria Harker is a Class of 1986 alumna, and she has previously served on the Board upon appointment by former Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) in 2012. She currently serves as chair of the Batten Foundation Advisory Board. She has worked as chief financial officer at TEGNA, served on the U.Va. Health System Board and oversaw public school systems operations on the Board of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
Rudene Haynes is a Class of 1996 alumna, and she currently works as a managing partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. Robert Byron is the chairman and co-founder of Blue Vista Capital Management, and a Class of 1973 and Law Class of 1976 alumnus.
Elizabeth Hayes graduated from the University School of Law in 1978 and is a Foundation board member for the University’s School of Architecture. Owen Griffin is a Class of 1993 and Darden Class of 1999 alumnus and currently works as president and CFO at Currie Medical — a medical equipment manufacturing company.
Peter Grant has worked in private equity and investment banking, and he is a founding partner of Anchormarck Holdings, LLC. Grant is a board member of the University’s Licensing and Ventures Group and is the immediate past Board Chair of Global Impact. In addition, he serves on the College Foundation Board, The Board of Trustees of the Darden Foundation, the board of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation and the Batten Institute Advisory Council. Grant is a Class of 1978 and Darden Class of 1986 alumnus.
In addition to her appointments to the University, Spanberger also made five appointments to the Virginia Military Institute’s governing board and 12 appointments to George Mason University’s board.
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