Editor's note: The original version of this article that was published Jan. 10 was retracted — it did not include all key stakeholders’ statements and responses related to the 10th presidential search. Necessary revisions were made to the piece below to address these concerns before republishing.
Following former University President Jim Ryan’s resignation June 27, groups such as Wahoos4UVA, Student Council and the Faculty Senate began releasing statements expressing discontent with the Board of Visitors — other groups like the Jefferson Council defended the Board’s actions. While the search for the University’s 10th president was underway between the end of the summer and December, groups continued to call for the search to pause until Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger had taken office and filled five vacancies on the Board.
Overwhelmingly, many groups stated the Board had allowed the federal government to influence University politics, which pressured Ryan to resign. Throughout the search process, several groups also stated that the presidential search committee was not adequately considering faculty and student perspectives.
When calls continued throughout the fall to pause the search until the vacancies were filled, Isaacson, Miller — the external search firm hired by the Board — responded in a letter to the Faculty Senate Nov. 21. They stated the presidential search had exceeded typical levels of community engagement through listening sessions and surveys sent to community members to gather preferred characteristics for the president.
Statements date back to May 2025
Wahoos4UVA — a group of University students, alumni and parents — formed in May 2025 in support of Ryan’s leadership. Wahoos4UVA banded together in response to ResetUVA, a group established by the Jefferson Council, that has a stated mission to appeal to the Board and has done so by expressing discontent with Ryan’s leadership.
Wahoos4UVA ran full-page advertisements in multiple newspapers across Virginia June 13 which outlined the group’s efforts and showcased over 4,000 signatures calling the Board to act independently from political interference. These advertisements were put out just two weeks before Ryan resigned, during the time the Justice Department was sending letters to the University to ensure Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives had been dissolved.
Co-chair of Wahoos4UVA Ann Brown explained these advertisements were meant to counter advertisements simultaneously being run by ResetUVA critiquing Ryan and outlining what it viewed as his "leadership failures.”
Wahoos4UVA has released approximate weekly messages to their email list since May 16, and Brown noted its statements released from May 16 to June 27 are now housed on an archived website. The group’s statements have been related to various current events at the University — including requests for the presidential search committee to pause and calls for the University to reject the Trump Administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.
The Jefferson Council released its own statements leading up to and following Ryan’s resignation and the presidential search and countered the views of groups like Wahoos4UVA — they praised Ryan’s resignation and expressed that it was a step in the right direction for the University. Specifically, the group stated Ryan’s leadership “eroded intellectual diversity” and that his resignation would depoliticize the University.
The Faculty Senate was the first group to vote no confidence in the Board on July 11. The Senate stated the Board did not protect the University from federal government overreach regarding Ryan’s resignation.
Student Council followed this with a resolution July 14 which called for student voices to be upheld throughout the presidential search process. According to Clay Dickerson, Student Council president and fourth-year College student, the extent to which the initial resolution was recognized was unclear, which led Student Council to issue a vote of no confidence in the Board Aug. 8.
Spanberger — who took office Jan. 17 — sent a letter eight days after her election in November, calling for the presidential search to pause until she assumed office and filled five vacancies on the Board. She wrote that being able to fill those vacancies would bring the Board’s composition into compliance with Virginia law before appointing a new president.
At the time of Beardsley’s appointment, the Board had only nine Virginia residents and nine University alumni, which was not in accordance with law requiring the Board to consist of at least 12 Virginia residents and at least 12 University alumni. Jan. 17, five Board members resigned and Spanberger appointed 10 new Board members, which brought the Board to a lawful constitution.
Approximately one month and one week prior to Beardsley’s appointment, the Faculty Senate passed two resolutions calling for the presidential search process to pause Nov. 14 and Dec. 12, respectively.
The General Faculty Council, which aims to advise the University on matters related to general faculty and senior professional research staff, voted to endorse both of the Faculty Senate’s resolutions during formal meetings in November and December. All GFC endorsements are outlined on their website.
Between the passage of the Senate’s two resolutions, nine of the University’s 14 academic deans wrote a letter to the Board Dec. 1 also calling for the presidential search to pause. Notably, Scott Beardsley, University President and former Dean of the Darden School of Business, did not sign this letter.
The University’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors — a group of professors with a stated mission to “[advance] academic freedom and faculty shared governance” at the University — also released continuous statements throughout the summer. It released seven statements between July 27 and Jan. 6. The July 27 statement was issued in response to Ryan’s resignation and expressed its disapproval in the Board’s process to appoint an interim president and begin the search for a permanent president.
The AAUP was the third University-affiliated group to vote no-confidence in the Board, which it did Aug. 10. Its most recent statement Jan. 6 was in response to the appointment of Beardsley, who was appointed by the Board Dec. 19 and assumed office Jan. 1. This statement rejected the appointment of Beardsley, calling the search process illegitimate and politically motivated.
The Faculty Senate released a third resolution Jan. 15 on the “continuing U.Va. governance crisis.” It called for Spanberger to review actions of current Board members and remove those who have not fulfilled their duties. Further, the Senate requested a reconstituted Board to review the presidential search process and “determine the best path forward.”
Group leaders uphold the importance of their statements despite minimal Board recognition
Despite the many statements from groups calling for a pause in the presidential search, the Board vacancies to be filled and for student and faculty voices to be considered, the search continued and concluded with the Board’s unanimous appointment of Beardsley. Many group leaders expressed that the Board did not take their concerns into account, but leading up to the appointment, and even afterwards, statements continued.
Brown said Wahoos4UVA has never received a response from the Board in regard to their statements, despite her co-chair Chris Ford directly reaching out to the Board requesting to meet. However, she explained the group remained motivated to continue releasing statements solely because it wanted the Board to hear their thoughts, even if they did not respond to it.
“We're sharing our perspective because we think that it's an important perspective,” Brown said. “And that all of the stakeholders at the University should be speaking out if they're unhappy or disappointed in decisions that the Board has made, or that others in University leadership have made.”
Jefferson Council president Joel Gardner disagreed with Brown, saying he felt there was a lot of criticism directed towards the Board and search committee that was unfounded, which is why he said the group released its statements.
“We felt that it was our role to point out the facts, the history and the truth, and we felt that much, if not all, of the criticism was all politically driven … which certainly seemed to be coordinated,” Gardner said.
Walter Heinecke, immediate past president of the U.Va. AAUP chapter and associate professor of Education and Human Development, said the goal of the AAUP statements was to alert the community of “standards that need to be followed.” He noted his belief in the importance of academic freedom and shared governance being upheld at the University, especially during situations like the presidential search for the University’s 10th president.
Jeri Seidman, Faculty Senate chair and associate Commerce professor, echoed sentiments of Heinecke. She said this past year saw an extremely high number of resolutions from the Faculty Senate. She explained that typically, the Senate prefers to meet with University decision-makers directly, and passes resolutions to clearly state its concerns when they feel they have not been addressed.
“ … Regardless of whether our resolutions had an effect on [the Board’s] decisions, [the] Senate is the body that is called to advise the administration and the Board and we take that role seriously,” Seidman said.
Dickerson said the Council’s objective behind both their vote of no confidence in the Board and resolutions were to amplify student voices.
Groups’ missions going forward
Many group leaders expressed that while the future remains uncertain regarding University administration, they hope to continue voicing their concerns — specifically noting their hope to work with the new Board since Spanberger’s 10 appointments.
Dickerson said he hopes to increase direct communication with the University, and pointed out his desire for shared governance to be upheld.
“Students must continue to be creative when met with inflexible governance partners. There's always a way, and no challenge is impossible to overcome,” Dickerson said.
Brown similarly said she is not yet sure what Wahoos4UVA will specifically be doing in the coming months but that the group will continue watching University events “unfold” and commenting on them when necessary.
“We’d love to have an opportunity to talk to [the Board], and maybe someone will give us an appointment to sit down around a table and talk about where U.Va. goes from here,” Brown said.
Edward Christopher contributed reporting to this article.
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