Scott C. Beardsley was named U.Va.’s 10th president Dec. 19, 2025. We would like to question this appointment on two grounds — that the process of selection was illegitimate and that Mr. Beardsley’s credentials are less than adequate to the position.
The Board of Visitors that appointed Mr. Beardsley had been harshly rebuked by faculty, staff, students and alumni. Causes for alarm and mistrust included the improper involvement of former Gov. Glenn Youngkin in the Board’s makeup and functioning, its collusion with the Department of Justice to force out former University President Jim Ryan, its lack of transparency and disregard for the principles of shared governance, its ignoring of repeated votes of no confidence by multiple stakeholders and its questionable compliance with state law regarding its composition.
If the Board itself was problematic, its search process for a new president was widely discredited as hasty and politicized. As noted by a Jan. 15, 2026 statement of the Concerned Faculty, “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 January 17, 2026.” Joining the Faculty Senate, Student Council and General Faculty Council, nine of the University’s 14 academic deans had signed a letter calling for the search to be paused or suspended.
The appointment was also timed to coincide with winter break, which had the effect of muting student and faculty protest. Further tainting the search, there is evidence suggesting that the search firm, Isaacson, Miller, may have had ties to Mr. Beardsley, compromising the objectivity and independence of their vetting and appointment process. If we mistrust the search process, we are also troubled by its outcome. From what we have seen, Mr. Beardley’s scholarly record appears to be at odds with leadership of a world-class research institution.
Mr. Beardsley’s doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania is an executive Ed.D. As explained by Julie J. Park, this two-year degree is “well-regarded for someone working in policy, a nonprofit or student life” but is not comparable to the kind of academic degrees and credentials held by past University presidents and by those governing our peer institutions.
Despite Mr. Beardsley’s claim to have a record of peer-reviewed publications — the currency of scholarly standing — concerns have been raised that his articles do not meet this standard. Articles published in a corporate quarterly do not qualify as peer-reviewed. As Park points out, It appears that Mr. Beardsley may not fully understand the meaning of peer review in an academic context. She goes on to suggest that a person of color with Mr. Beardsley’s credentials would likely be seen as underqualified to lead an elite university. Mr. Beardsley has not yet responded to these concerns regarding his publications.
We would also suggest that Mr. Beardsley’s professional record is at odds with the values of a non-profit liberal arts institution. Mr. Beardsley has spent most of his professional life in senior positions with the global management consulting firm McKinsey and Company. Leaving aside McKinsey’s role in helping Purdue Pharma boost sales of opioids, the profit-oriented values and mores of the corporate world are — or should be — distinct from the open-ended pursuit of knowledge and free exploration of ideas at the core of university teaching and research.
Disturbing, too, is an apparent personal record raising doubts about Mr. Beardsley’s transparency and moral leadership. A recent article asserted that his CV was not only misleading but also missing references to diversity, equity and inclusion that had appeared in earlier versions. If true, the readiness to abandon commitments to equity in response to views held by the current U.S. President does not suggest the kind of steady, principled leadership needed at this moment of crisis in higher education. To date, Mr. Beardsley has not commented on this assertion.
Finally, Mr. Beardsley’s claim to have been unaware of the Faculty Senate’s publicly announced resolution calling for search candidates to request a pause in the process also begs belief.
Given the illegitimacy of the search process along with the questionable fit of his credentials, we strongly urge the newly-reconstituted Board to rescind the appointment of Mr. Beardsley, form a search committee with more than token faculty representation and begin anew the slow, careful search for a president whose scholarly record, professional experience and personal attributes better qualify them to serve as University president.
This column was submitted by the Executive Committee for the AAUP-UVA Chapter. They can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this guest column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. The column represents the views of the authors alone.
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