Rising fourth-year College student Jackson Sleadd will become the 45th student member of the Board of Visitors when his one-year term officially begins June 1. Sleadd said he hopes to convey the student experience to the Board, generally expand student participation in University governance and rebuild the connection between the student body and the Board.
As the only student member on the University’s Board, Sleadd will attend and participate in all Board proceedings — both open and closed sessions — but will not be able to vote on resolutions. Sleadd noted that the position closely mirrors that of the faculty representative to the Board in this regard. The Board elected Sleadd and Jeri Seidman, associate Commerce professor and outgoing Faculty Senate chair, to the positions of student member to the Board and faculty representative to the Board, respectively, April 16.
“I think that where … this position comes in [includes] being able to present where the students are at,” Sleadd said. “I think that talking to as many students as possible, and then presenting that to the Board [shows] where these decisions will impact students … That’s because I don’t have a vote — it’s about steering a conversation.”
To achieve his outlined goals, Sleadd said he plans to attend student organization meetings throughout his term, and wants to understand what those groups are doing in order to bring their stories to the Board’s attention. He said he also plans to start a coffee chat program, working with Housing and Residence Life and Student Affairs to hold small-group conversations with first-years, transfer students, law students, graduate students and the College at Wise students.
Sleadd arrives at this role also as president of the Class of 2027, an experience he said taught him as much about his own limitations regarding University knowledge as it did about leadership. He explained that as class president, he has learned how to reach out to others for answers and advice because he is willing to admit he does not know everything about the University. This is a skill he has that is most transferable from his current role to his role as student member of the Board, Sleadd said.
“I think students love this place, and would love to make this place better,” Sleadd said. “Getting all of these opinions on how to do that is the skill that has been most helpful as class president, and I think it will be a really helpful skill as [the] student member on the Board.”
Sleadd also explained that he sees the student member as responsible for representing the full range of students across the University’s many schools.
“The student member on the Board of Visitors is responsible for representing the full diaspora of student opinions at the University,” Sleadd said. “That goes from U.Va. Central Grounds, the College of Arts and Sciences, up to the Law school, up to all of the Darden students [in Northern Virginia], all the Continuing and Professional Studies students [in Northern Virginia] and then also all of our students down at U.Va. Wise.”
Sleadd explained that by hearing from and representing students, he can hopefully help the Board make decisions with students in mind. He is entering the role of student member during a period of heightened scrutiny from University constituents of Board decisions, and pointed to recent votes on tuition increases and the dismantling of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships in March 2025. Both of these instances have drawn criticism from some members of the University community and Sleadd noted his desire to present the student opinion to the Board when similar issues arise.
Additionally, during the University presidential search last summer, both the Faculty Senate and Student Council issued votes of no confidence in the Board for the process lacking transparency and University-constituent input. He said he does not plan to navigate those issues by staking out his own positions, but by focusing on his role as a medium for student voices.
“I think the way that I plan to approach and navigate those issues is [by] presenting the Board with a really accurate picture of the student perspective and experience,” Sleadd said.
Sleadd’s path toward the Board was shaped largely by watching what student leadership could accomplish up close, he said. He pointed specifically to his work alongside Gregory Perryman, current student member of the Board and Class of 2026 alumnus, and Lisa Kopelnik, the 43rd student member of the Board and Class of 2025 alumna.
One experience in particular stood out to Sleadd — a dispute over a new ticketing policy at the Hill at Scott Stadium that required students to have a ticket to enter the Hill. With the help of Kopelnik, Sleadd said he was able to get that policy removed.
“It was through the [student member] at the time that I was able to get in contact with athletics,” Sleadd said. “I was able to work with [Kopelnik] to have the policy changed, and that was a tangible result for students.”
Another one of Sleadd’s stated priorities is elevating student participation in “all different forms of governance at the University,” including within self-governance committees and University processes. He said he believes students are both capable of and eager to do that work, and that part of his job is connecting them to those opportunities.
With all of his goals in mind, the role of student member has a term limit of only one year. Sleadd acknowledged the challenge of the limited time to make the impact he hopes to accomplish, but said he resists thinking about the role in terms of personal legacy. As the 45th student member of the Board, he said he sees himself as just one in a long chain of students who have served in the same role.
“It’s about building on the work of the students that came before you,” Sleadd said. “It’s about building on the work that the 44 members have done before me to elevate student voices and keep the University focused on our students.”
When asked about what a successful year in the role would look like, Sleadd focused on the connection between students and the institution that governs them.
“I would say what would be the marker of a successful year for me is students saying that they feel more connected to the Board of Visitors … and that the Board feels more connected to students,” Sleadd said.
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