An engagement letter between the Virginia attorney general’s office and Wilkinson Stekloff law firm, obtained by The Cavalier Daily from an anonymous source, confirms that the firm was retained to represent the Board in the days leading to Ryan's resignation.
Two additional discussions focused on the extension of the Representation and Governance committee — a temporary committee established in Spring 2025 — and a new course materials platform the University plans to introduce, titled One Access.
Sheridan said that since signing the Justice Department agreement, the University has seen a “dramatic rise in divisive politics."
Sources qualified the search or elements of the search as “highly unusual” in large part because of the actions of Porter Wilkinson, who was at the time a member of the Board of Visitors and is now vice rector.
The presidential search committee and the University’s external search firm announced Friday that the search would continue, despite a Faculty Senate resolution passed Nov. 14 which called for a pause.
After submitting a six-section Freedom of Information Act Request to the University Sept. 18, State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, received 284 pages of records Oct. 29, pertaining to former University President Jim Ryan’s resignation this summer.
“I concur fully with President Ryan’s recollection of events,” former Board Rector Robert Hardie said.
In the letter, Spanberger urged the Board to hold off on selecting finalists in the search and not to appoint a president until she has filled five current vacancies.
The University shared a “run, hide, fight” alert with community members at 3:05 p.m. today, saying that there was an active attacker with a gun in the area of Shannon Library.
“The important question, therefore, is whether following the DOJ guidance imposes substantial burdens on U.Va.,” Mahoney wrote. “The answer is clearly no.”
