This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Last week, Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger wrote a letter to the University of Virginia's Board of Visitors, requesting a pause on the search for a new president.
The move comes as the university has been on the hunt for a new leader since the departure of former President Jim Ryan in June.
Spanberger, a UVA alumna, said she is "deeply concerned" over recent developments and how the "challenges may impact the legitimacy of the current search for the University's next president."
"Over the past six months, the actions of the Board of Visitors have undermined the public's and the University community's confidence in the Board's ability to govern productively, transparently, and in the best interests of the University," Spanberger wrote to the board, Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson.
Currently, there are five vacancies on UVA's board because they "have failed to achieve confirmation by the General Assembly," according to Spanberger's letter. UVA's board features 17 governor-appointed voting members who hold four-year terms.
All of the members of UVA's board were appointed by current Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Earlier this year, Democrats on the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee rejected eight of Youngkin's appointees to open seats on boards of visitors at three public universities, including UVA.
The Virginia Supreme Court recently heard arguments filed over those board appointments.
Because of that, Spanberger believes the board's "composition is now in violation of statutory requirements … further calling into question the legitimacy of the Board and its actions."
In the page-and-a-half letter, Spanberger also said that Ryan's departure was "a result of federal overreach" that had been unchallenged by the board.
"The search for a university president is the most consequential action a university board can undertake, and in all cases, such a search must be conducted through a legitimate and transparent process," she said.
Robert Hardie was rector when Ryan resigned and his term expired on June 30; just a few days after Ryan's resignation announcement. Hardie was first appointed to UVA's board in 2008 by then-Gov. Tim Kaine and served a second consecutive term after being reappointed by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
In 2021, he was elected as vice rector while then-Gov. Ralph Northam was in office. His 12 years of service to the board were mostly under Democratic leadership.
Earlier this week, Hardie was named to Spanberger's inaugural committee.
In August, Paul G. Mahoney, a law professor, was named interim president, and a nationwide search is underway for the university's 10th president. Currently, that search is in phase three of its four-phase process, which kicked off in July.
On Thursday, Youngkin responded to Spanberger's letter with a two-and-a-half page letter. When he met with her last week, there was a discussion around university boards and operations. "You very briefly mentioned sending a letter about the University of Virginia, but moved to a different topic so quickly that it seemed unimportant at the time," Youngkin said. "I am advised that this was likely the first time in the history of our Commonwealth that a Governor-elect attempted to interfere with the governance of a university and the fiduciary duties of individual board members."
Youngkin's letter also accused Spanberger of trying to "bully or micromanage" the Board of Visitors.
He felt "compelled" to respond, due to the "breach of protocol" and "inaccuracies" in her letter, also saying that she and her transition team have "reached conclusions" before learning "all the facts surrounding" Ryan's resignation.
Youngkin also wrote that Spanberger's letter was "riddled with hyperbole and factual errors," impugning both the board and the current presidential search.
In his letter, he also mentioned the university's agreement with the federal Department of Justice, which he said was "extraordinarily fair and favorable to the University and Commonwealth."
Youngkin said that Spanberger's actions "inflicted significant damage on the university you profess to love," noting that his Democratic predecessors, current US Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, said that decisions on UVA's leadership "belong solely to its Board of Visitors."
During Youngkin's term, he said he "worked hard" to make sure that his appointees were "free of political interference" and were individuals with "extraordinary skills, competence, and experience necessary to manage" the higher education institutions of the commonwealth.
"It's dangerous to wrongfully disparage committed individuals who volunteer to serve on university boards and the serious work they do."
Spanberger is set to take office on Jan. 17.
Copyright 2025 VPM
Copyright 2025 VPM