Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) asked the University of Virginia’s board Wednesday to pause its search for a president until she takes office and appoints five new members, signaling she’ll make reshaping the state’s higher education intuitions an early priority.
The board, run exclusively by appointees of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), has drawn controversy over its handling of federal investigations into the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — scrutiny that led James E. Ryan to resign as president. The university’s presidential search committee said earlier this month that it would invite some candidates for in-person interviews later this month before identifying finalists for the role.
Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) asked the University of Virginia’s board Wednesday to pause its search for a president until she takes office and appoints five new members, signaling she’ll make reshaping the state’s higher education intuitions an early priority.
The board, run exclusively by appointees of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), has drawn controversy over its handling of federal investigations into the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — scrutiny that led James E. Ryan to resign as president. The university’s presidential search committee said earlier this month that it would invite some candidates for in-person interviews later this month before identifying finalists for the role.
Spanberger, a U-Va. graduate, said in a Wednesday letter to the heads of the Board of Visitors that Ryan’s departure resulted from “federal overreach” that the governing body did not challenge and questioned how that could affect the “legitimacy” of the search for the school’s next leader.
“I urge you to refrain from rushing this search process and from selecting the finalists for the presidency or a president until the Board is at full complement,” she wrote. Spanberger will be inaugurated in January.
She added that the board has lost the confidence of several of its constituencies, including the university’s faculty senate, raising questions over its ability to govern effectively.
Brian Coy, a spokesperson for U-Va., acknowledged board leaders had seen the statement but did not say whether the board would follow Spanberger’s request.
“University leaders and the Board of Visitors are reviewing the letter and are ready to engage with the Governor-elect and to work alongside her and her team to advance the best interests of U-Va. and the Commonwealth,” he said in a statement.
The Trump administration and other conservatives have brought intense scrutiny to two of Virginia’s prominent universities — U-Va., the state’s flagship, and George Mason University, the state’s largest public four-year college — since this spring as part of efforts to root out DEI policies they see as discriminatory.
The administration launched several probes into U-Va., and Ryan said he stepped down in hopes of sparing the university from a costly fight with the federal government. U-Va. and the Justice Department last month announced an agreement to pause the investigations.
Soon after Ryan’s resignation, some Republicans began calling for the ouster of George Mason President Gregory Washington, who has refused to quit.
Spanberger’s letter could reignite a legal fight over appointees to boards to colleges and universities in the state.
Democrats on a Virginia Senate committee rejected 22 of Youngkin’s recent appointees to university boards, including five at U-Va., in recent months to try to limit Youngkin’s influence on higher education. The governor and Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) have said only the full General Assembly can reject board members, who they argue should be able to serve until that happens. The judiciary has thus far said the appointees cannot serve.
The rejections and resulting vacancies mean the boards at U-Va. and George Mason currently do not have enough members to reach a quorum.
Youngkin’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
In a post on X, state Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), the president pro tempore, said Democratic state lawmakers would back Spanberger’s actions, which she said would help to ensure Virginia’s universities are not “turned into right wing political laboratories.”
In her letter, Spanberger added that it is a priority of her administration to “stabilize and normalize” Virginia’s university boards and that she will make appointments soon after she is inaugurated in January.
Gregory S. Schneider contributed to this report.
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