Sheehy to retire as UVA’s chief operating officer and senior vice president

Colette Sheehy began work as a budget analyst at the University of Virginia in 1982, the total enrollment was around 16,500. 

Enrollment has grown steadily over the decades with a Fall 2024 count of 17,901 undergraduate students and 8,569 graduate students according to UVA’s Institutional Research and Analytics office. 

When Sheehy retires next July after spending ten years as UVA’s senior vice president for operations and state government relations, 

“When you have spent over 42 years at a place, it is difficult to walk away, but I feel the time is right,” Sheehy is quoted in a story on UVA Today. “UVA has given me opportunities to advance my professional career and to grow personally. 

Sheehy is one of the first women to become a vice president at UVA and currently oversees over 2,500 

One of Sheehy’s roles is to lead the meetings of the Buildings and Grounds Committee. She will leave her position while UVA continues a period of major construction. New residence halls are expected on Emmet Street and Ivy Road. The Karsh Institute of Democracy and the Virginia Guesthouse hotel will soon be completed and other buildings will be revealed. 

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