Funding to construct UVA Center for the Arts included in General Assembly’s version of the budget

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has not yet signed any legislation or performed any line item vetoes but the Finance Committee of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors got an update on various items at their meeting on March 7.

J.J. Davis, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said the next milestone for the General Assembly is April 2 when legislators will return to respond to whatever actions Youngkin has taken.

“Important to note because all of this information will ultimately flow into the building of the 2026 operating and capital budget,” Davis said.

Davis did have updates on what budget items were approved by the House and Senate conference committee. They are:

• Governor Youngkin had included $12.5 million for the Commonwealth Bioaccelerator program of which UVA is partnering with CvilleBioHub for a facility at North Fork. The final conference report reduced that to $7.5 million.
• Youngkin had no funding for a “tech talent investment program” but the conference report has $897,000 in FY26.
• Youngkin had no funding for undergraduate financial aid, but the conference report has $312,000 in FY26.
• Youngkin had no funding for a request for “maintain access / affordability” but the conference report has $6 million in FY25.
• The conference report agrees with Youngkin that $40 million in state funding for the Paul and Diane Manning Institute for Biotechnology be moved from FY26 to FY25.
• The conference report included the cost of full construction for funding of the Center for the Arts, whereas Youngkin included no funding. Buildings and Grounds Committee Chair John Nau has expressed concern about the size and scope of the project, as I reported earlier this month.

These all depend on Youngkin’s signature.

The Finance Commission concluded with an update on the endowment.

Before you go: Where do stories come from? This one comes from a meeting of a committee of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors. In any given week, I record about a dozen hours of meetings to sift through for stories. For this time around, I’m determined to get to the end of the March 2025 meeting. This is the seventh story from that meeting to be posted here. This story was originally published in the March 13, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.