Youngkin removes Ellis from the UVA Board of Visitors

There is a vacancy on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors now that Governor Glenn Youngkin has removed U. Bertram Ellis, Jr. from the position.

“While I thank you for your hard work, your conduct on many occasions has violated the Commonwealth’s Code of Conduct for our Boards and Commissions and the Board of Visitors’ Statement of Visitor Responsibilities,” Youngkin wrote in a letter this afternoon.

Youngkin cited provisions in §23.1-1300 of Virginia Code.

“The Governor may remove from office for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence, or gross neglect of duty any member of the board of any public institution of higher education and fill the vacancy resulting from the removal,” reads subsection C.

Subsection D requires a public statement from the governor and also states that the governor is the sole judge of whether a person should be removed.

Ellis is the CEO of Ellis Capital, a consulting and investment firm. Youngkin appointed him to the Board of Visitors in June 2022. Soon after, he became a leading proponent of efforts to end UVA’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

Ellis has previously apologized to the Board of Visitors for text messages that called for a “battle royale for the soul of UVa,” according to an account in the Charlottesville Daily Progress. He was unaware that he was subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

The Washington Post has reported that Youngkin has asked Ellis to resign, but Ellis refused.

In recent months, Ellis has become a fiscal hawk in his capacity as a member of the Buildings and Grounds Committee. In December, he was the lone vote against proceeding with a schematic design for the North Grounds Parking Garage out of concerns UVA was spending too much money.

“I’m going to vote no on any expenditures to be brought to this board until I have seen a 25/26 budget for this university that includes significant cuts in administrative expense,” Ellis said. “I am on record and personally believe that we can take $200 million out of our budget and in the process, we can eliminate a lot of duplicative and counterproductive programs and services that have crept into our organization through, I think, lack of budgetary discipline by this board.”

In March, he was the lone vote against adding two projects to the Major Capital Plan.

“Before the vote, I will make my stand once again to all my colleagues that I will be a no vote on any additional capital expenditures until I see a budget for 2025/2026 of at least 100 million less than what we’ve been spending,” Ellis said.

The Statement of Visitor Responsibilities for the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia was last updated on December 7, 2018.

“As the Board of the University, we are committed to effective governance accomplished through a Board culture characterized by dedication, diligence, collaboration, teamwork, candor, transparency, and accountability,” reads the statement.

A request is out to the University of Virginia for a statement and has not been responded to as of 7:26 a.m. There’s another story coming soon after this one!

Before you go: When information is known, Information Charlottesville aspires to get the information out to Charlottesville and beyond. This story was published here first and will be in the next edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.