Scott Beardsley is now the 10th President of the University of Virginia having been appointed by the Board of Visitors on the last day of the fall semester. Beardsley has been the Dean of the Darden School of Business but this week wrote a message to the UVA community from his new position.
“I step into this role aware that this is an important moment, and I am energized by the opportunities ahead,” Beardsley wrote in a January 5 message. “I am committed to listening, learning and working alongside this community as we shape UVA’s future together.”
Beardsley thanked former president Jim Ryan as well as former interim president Paul Mahoney for their service, while also acknowledging the role Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis played as acting president immediately after Ryan’s resignation.
Beardsley did not directly address any of the controversy regarding this appointment including demands from Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger that the presidential search be paused until new members of the Board of Visitors could be sat. Five of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s nominees failed to be confirmed by the General Assembly. He made an indirect reference in listing one of three things he wants to emphasize during his term.
“I stand before you as a mission-driven leader, not a politically driven leader,” Beardsley wrote. “My decisions will not be motivated by partisan divisions – which I have worked to bridge my entire career – but by my love for our University community, a love that I know we all share.”
Beardsley also wanted to emphasize he’s willing to listen to anyone and that he wants to ensure UVA plays a strong role in economic development across the Commonwealth.
At least one faculty group at UVA is not satisfied with his appointment. Today the UVA Chapter of the American Association of University Professors called upon other members of the UVA community to reject Beardsley’s appointment.
“The announcement of a new president, at a time when many students and other members of the UVA community had already left town, is sure to create more confusion and distrust,” reads the letter.
The letter notes that nine academic deans at UVA, except Beardsley, signed a letter urging a delay.
“The presidential search, problematic from the start and resulting in this appointment, represents the Board’s continued failure to engage in authentic shared governance with the faculty,” reads the letter, which states the group’s issue is with the process and not with Beardsley himself.
A message sent out on January 8 by the group Wahoos4UVA sounds a similar note about Beardsley.
“No individual, regardless of credentials, can confer legitimacy on a process that has already lost the confidence of a substantial portion of the community it is meant to serve,” reads their latest message. “A presidency born of a compromised process cannot easily provide the stable, trusted leadership UVA needs.”
The group is calling for a reconstitution of the Board of Visitors.
The Board of Visitors met virtually on January 6 for what was mostly a closed session. They also appointed John F. Harris to the Health System Board. Harris, a is one of the five failed Youngkin appointments to the BOV.
On January 2, UVA announced that Michael Lenox will take over as Interim Dean.
“My goal is to continue our ascent and to set up our next Dean and the School for further success and impact, building on the momentum as we work towards Darden’s 75th anniversary in 2030,” he said.
A search for the next Dean will begin soon with the idea of having someone in place by the beginning of the fall semester.
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