The University of Virginia Faculty Senate has called for the immediate resignation of Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson after former President Jim Ryan’s bombshell letter to faculty claiming the pair worked with the Trump administration to oust him this past summer.
It’s the first time in roughly 13 years that faculty leaders have called for a Republican-appointed rector’s resignation over the ouster of a university president.
Ryan’s letter followed a letter from Sheridan to faculty claiming Ryan left of his own volition under pressure from a Justice Department convinced he was stalling efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion policies at the school — and threatening millions of dollars in federal funding.
Ryan does not deny the money was at risk or that the DOJ was investigating UVa for its DEI practices, but wrote that Sheridan was intent on removing him and worked behind the scenes with DOJ officials to sacrifice him instead of working in good faith to make peace with Trump officials.
In the wake of Ryan’s departure, student, faculty and staff organizations — including the Faculty Senate — have passed votes of no confidence in the school’s governing Board of Visitors, led by Sheridan and Wilkinson, both appointees of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin with strong ties to Washington Republicans.
Faculty has complained that neither woman has been transparent with the university community regarding Ryan’s resignation or their involvement. The last time Sheridan met with faculty leaders was a Zoom call with the Faculty Executive Council on July 11, Ryan’s last day as president.
Sheridan’s letter to the Faculty Senate, especially in light of the allegations made in Ryan’s letter the next day, appears to be too little too late.
On Friday, the Senate voted 41-17, with two abstentions, to issue a resolution calling for Sheridan’s and Wilkinson’s resignations.
“Since July, we have called — in emails, in person and in meetings — for the rector and the vice rector to come and answer questions,” Jeri Seidman, commerce professor and chair of the Senate, said during the Friday meeting. “This resolution deals with the fact that that hasn’t happened until last night. Last night, only indirectly through the faculty representative of the board, only in writing and only when we had put a call for resignation on the agenda, we got some answers.”
Echoing the words of Virginia’s incoming Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, psychology professor Hudson Golino, said the pressure campaign that prompted Ryan’s departure is unacceptable at the state’s flagship public university.
“This university has suffered a coup, this university was part of a hostile takeover by private individuals, and this is a public institution in the state of Virginia. We should never allow such a thing to happen,” Golino said prior to Friday’s vote.
Other faculty senators wanted to wait on a vote, given the flood of information that was unleashed on them this past week from both Ryan and Sheridan, warning that a call for the latter’s resignation would be a "knee-jerk response." However, a motion to delay failed.
Spanish professor Anne Garland Mahler said Sheridan’s letter was a ploy meant to delay such a vote and faculty leaders should not let her get her way.
“The only reason Sheridan came clear on her version of events is because she knew this resolution was coming. That’s the only reason we’re getting any of this information,” she said.
Given the lack of trust in the university’s current leadership, the Faculty Senate’s resolution passed Friday also calls for the search for a future president to be halted immediately — which Spanberger has also requested.
UVa deserves "leadership who merit the trust and confidence of the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the University," the resolution reads.
The last time the UVa Faculty Senate called for the resignation of a rector was in 2012, when Rector Helen Dragas led a campaign to oust President Teresa Sullivan.
Sullivan was eventually reinstated and Dragas held on to her seat — but Dragas also had the benefit of Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell’s support, and Sheridan will not have such an ally in the Executive Mansion when Spanberger moves in Jan. 17.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com