Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger has called on the University of Virginia to suspend its presidential campaign until she takes office in January and appoints new board members.
In a letter to board leaders on Wednesday, Spanberger wrote that she was “deeply concerned” about recent developments at the state flagship store, noting that “President Jim Ryan has resigned due to federal overreach.” Ryan resigned amid a federal investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion practices at the University of Virginia. The committee later reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to suspend those investigations.
Spanberger argued that the government’s intervention was “unchallenged by the board” and “severely undermined” public confidence in its ability to “govern effectively, transparently and in the best interests of the university.”
Spanberger also pointed to recent votes of no confidence in the Board of Trustees by the University of Virginia Faculty Senate and Student Government Association. Given those concerns and the board’s woes, which are missing several members after state Democrats blocked Republican Gov. Glenn Younkin’s appointment, Spanberger called for a pause until her own pick is confirmed by the General Assembly.
“The benefits of selecting a new chair and a formally constituted board are clear,” the governor-elect wrote in a letter to board leaders. That includes making the search process and decisions credible and “eliminating concerns that the board’s actions were unlawful because of a lack of authority,” she wrote.
The University of Virginia has so far been noncommittal in its public response.
Spokesman Brian Coy wrote to the governor: “University leadership and the Board of Visitors are reviewing this letter and are prepared to engage with the governor-elect and work with her and her team to promote the best interests of UVA and the Commonwealth.” Inside higher education Via email.
Spanberger is the latest state Democrat to clash with the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, which includes Republican donors and politicians. While politics have long played a role in Virginia’s board of trustees, Youngkin’s appointment represents a dramatic shift to the right, fueled by pushback as Democrats blocked recent nominations.
(A legal battle over the status of those appointments is currently underway; the Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case last month but has yet to make a decision.)
Democrats have ramped up their rhetoric against the University of Virginia in recent months, demanding answers about the deal with the Justice Department and Ryan’s resignation and accusing the board of succumbing to “blackmail tactics.” Now, with Democrats capturing the governorship and extending their electoral majority in the General Assembly, Spanberger may have the political capital to reshape higher education at the state level as she sees fit — unless the federal government intervenes.
Spanberger was the first woman elected governor of Virginia and an alumna of the University of Virginia.
The governor-elect’s call for a moratorium on the University of Virginia’s presidential campaign was met with immediate resistance from the Jeffersonian Commission. The Jefferson Council, a conservative alumni group that gained Youngkin’s influence, appointed the group’s co-founder Bert Ellis to the board but later removed him because of his combative behavior.
The group argued in a statement that in 2022, the Democratic-appointed board “quietly extended” Ryan’s contract through 2028, even though the contract did not expire until 2025 and “Governor Youngkin did not have the opportunity to appoint a board member.” “The board’s actions are clearly intended to ensure that Ryan’s tenure” extends beyond Youngkin’s term, they wrote. (Virginia governors may not serve consecutive terms.)
The organization also defended the selection committee and process.
“In contrast, the current Presidential Search Committee at the University of Virginia is the broadest and most diverse in the University’s history, legally constituted by the Board of Trustees and has been in operation since July 2025, working diligently through meetings and interviews. The sudden requirement that the BOV wait to select a President is a bold political ploy and represents a thoroughgoing historical double standard,” the Jefferson Committee wrote.
Faculty, however, had mixed feelings about the search committee.
In an Aug. 10 letter, the UVA chapter of the American Association of University Professors accused the board of defrauding faculty by limiting their seats on presidential search committees. The group writes that the committee is “dominated by current and former members” [Board of Visitors] and administrators,” while faculty make up less than a quarter of the committee. Furthermore, they note, none of these members “are elected by the faculty.”
Spanberger’s insistence that the University of Virginia suspend its presidential campaign has similarities to the way other governors have tried to influence leadership decisions before taking office, such as Louisiana’s Jeff Landry. Shortly after being elected in late 2023, the Republican governor called on the University of Louisiana System to delay hiring former Democratic state Rep. Rick Gallot as its next chancellor.
Landry said he wants to make sure their vision for the system is aligned. Ultimately, despite the pause, Garrott was hired as system president after meeting with Landry before taking the job.
