<p>Jones sounds like a billionaire who thinks he has all the answers. I’m sure he loves the University but the way he ,Kiernan, and Dragas (with their business oriented ,strategic dynamism mumbo jumbo) have gone about this seems to be causing potential unexpected harm. He seems to think he is an expert in admissions and yield. The number of instate applications doesn’t change all that much but the number of out of state applications has risen dramatically,thanks to kids applying to many more colleges in general and to the recent use by UVa of the Common Application. It is no surprise that the yield has gone down some. As charlie noted, there is no merit aid and kids just have many more choices these days. The current yield seems more than acceptable. I also like the article about leadership styles (mini vs. maxi)-very informative in this case.</p>
<p>Charlie, I read the op-ed by John T. Jones. I totally disagree with you that this “openly shows that he was the force”. He is making a statement that he supports the BOV’s actions and states his reasons. Unlike Peter Kiernan, who clearly admitted his involvement, Jones does no such thing. You can connect the dots if you wish, but to state that he “openly shows that he was the force” is incorrect. It may be the case…he may have been, but based on information we have we can’t go around making true statements out of speculation.</p>
<p>I do agree with your assessment regarding his comments regarding yield at UVa.</p>
<p>I agree with almost everything that Tudor Jones says. UVA has slipped and could slip more in the future. The primary cause of the slippage is, obviously, that VA has been in the vanguard of slashing support to state universities. What I don’t still get is what the solution is supposed to be. </p>
<p>Increasing privatization (more OOS students, more fund raising) is the obvious strategy being followed by other state flagships and what I would do. You’d think Tudor Jones and the Darden types would support that. And in that model, if folks like Tudor Jones don’t want to write big checks while Sullivan is President, then Sullivan isn’t the right person for the job.</p>
<p>But the Governor (who Tudor Jones supports) wants UVA to be more public (but with less state money). I just don’t see how UVA could do that without having its prestige diluted further. As compared to UNC, UCLA, Cal and Michigan, UVA has the worst whipsaw of low state funding and state operating restrictions.</p>
<p>[Tudor Jones is a little off in harping on UVA’s yield. Schools with a lower yield than UVA include Duke, Georgetown, Vandy and Chicago and they all are ranked higher than UVA. Yield is a somewhat complex statistic and you can have lower quality schools that have higher yields and vice versa.]</p>
<p>blueiguana, re: Tudor Jones. There is a very recent article in the Hook that does imply that he had a role in this. Who knows what the reality is. The Hook article-"Important Alum-Donor Jones had role in Sullivan ouster. "<br>
northwesty, I agree Tudor Jones does make some good points about a slip in the rankings. As I said earlier, I do think those involved do love the University. Just seems they could have gone about this another way. Just not sure ousting a President after less than 2 years in the way it was done was a very smooth move.</p>
<p>IF the brouhaha over this travesty doesn’t come from the Grounds, just where should it begin? It’s the the current University community that has the largest stake in this, and they have every right, an dthe responsibility, to make their outrage known</p>
<p>Thanks sevmom - I read the hook article yesterday. I found it interesting, but frankly am taking it with a grain of salt that a $100M donation that was dependent on Terry Sullivan being fired (if that was true) is what caused this, that Jones was the force. Certainly others are free to connect all the dots they want. I think it’s going to be a long time before we get anything close to a clear picture of what happened, if ever.</p>
<p>In the meantime I am actually far more interested in what is going to happen moving forward. Who is going to lead in the interim? What will be the process to find a new President. What will be the changes to take place at UVa and how will that effect my student? The BOV made a darn fool mess of this from the get go. They had better get their stuff together and instill some confidence that whatever is happening from here on out is being done with the utmost professionalism and with the students in mind. Like a nasty divorce that goes terribly wrong…the kids are the ones who are hurt the most.</p>
<p>I agree BlueIguana time to move forward. </p>
<p>Articles/blogs/editorials of fact and speculation can be written, opinions shared, rallies formed. All important integral parts of the process. However the BoV and the Deans of all of the Schools of UVa need to sit down and have a discussion as to the direction of UVa. It is only when all parties come out of these discussions with a clear, cohesive and mutual understanding that the confidence will be restored on all fronts. </p>
<p>The Governor has turned a blind eye, the President has resigned and that leaves the BoV to give the answers everyone is seeking. If you truly are a governing board then show the leadership that has been bestowed upon you. If you are looking out for the best interest of the University then share with those that are an integral part YOUR ideas. Inform the community as to what strategy you have in mind to move UVa to the forefront of education.</p>
<p>Yes, what is this great new strategy???</p>
<p>OldUVAGrad “A UVA CLAS Dept Chair came up to us (we did not know him) and told them the value of their UVA degree is at stake.”</p>
<p>More self serving blather and fear mongering. You would think the university was going to be shut down. The board ought to put forth the vision it has for the university so that all this hysteria would end. Whether we agree with the vision or not is a different question. It’s easy to say add this, or add that, but it’s much more difficult when you have to actually pay for all the bells and whistles of the various programs. UVA doesn’t operate in isolation. If the citizens of Virginia have a different vision for UVA than the faculty then the faculty is going to have to adapt not the other way around.</p>
<p>evitaperon “I want an accountable BoV first.” </p>
<p>The BoV should not be accountable to students or faculty. The BoV is accountable to the Governor (the representative for the citizenry of Virginia). While the university may have a history of self governance the power lies with the State.</p>
<p>ChrisTKD said
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<p>What do the citizens of Va have to do with anything? (other than in an indirect way by putting pressure on the BOV’s, Gov etc to do something). I see that as the entire problem: the people that make the decisions are not accountable to anyone. At least at my school, which is undergoing one of the biggest PR fiascos of all-time, I recently got to vote for the new members of the Board.</p>
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<p>I disagree as strongly as one can disagree. The BOVs should be accountable to everyone who has a vested interest in the school. That should be the students, faculty, alumni, and to a smaller extent, the citizens since they don’t contribute much to the school. They sure shouldn’t be accountable to a Gov. who is going to do what is in his or her best interest, and not what is best for the school.</p>
<p>[The</a> Honor Committee, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/honor/]The”>http://www.virginia.edu/honor/)</p>
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<p>The Executive VP and Provost (John Simon) forwarded this statement to all our inboxes.</p>
<p>
Wouldn’t most of the faculty, students, and alums be citizens of Virginia? It would be a serious political mistake to discount them.</p>
<p>There’s a little excerpt from Thursday’s letter from the two EVP’s on the UVA homepage that is rather understated:
Well, that does sound better than ouster. Though it didn’t exactly pour oil on troubled waters. Good for Simon for his subsequent email asking for trust to be restored by the BOV.</p>
<p>[U-Va</a>. faculty hold raucous meeting over ousted president - College, Inc. - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/u-va-faculty-hold-raucous-meeting-over-ousted-president/2012/06/17/gJQAnLFtjV_blog.html]U-Va”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/u-va-faculty-hold-raucous-meeting-over-ousted-president/2012/06/17/gJQAnLFtjV_blog.html)</p>
<p>TV4caster “What do the citizens of Va have to do with anything?”</p>
<p>Ah, now we are getting to the fundamental issue. The state of Virginia has the idea that it actually owns UVA. An institution can be owned and controlled even if the entity’s on-going operations are designed to be self-funding. So, if the citizens of Virginia are demanding that college tuitions be controlled then the appointed board of this public university is going to make sure that the university administration makes whatever changes are necessary. Somehow the faculty/deans of UVA seem to have developed the idea that it’s really their university. That’s actually not a bad thing as long as they understand that they still have a boss that they need to answer to, i.e., the governor.</p>
<p>WTJU is going to be broadcasting Live from the rally tomorrow! From the announcement:</p>
<p>WTJU will be broadcasting live from the Lawn during the Rally In Support of President Sullivan, and we look forward to hearing from you. Join us at the WTJU banner and tell our listeners how you feel. We welcome all opinions.</p>
<p>^ Which would be all well and good if the governor would man-up and do his job, instead of walking away like he did 10 days ago when he learned of this.</p>
<p>Post your thoughts on a new website:</p>
<p>[I</a> Am UVa](<a href=“http://iamuva.com/]I”>http://iamuva.com/)</p>
<p>The state law creating the Board of Visitors of UVa says the Va. General Assembly retains authority over the Board of Visitors. I read that to say that the legislature can overrule anything they do. Unfortunately, the legislature isn’t in session very often. The legislature also has the power to confirm appointees to the board.</p>
<p>Most of the discussion has moved over to the facebook group Students, Family & Friends United to Reinstate President sullivan</p>
<p>WTJU will also be live broadcasting from the protest rally starting 2:30 pm. Monday on the Lawn during the board’s closed door meeting. </p>
<p>Note - the full board has not yet accepted the resignation. President Sullivan is still President, even though the Rector is trying to order her out of Carr’s Hill. She asked to speak to the Board Monday, and they said OK, as long as no one else can hear you.</p>
<p>One legislator said it appears that 98% of the people oppose the Board and support President Sullivan and he hasn’t heard from the other 2%.</p>
<p>850 people were at the faculty meeting. They had to link the session to 8 overflow rooms, because it was twice the capacity of Darden’s auditorium.</p>
<p>cool evita glad you posted the link</p>
<p>[U-Va</a>. donors threaten to withhold funds over ouster of president - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/u-va-donors-threaten-to-withhold-funds-over-ouster-of-president/2012/06/17/gJQATxd5jV_story.html]U-Va”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/u-va-donors-threaten-to-withhold-funds-over-ouster-of-president/2012/06/17/gJQATxd5jV_story.html)</p>