<p>This is not a choice faculty, parents or students would have made. I do not think it is a choice UVA Administration would have made. It is the choice of the Board of Visitors, political appointees. It is not a debacle the University is responsible for; we can hold the Gang of Three accountable for this. </p>
<p>You should not be disappointed you chose UVA for your education or your child’s education. UVA is a great institution and UVA will rise above this arrogance.</p>
<p>There was a tremendous spirit and unity created by this debacle. Unfortunately, 12 of the 16 members of the Board could not be convinced that they were wrong. The process followed by the Board was horrible in every way. They even tried to get out of holding a roll call vote on their 2:30 AM decision, even after a member demanded it. “Oh, you asked for a roll call vote? I pretended not to hear you.” said Dragas</p>
<p>It appears that the Board never did vote to accept the resignation. Any vote taken in an Executive Session is supposed to be re-done in public, I believe.</p>
<p>Next stop: Massive communications effort to the Va. Legislature to have them reconstitute the Board, followed by a rally in Richmond. We probably can’t bring Sullivan back, but we can carry out her legacy.</p>
<p>UVA needs to get rid of the current BOV and change the way they are appointed. If UVA is indeed a public university, the public should have the right to vote on who its members are. The BOV would have some accountabilty that way.</p>
<p>“You should not be disappointed you chose UVa for your education or your child’s education. UVa is a great institution and UVa will rise above this arrogance.”
Agree and well said,sabaray.</p>
<p>There is no perfect way to select board members, but having the public vote would not be practical and would certainly not take the politics out of it. Most of the residents of Virginia don’t know and don’t care about what happens at UVA or any other public university in the state.</p>
<p>"Most of the residents of Virginia don’t know and don’t care about what happens at UVA or any other public university in the state. "</p>
<p>I disagree with you on this one cartera. With the cost of educating a student escalating every year and the way the economy is right now, parents of Virginia students are scrutinizing their options more and more. It is too expensive of a endeavor not to. </p>
<p>I think this decision is going to greatly affect the way in state students view UVA vs. some of the other schools in Virginia, especially one which draws the same type of applicant: William and Mary.</p>
<p>charlieschm - perhaps a rally in Richmond in support of greater funding for state universities would be of more use. The Sullivan ship has sailed.</p>
<p>New interim President</p>
<p>In the news release, Zeithaml said: I am sincerely honored and humbled to be called upon to serve the University in this capacity. I realize that it is a very difficult time for many people within our community, but I look forward to working with our faculty, students, staff, alumni and university leaders to move UVa forward.
The challenges and pressures on higher education and business schools are real, and the pace of change is accelerating, he wrote. We have been and will continue to respond to this environment through innovation in our programs and an aggressive approach when confronting the tough problems mentioned above. We need to be entrepreneurial, strategic, and position the school for continued preeminence.
He said school officials had been working closely with university administration.
The BOV is looking for decisive and bold action, and we should continue to give them what they want, he said.</p>
<p>I really don’t know why this guy is being attacked. He is part of the university and appears to be doing his best for UVA. Sullivan’s idea of incremental change makes sense if it’s executed on a proactive basis. If you wait until near a crisis then it’s too late for the incremental approach and more decisive action is warranted. Does anyone on this forum have enough information to say how long action can be put off? If not, then bashing Zeithaml is no more appropriate than the opaque decision on Sullivan.</p>
<p>I’m afraid the quote by Dean Zeithaml in the Daily Progress was represented as if it was from last night. It is a quote from an email he sent last Monday to those within the leadership of the comm school then released by the school on Wednesday. Whether you agree with it or not, it was a statement of practicality non insensitivity. He didn’t cause this mess. Direct anger at the board and towards getting the make up and structure of the board changed.</p>
<p>ChrisTKD…Very well said.</p>
<p>I have no axe to grind with Dean Z. What I do object to is the lack of transparency and respect for process that the BOV have engaged in. 2:30 AM votes? Sneaking out the back of the Rotunda? If you’re tasked with making the “hard decisions” that evidently had to be made, then be prepared to explain them.</p>
<p>As a Virginian & parent of a UVA alum, I am heartbroken & appalled at the events of this past week. How a few people could engineer this disaster suggests that the BOV is out of touch with the University’s best interests. However, I believe that Mr. Jefferson’s University is bigger than all of this & it will be able to weather the storm. How it will fare & in what condition it will emerge from the tempest remains to be seen.</p>
<p>I wish the interim president all the best with what is sure to be a difficult job in damage control.</p>
<p>Just to give you an idea of what happens in the real world when uncertainty exists:</p>
<p>"The faculty members that have the luxury of leaving are the ones that will result in UVa losing it’s high academic ranking. There are many schools salivating over the prospect of purchasing some of our top professors as a result of this fiasco. </p>
<p>You’re absolutely right! The University I work for is already in talks with one or two UVA professors, and they are two very highly respected, well published full-professors who are now interested in leaving because of UVA’s new reputation as being indifferent to education."</p>
<p>I can assure you that here are discussions like these going on all over academia. To those suppoters of the actions of the BOV; still think they didn’t do a lot of damage?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While that may be true, in all likelyhood it will take years to overcome the negative short term effects that this will have. From loss of quality faculty, to tuition increases that may outpace those of other VA universities, to entire departments being axed, to the diminution of a UVA degree, the students that are entering this year will surely pay the price. I can say with conviction that while it isn’t the end of the world, I do wish my D had chosen one of her other options.</p>
<p>KandK, I agree. I believe that it will affect how Virginians look at UVa. I have already heard, “Maybe I should have chosen W&M” from more than one in-coming student. I also talked with a young man from Ohio, who is paying full OOS tuition and could have gone to several Ivy League schools. He chose Virginia because of the ideals it was founded on, its honor and integrity. He is trying to calm his parents (who are wondering about this investment) but privately wondering where Virginia is headed. Thanks to the rector of the BOV, the reputation of our school has taken a serious hit.</p>
<p>To the best of my knowledge the BOV opened the meeting announcing the Carl Zeithalm as the interim nominee. The media and as many visitors as possible were then let in and a formal vote was taken. There is a youtube video of that portion of the meeting (don’t think I can post it here).</p>
<p>Nothing is certain in life except change. As Chris has pointed out, none of us really know what the facts are and why the BOV felt that they had to act as they did. UVA has weathered storms before and it will now. There are too many who care about the future of the University.</p>
<p>Sullivan’s not alone in her difficulties. CNN opinion piece on leadership at public institutions: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/19/opinion/suri-public-universities/index.html[/url]”>Why public university presidents are under fire - CNN;
<p>
</p>
<p>Parents of kids who are or may be in the position to consider UVA care what happens there. That is a small number. The average Virginia resident has no clue what is going on there so asking them to vote for the Board would make no sense at all. </p>
<p>We (people who frequent this board and keep up with this stuff) are in the great minority. If you did a “man on the street” poll in Richmond or any other city or town in Virginia (except Charlottesville), most people would have no idea what you’re talking about.</p>
<p>I’m not about to disparage another school, but W&M had it’s own difficulties several years ago removing a president (easily searched). It was a difficult time for the college. I’m not trying to compare the two. Within the community of W&M when it was happening it was larger then life and they were concerned with reputation just as UVa is now. They’ve moved on and are doing fine. UVa will do the same.</p>
<p>^^^Living in the same town meant I followed that situation pretty closely and I don’t think they are really the same. In that case, there was not a uniform coalition of parents, students, faculty, and alumni that wanted the President to stay. In fact, several of those groups wanted him gone. So, superficially the two ousters are similar, but the divisiveness of this one far exceeds that case.</p>
<p>Believe it or not, this was the lead story on at least two Richmond TV stations last night along with being front and center on the front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch… not the WaPo, but…
I was kind of surprised that my 80 year old mother brought the subject up last night during our daily call. It may not have the importance to Joe Schmoe on the street, but it is bigger than what many would like for it to be.</p>
<p>blueiguana, yes Gene Nichol was forced out at WM, but the two situations are completely different. His philosophical differences dealing with the cross in the Wren Bldg and the Sex Workers Art show didn’t impact the students’ undergraduate education (although they did impact fundraising). The academic strategies and plans that the BOV seems to want to implement could at UVA. </p>
<p>UVA will lick its wounds and carry on. There are many dedicated people there who care a great deal about the school. And, as mentioned before, it has stirred up a great deal of school pride, which is never a bad thing. But, I think the wounds will take a while to heal.</p>
<p>In the meantime, many students, and these are the bright ones, usually with very educated parents, will look much more closely at these Virginia schools and what they are going to be able to offer them.</p>