AAUP and AFT Presidents Slam UVA Board of Visitors for Rushed Appointment of New President

WASHINGTON—AAUP President Todd Wolfson and AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors naming of a new president today:

“The rushed appointment of Scott Beardsley as University of Virginia president by UVA’s Board of Visitors today, with little meaningful faculty input, is an affront to the entire UVA community in a time of crisis. The community and the governor-elect wanted input but instead the Board of Visitors insisted on an opaque process at a time when serious questions remain over the ouster of former UVA president James Ryan.

“The Board of Visitors failed to protect the university from political interference by the Trump administration and has been subject to votes of no confidence by both the UVA Faculty Senate and the Student Council. It is missing multiple members, has operated in secrecy, and has severely curtailed faculty involvement in the presidential search. Rather than heeding calls to pause the search until a fair and transparent process can be initiated, the board regrettably chose to push through an appointment without a duly constituted membership. This undermines the legitimacy of today’s appointment that will continue to be challenged in the coming months.

“AAUP guidelines recommend that colleges and universities resist calls for closed, secretive searches; involve faculty representatives in all stages of the search process; and provide the entire faculty and other members of the campus community with the opportunity to meet with finalists. Such an open and thorough process of selection is fundamental to determining which candidate has the academic leadership and administrative skills needed to successfully lead the university.”