The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors is pushing ahead with its search for the university’s 10th president , despite facing numerous votes of no confidence and calls to stop the search until Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger is inaugurated on Jan. 14, 2026.
On Nov. 12, Spanberger sent a letter to Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson, stating that the Board’s actions “have severely undermined the public’s and the University community’s confidence in the Board’s ability to govern productively, transparently, and in the best interests of the University.”
She asked the Board not to name a new president until she has appointed — and the General Assembly has confirmed — five new members so that the Board is in compliance with Virginia law, which requires the Board to have 17 members, including at least 12 Virginia residents and 12 UVA alumni. (There are currently 12 Board members, including 9 Virginia residents and 9 UVA alumni.) Spanberger added that she will make her appointments soon after her inauguration.
Two days later, UVA’s Faculty Senate passed a resolution echoing Spanberger’s request to pause the search until all Board seats are filled. The resolution also called for Sheridan’s and Wilkinson’s resignation.
But on Nov. 21, the 28-person Special Committee on the Nomination of a President — established by the Board in late July to help select Jim Ryan’s replacement — said in two letters to the Faculty Senate that it would continue the search, adding that it had already completed the first round of interviews for the position.
In response, nine of UVA’s 14 academic deans wrote a letter to the Board on Dec. 1, citing low confidence in its leadership and again asking them to pause the search. On Dec. 12, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution stating that anyone chosen as UVA’s 10th president by the current Board will assume the role with no confidence from the Senate.
But the Board has continued to push ahead despite the vocal opposition. The body held another search committee meeting on Dec. 11, and will hold two special meetings on Dec. 19 and Jan. 6 to discuss candidates for the presidency.