What's going on at UVA?

[theAlaskanBear]

*Are* there two sides here? I wasn't aware that there was much positive to say about for-profit schools.

Its an interesting discussion, but lets try to keep this discussion about UVA so the thread doesnt go PPB and get locked.

[weezie]

... Sullivan has exactly the right frame of mind to run a university as storied as UVA...

Sullivan did quite well at Michigan, arguably one of the very top research institutions in the world and also very much bigger and broader than UVA.

It might be the old, 'you're not one of us' at work in one form or another with the 'being a Virginian' creed working against Sullivan. Which is a load of horse patties.

UVA may be 'storied' but I was very glad when my daughter turned them down in favor of Duke. (As if she had a choice )

[Cavlaw]

It is a crazy situation, and I was a little surprised when I first learned of the BOV action, but it mirrors pretty closely the course of a number of board coups I've seen over the last several years. I'm now getting multiple emails per day from various alumni groups, and it's certainly true that just about every constituency is displeased by the action, and even more so by how it was taken. Still, just this morning I got a message from the law school letting me know that they, too, were surprised, and asking us to hang together and continue our financial support!

[Jim3k]

It is a crazy situation, and I was a little surprised when I first learned of the BOV action, but it mirrors pretty closely the course of a number of board coups I've seen over the last several years. I'm now getting multiple emails per day from various alumni groups, and it's certainly true that just about every constituency is displeased by the action, and even more so by how it was taken. Still, just this morning I got a message from the law school letting me know that they, too, were surprised, and asking us to hang together and continue our financial support!

Write back and condition further donations on replacement of the BoV, the reinstatement of Sullivan and revelation of what the Dragas faction's master plan is/was. Insist on transparency in the future. Copy the BofV. (Or, direct it to the BofV and copy the law school.)

[diablesseblu]

Write back and condition further donations on replacement of the BoV, the reinstatement of Sullivan and revelation of what the Dragas faction's master plan is/was. Insist on transparency in the future. Copy the BofV. (Or, direct it to the BofV and copy the law school.)

Terrific idea. This seems like a real power play from the Darden contingent. It seems as if they feel that UVA is their personal fiefdom.

[A-Tex Devil]

Terrific idea. This seems like a real power play from the Darden contingent. It seems as if they feel that UVA is their personal fiefdom.

Traded texts with my dad who is a UVa law school alum. He's not fully up on the current situation, but mentioned that Darden and law school have been cut off form state funding for some time (don't know if that is by school's or state's choice) which has created several types of tension going both ways between those schools (clearly more at Darden) and the rest of the university.

[Tom B.]

Write back and condition further donations on replacement of the BoV, the reinstatement of Sullivan and revelation of what the Dragas faction's master plan is/was. Insist on transparency in the future. Copy the BofV. (Or, direct it to the BofV and copy the law school.)

I'm also a UVa Law School grad, and I'm conflicted on this point. On one hand, I've seen no evidence that anyone from the Law School was complicit in, or even knew about, the plot to oust Sullivan. Also, the Law School is financially independent from the rest of the University, so withholding contributions from the Law School Foundation would hurt only the Law School -- it wouldn't have any effect on the rest of the University's finances.

On the other hand, even if withholding contributions to the Law School would have no direct effect on the rest of the University, part of me wonders if it might be necessary nonetheless, if for no other reason than to impress upon the Law School faculty and administration the importance of adding their voices to the calls for accountability and transparency from the BOV.

Interestingly, the chair of the UVa Faculty Senate (which has been very vocal in its opposition to Sullivan's firing), George Cohen, is a professor at the Law School.

In other news, Vice Rector Mark Kington, one of Dragas' cohorts in the plan to fire Sullivan, has resigned.

[A-Tex Devil]

In other news, Vice Rector Mark Kington, one of Dragas' cohorts in the plan to fire Sullivan, has resigned.

I've read more and more about this, and it's astonishing to me that Dragas and the cabal didn't expect this reaction. This resignation leads me to believe the cabal is more guilty of obliviousness than arrogance, which may actually be worse. Did Kington have any idea that he would be resigning after backing this plan? Maybe he did and was planning to be a martyr all along, but that just deepens the conspiracy, right?

Are there any outside voices coming out and defending what happened? Just curious.

[77devil]

I have found a copy of the email Kiernan at the Darden School Business was forced to resign over at the Daily Progress of Charlottesville...

Hilariously, he it appears he hit the "reply all" button on accident. Here it is:

http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2...il-ar-1983832/

Some relevant excerpts are below, please visit the link to read the entire email and the accompanying editorials and reporting at the Daily Progress. You can also find it at www.WUVAonline.com :

It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly smart people fail to exercise the first rule of email: Never write anything you wouldn't want to see in the public domain.

[sagegrouse]

A counter coup is in the works, according to the Washington Post. If the insurgents get eight votes, they will convene a meeting of the 16 person Board of Visitors next Wednesday. Eight votes will do it because Vice Rector Kington has resigned.

Believe it or not, in addition to forcing budget cuts on the University, the main issue for the BOV was the reluctance of Sullivan to move swiftly on the issue of on-line education, which has been a particular interest of some members of the BOV. Other articles link Board members to the new company for online education set up by Goldman Sachs. Yikes! And Rector Helen Dragas, an apartment and condo developer in Tidewater, is asserting her superior knowledge of higher education.

If the firing sticks, I expect UVa will have some difficulties in finding premier candidates to replace Sullivan.

sagegrouse

[diablesseblu]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...blog.html?hpid

[Jim3k]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...blog.html?hpid

It's better than pithy. It's flat out hilarious.

[diablesseblu]

It's better than pithy. It's flat out hilarious.

Agree completely. Didn't want to "promise" too much with the post though.

Must say, in addition, one of the fascinating things about following this story on the WaPo is reading the comments.

[77devil]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...blog.html?hpid

Professor Willingham is a Duke B.A. No wonder his essay is pithy and hilarious.

So what's the over/under that Ms. Dragas survives?

[diablesseblu]

Professor Willingham is a Duke B.A. No wonder his essay is pithy and hilarious.

So what's the over/under that Ms. Dragas survives?

I would hope that Ms. Dragas is the first, and the least, of the casualties.. Clearly, the system of governance for the university is broken.

This makes the mess at Chapel Hill look like amateur hour.

[Jim3k]

“Let me be absolutely clear: I want final action by the board on Tuesday,’’ he wrote. “If you fail to do so, I will ask for the resignation of the entire Board on Wednesday. Regardless of your decision, I expect you to make a clear, detailed and unified statement on the future leadership of the University."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...0uV_story.html

[weezie]

A neighbor here in VA commented something along the lines of the Limousine Liberals going up against the Academic Liberals with a staunch Republican as the plate ump.

His words, not mine!

[JasonEvans]

Jim quoted:

“Let me be absolutely clear: I want final action by the board on Tuesday,’’ he wrote. “If you fail to do so, I will ask for the resignation of the entire Board on Wednesday. Regardless of your decision, I expect you to make a clear, detailed and unified statement on the future leadership of the University."

The Gov is demanding that they fix the leadership vacuum on Tuesday. But, the guy they picked for interim says he won't do the job and there has got to be almost no chance they could find a well-vetted and qualified alternative candidate in the next 48 hours. It is not like there are lots of folks who could be major University Presidents just hanging around waiting for UVA's lunatic board to call and offer them a job.

So, if they must resolve this by Tuesday, it screams only one logical conclusion -- put Sullivan back in place as President. And I would bet that is what the Governor is trying to force into happening.

-Jason "if Sullivan is reinstated, Dragas has got to resign, right?" Evans

[sagegrouse]

-Jason "if Sullivan is reinstated, Dragas has got to resign, right?" Evans

Sullivan has said that the departure of Dragas would be a condition of her agreeing to stay. Cheeky, eh? Not exactly. They could never work together in the future after what has transpired.

sagegrouse

[Reilly]

Sullivan has said that the departure of Dragas would be a condition of her agreeing to stay. Cheeky, eh? Not exactly. They could never work together in the future after what has transpired.

sagegrouse

Perhaps they could work together for four more days. I believe it's been reported that Ms. Dragas's term expires July 1, 2012. See page 103 of the attached .pdf. To be re-appointed, she would need the Governor to appoint her and be approved by the state legislature (see p. 18 of .pdf; section 2.2).

http://www.virginia.edu/bov/meetings...SED%202012.pdf