Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Harmony at UVA

The UVA Board of Visitors voted today 15-0 to return Teresa Sullivan to her post as President of the University.  In a gesture of unity, the Board conducted a 15-0 vote of confidence for the Rector, Helen Dragas.  Truly!

These are welcome actions and hopefully now the University can address the real issues that seemed to divide the President and the Board that, heretofore, had never surfaced at a Board meeting.  It is time to talk about these things in the open and begin a much needed move to reform an ossified, bureaucratic institution, that is in much need of reform.

UVA, like other major American Universities, faces an uncertain future because, while costs have gone through the roof, the quality of education provided has stagnated.  It is time to face these problems squarely and not pretend that all is well in academia.  All is not well.

The UVA Board has corrected an egregious error and should be commended.  Removing a sitting President, without so much as a meeting or a vote or even a discussion at a board meeting, could never provide the Sullivan removal with even a bare minimum figleaf of legitimacy.

Board member Hunter Craig was the real hero, fighting tirelessly to get the votes necessary to call a meeting to reconsider and then to follow up and ultimately create the conditions that would lead to a unanimous board vote to return Sullivan to her post.  Together with Heywood Fralin, Craig's leadership has rescued UVA from the brink.

All in all...a good day for UVA!