Spanberger overhauls UVA’s governing board following months of controversy

Five members of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors — including its leaders — resigned after being asked to step down by then Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger on Friday, Jan. 16. 

They include Board Rector Rachel Sheridan; Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson; and board members Paul Manning, Douglas Wetmore and Stephen Long, according to reporting by The New York Times and the Washington Post (subscription required). According to The Times, Wetmore and Long initially resisted stepping down. Manning has donated $100 million to the university, and a member of the Youngkin administration told the Post that it was “shocking” that Manning was asked to resign. 

After her inauguration on Jan. 17, Spanberger appointed 10 people to the BOV, according to the Post. Her appointees, who include former vice rector Carlos Brown, can begin their roles on the board immediately but must be confirmed by Virginia legislators. 

Spanberger’s request came a day after UVA’s Faculty Senate — the primary, university-wide body that represents faculty interests — passed a resolution asserting the board’s failure to act in UVA’s best interest or protect the university. The resolution called on Spanberger to remove board members “whose conduct has fallen short of the responsibilities of Visitors.”

The Faculty Senate had passed a resolution on Nov. 14, 2025, calling for Sheridan’s and Wilkinson’s resignations, stating that they “refused multiple requests for meetings with the Faculty Senate” and adding that “this refusal demonstrates a lack of courage, leadership and accountability in times that are anything but ordinary.” The resolution also echoed Spanberger’s Nov. 12, 2025, request to pause the search for UVA’s 10th president until she had filled the board after her inauguration, which the board ignored. The BOV selected Darden School of Business Dean Scott Beardsley as president during a closed-door meeting on Dec. 19. 2025.

Former UVA President Jim Ryan also said in a Nov. 14, 2025, letter to UVA’s Faculty Senate that he faced particular pressure to resign from Sheridan and Manning, as well as Beth Wilkinson, a lawyer Sheridan hired on behalf of the board without then-Rector Robert Hardie’s knowledge. 

Additionally, the Washington Post reported on Jan. 9 that some board members coordinated via private texts between themselves and with former Gov. Glenn Youngkin to resist policies supported by Ryan and get rid of gender-affirming care and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the university. They included Wetmore and Long.

In addition to Brown, UVA’s new board members include Michael Bisceglia, Robert Byron, Peter Grant II, Owen D. Griffin Jr., Victoria Harker, Elizabeth Hayes, Rudene Haynes, C. Evans Poston Jr. and Mohsin Syed. All of the newly appointed Board members are UVA alumni and nine are Virginia residents, according to the Cavalier Daily.

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