U. of Virginia Board Votes to Reinstate Sullivan
Justin Ide for The Chronicle
President Teresa Sullivan and and Rector Helen Dragas enter the rotunda for Tuesday's meeting.
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Charlottesville, Va
Teresa A. Sullivan was reinstated as the president of the University of Virginia on Tuesday, completing the arc of an improbable comeback tale that began a little more than two weeks ago with her forced resignation.
The Board of Visitors voted to restore Ms. Sullivan, the university's first female president, to office. The action reverses her announcement of 16 days earlier, in which she said she would step down, citing an unspecified "philosophical difference of opinion" with the board.
The resignation stunned many people at Virginia and beyond, coming just two years into Ms. Sullivan's tenure at the helm of one of the nation's most elite public universities.
In the tumultuous days that followed, faculty, alumni, and students came to the defense of the president, who won praise for her consensus-building style of leadership. Her self-described "incrementalist" approach to change stood in sharp contrast to urgent transformation that leaders of the board, including Helen E. Dragas, the rector, have said the university needs instead.
FULL ARTICLE FROM THE CHRONICLE.
FULL ARTICLE FROM THE CHRONICLE.
Hurrah! I am (briefly, mildly) cheered. Whatever's in the air, water, etc. at UVA, may it spread.
ReplyDeleteHah! I loved the line that it's not clear whether the governor will re-appoint Ms. Dragas, whose term is up July 1. My guess? After a screw-up of this magnitude? Well, I'd be surprised.
ReplyDeleteSullivan should refuse the reinstatement. When you discover that you actually live in Crazytown, it can be a gift to be evicted, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. At the very least, she should only stay if the entire BOV is fired, and replaced by people who first sign off on a statement affirming that universities are not corporations. Does anyone seriously think that Sullivan can have a functional working relationship with the current BOV? Even though Dragas should get the axe, it wasn't just her (and let's be honest, the Governor is no real friend to education and there's no guarantee he'll can her).
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