UVA Faculty Senate’s Politicized Double Standards
On November 14, the UVA Faculty Senate passed a resolution calling for “University Leadership Rooted in Transparency and Accountability.” At the same meeting, it went even further, demanding the resignation of the Rector and Vice Rector of the Board of Visitors. This is unprecedented in the Senate’s history.
It wasn’t an isolated flare-up. In July 2025, the Senate issued a “no confidence” statement in the Board of Visitors. And in October 2021, it openly opposed Bert Ellis’s appointment to the Board and even censured him, without allowing him to appear before them.
None of this reflects the Faculty Senate’s actual purpose. By its own Constitution and By-laws, the Senate exists to:
Represent the University’s faculties on academic matters.
Advise the President, Rector, and Board of Visitors on educational and related matters.
It was not created to pursue agenda based fights, condemn individuals, or orchestrate leadership shake-ups.
Selective Outrage and a Clear Double Standard
If the Senate truly cared about transparency and accountability, it would have raised alarms long ago. Consider the string of major decisions and scandals during President Ryan’s administration, activities that lacked transparency, invited controversy, and left key questions unanswered, where the Senate publicly said absolutely nothing.
Ryan’s contract secretly extended three years early in a closed, unannounced session.
A Provost selected unilaterally with no search committee or faculty consultation.
A 1.5-year delay in releasing the external report on our student athletes murders—followed by a release so massively redacted that it was meaningless.
The sudden, unexplained departure of Senior VP/Dean of Students Robyn Hadley following the murders
The unexplained departures of the CEO of the Healthcare System, the Dean of the Medical School, the CEO of the Medical Center, and the Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery in connection with the healthcare system scandal
The UVA Health external report was never released publicly.
The mandated 30-day DEI internal compliance report was never made public.
Repeated blocking of public discussion about antisemitism at BOV meetings.
These incidents were textbook examples of failed transparency and accountability. Yet the UVA Faculty Senate was silent.
What This Really Reveals
The pattern is clear:
The Faculty Senate is trying to ensure the people who call the shots are aligned with their political agenda preferences.
When leadership leans in a direction they favor, the Senate overlooks secrecy, mismanagement, and missing information.
When leadership does not lean in their direction, every action becomes a crisis, and individuals are attacked.
This is not principled governance. It is a boldfaced effort to ensure that those who are not in agreement with their institutionalized political agenda are kept from decision-making positions. A true level playing field for the free exchange of ideas is anathema. It is political alignment masquerading as moral concern.
Why It Matters
A Faculty Senate that claims the authority to judge others must be even-handed. Instead, it applies one standard to allies and a different standard to opponents.
This bias erodes trust in an institution that should model fairness and intellectual integrity.
If UVA is serious about restoring accountability, it must depoliticize Grounds and insist on equal treatment for all administrators, faculty, and students.