NEWS FROM THE JEFFERSON COUNCIL NETWORK
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Time is Running Out for Change at UVA
Time is running short for Governor Glenn Youngkin to make his mark on the University of Virginia. His appointees to the Board of Visitors now comprise a 13-to-4 majority, yet after almost a half year, they have failed to make a visible dent in the priorities set by President Jim Ryan.
Racking Up the Fees
Matan Goldstein, the Jewish student who was subjected to repeated antisemitic treatment at the University of Virginia, has settled his lawsuit against the University. Terms of the settlement were not revealed. While the public cannot know how much UVA paid, if anything, to make the problem go away, we can get a sense of how much it spent on legal fees.
Ellis Goes Rogue
Bert Ellis was mad as hell and wasn’t going to take it anymore. He didn’t reenact Peter Finch playing Howard Beale in his famous rant in the movie “Network.” In fact, he was very calm and deliberate. But he made it clear to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors Thursday that he had run out of patience. He would refuse to vote in favor of any new spending project until the University got serious about cutting costs, Ellis said.
Finding Common Ground
Explore the idea of what inclusion should look like. How do institutions, in particular universities, create a sense of belonging for students, faculty and staff from all walks of life? As it happens, there is an excellent positive example at UVA of how to foster a sense of belonging — the Hoos Connected program.
President Joel Gardner’s Letter to the BOV
A senior tenured faculty member has anonymously expressed concerns about various circumstances prevalent on Grounds. This professor wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation by the administration. One of the matters he/she discusses is the deterioration of our Honor System, focusing on the "secession" by the faculty from the System.
Release the Report, President Ryan – What Are You Hiding?
It’s time for UVA officials to release the Attorney General’s report into the university actions leading up to the shooting, which resulted in the deaths of three UVA football players.
That’s what UVA leadership promised. Now it’s time to make good on that promise.
UVA Dissenters Test Limits of the Permissible
More than 60 employers showed up to UVA’s job fair — and so did The Dissenters, a militant pro-Palestinian student organization that targeted companies deemed complicit with Israel.
Cavalier Kabuki
Once again, the UVA’s BOV is conducting the ritual of pretending to be involved in setting rates for tuition, fees, room and board — but the minutes record no comments or questions by any board member.
UVA Faculty Have Seceded from the Honor System
The Jefferson Council has received a letter from a senior University of Virginia faculty member who, for fear of retaliation, asks to remain anonymous. He outlines what he calls “generic” concerns of the UVA faculty. The first focuses on a critical dysfunction of the Honor System.
Hat’s Off to UVA Student for Keeping His Hat On
Ironically, the office in charge of protecting people from harassment on the basis of religion subjected this fourth-year UVA student to a twenty-minute Zoom call and applied mild pressure to stop expressing his Christian view. The double standards rankle.
Time To Scrutinize UVA’s Budget
Past UVA boards have passively accepted whatever numbers the administration dished out to them. The Jefferson Council is hopeful that the new board, dominated 13-to-4 by appointees of Governor Glenn Youngkin, will take a more assertive approach to cost control and tuition increases.
BOV in Full Control of Investigation into Alleged UVA Med School Abuses
“The administration of the university and the health system are not involved and will not be involved in any aspect of deciding what evidence to obtain, reviewing evidence, or supervising the investigation.“
Tools of Bureaucratic Repression
The biggest controversy roiling UVA today swirls around accusations leveled by 128+ letter signatories against leaders of the UVA Health System and School of Medicine. Evidence surfaced by the Kieran Bhattacharya proceedings reveals the nature of the medical bureaucracy that Kent and Kibbe inherited.
Student Free Speech Group Revived at UVA
“We were instrumental in helping Tyler revive the YAF chapter and look forward to working with them and other student groups to schedule future conservative speakers ensuring diverse viewpoints are offered at the University.“
FOIA Fighter
"I never wanted to know this much about FOIA and the IRB, and all elements of UVA trickery to avoid disclosing things they are legally required to."
UVA to Theta Chi: Evict Brothers from Frat House. Theta Chi: No.
Donovan Golich may have been excessively zealous in his investigations, but the University’s problematic approach to fraternities does not end with his departure.
Remembering Adam Andrzejewski, the Happy Warrior
One month has passed since the death of openthebooks.com founder and CEO Adam Andrzejewski who The Jefferson Council will remember as the very definition of William Wordsworth’s Happy Warrior.
UVA Admin Has Lost Control of the Med School Abuses Narrative
The controversy over an allegedly toxic work environment at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and UVA Health System reached escape velocity. “I can stand here before you honestly and claim these statements to be categorically false.”
How UVA Holds Students “Accountable”
If such bullying behavior is shown to be the norm for some types of students and not others, UVA has a very big problem.