At the direction of Board of Visitors Secretary Susan Harris, a compilation of nearly 50 letters and email messages to the Board and President Jim Ryan was distributed to Board members Tuesday. The letters were almost uniformly critical of the Board’s decision earlier this month to abolish the office of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement.

One might think that revamping a website would be an easy start to complying with the Board of Visitors’ order to dismantle the Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at the University of Virginia. Retitle the home page. Put up an “Under Construction” logo. Post a statement indicating that changes are coming. Do something! But a full week after the Board’s unanimous vote, the website still stands, as if nothing had changed.

Decision-making at the University of Virginia is shrouded in secrecy — and leadership is just fine with that.

Last week the University of Virginia Board of Visitors met to discuss one of the most contentious public-policy issues roiling American politics today: the medical treatment of transgender youth. The meeting was closed to the public, and board members were enjoined not to reveal what was said.

The University of Virginia’s “Rising Scholars” program in the College of Arts and Sciences, which dispenses graduate fellowships exclusively to racial, ethnic, sexual and gender minority students, has ceased accepting applications, according to a posting on its website. The website provides no explanation, but…

Don’t question university overhead costs or thousands will die! That is essentially the message of Virginia’s big three research universities — Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University — in response to a National Institutes of Health initiative capping reimbursable overhead costs to 15% of the research grants it dispenses. And I’m not exaggerating about the “thousands will die” part.

Now comes the battle to replace the University of VIrginia’s provost Ian Baucom. The University has assembled a fourteen-person group to launch a national search, according to an announcement in the UVA house organ UVA Today.

The last few months have been the most trying time in Ryan’s six-and-a-half-year tenure. After enjoying tremendous initial success in implementing his priorities at UVA, he is now mired in endless controversies which threaten to unravel his legacy.

This is the third and final part of a new three-part series exploring the influence of UVA President Ryan’s Strategic Investment Fund.

This is the second part of a new three-part series exploring the influence of UVA President Ryan’s Strategic Investment Fund.

Ian Baucom will step down as provost of the University of Virginia in March to become president of Middlebury College in Vermont. UVA will launch a national search for his replacement, the university announced today. His departure will likely set off a power struggle between President Jim Ryan and members of the Board of Visitors appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin.