Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger has asked the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors to delay selecting a new president until she takes office and can appoint new members — a move that puts her at odds with Gov. Glenn Youngkin — who responded with a strongly worded letter Thursday night. The board currently has five vacancies after Senate Democrats declined to confirm several of Youngkin’s nominees.
UVA’s former president, Jim Ryan, resigned earlier this year after pressure and an investigation by the Trump administration over DEI practices at the university.
“As both a proud alumna and the Governor-elect of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I am deeply concerned by recent developments at the University of Virginia and how these challenges may impact the legitimacy of the current search for the University’s next president,” Spanberger wrote in her letter.
Youngkin could make new appointments to the university, but he and the Senate Democrats are currently in a standoff.
A Fairfax Circuit Court affirmed the Senate Democrats’ power to block appointments this summer, but Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an appeal with the Virginia Supreme Court.
The Youngkin administration is arguing that the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee lacks the authority to block his appointments — which it has done multiple times this year at special meetings — and that the full General Assembly needs to convene to strike them down.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said the appeal is preventing Youngkin from filling these vacant board seats.
“The governor could appoint new people any day if he wants,” Surovell stated to Virginia Scope. “He just doesn’t want to do it because it probably means the end of his appeal.”
Democrats have accused Youngkin of failing to protect Virginia’s universities from political attacks by the Trump administration, and Spanberger wrote in her letter that the Board did not protect Ryan from federal overreach.
“Over the past six months, the actions of the Board of Visitors have severely undermined the public’s and the University community’s confidence in the Board’s ability to govern productively, transparently, and in the best interests of the University,” she wrote.
“As five Board appointees have failed to achieve confirmation by the General Assembly, the Board is not fully constituted and its composition is now in violation of statutory requirements in crucial respects, further calling into question the legitimacy of the Board and its actions,” Spanberger continued.
Youngkin responded Thursday night with a letter to Spanberger expressing his disapointment.
“In our private meeting in my office yesterday, we discussed a wide range of topics, including boards and university operations,” Youngkin wrote. “You very briefly mentioned sending a letter to the University of Virginia, but moved to a different topic so quickly that it seemed unimportant at the time. It is disappointing to learn that just after our meeting started, your office shared this letter with the New York Times and other outlets. Whether done in error or in bad faith, I am compelled to address both the breach of protocol as well as the inaccuracies in your letter.”
UVA released a statement, first reported by Tyler Englander at WRIC, that said they are “reviewing the letter and are ready to engage with the Governor-elect and to work alongside her and her team to advance the best interests of UVA and the Commonwealth.”