By Andrew Kerley
Virginia Democrats said Thursday they plan to introduce legislation during the next General Assembly session to reform how members are appointed to the governing boards of public universities. The proposal is a response to what they describe as “increased politicization” in higher education by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Trump administration.
The press conference took place amid a lawsuit over Democrats’ rejection of some of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s university board appointees, as well as investigations by the Trump administration into Virginia schools and efforts to oust their presidents.
“This is a coordinated political campaign,” Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, said. “They started with General Wins at VMI, then they came for President Ryan at UVa, and now they’ve set their sights on President Washington and George Mason [University].”
Virginia’s public colleges and universities are governed by 16-member boards of visitors, whose members are appointed by the governor. The boards make most major decisions, including hiring and firing presidents, setting budgets and approving curricula.
Democrats say they want to revamp the board appointment system to prevent federal interference in the governance of Virginia’s universities through the “pretext of antisemitism,” and to depoliticize the governor’s appointees.
Virginia code states that the boards of publicly funded universities are supposed to be under the control of the General Assembly at all times, noted House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth.
“So now we have the opportunity in the General Assembly to take an in-depth view of what’s going on in all of these public universities, especially in light of the fact that they have been totally politicized in a way that we have never seen before,” Scott said.
In an interview following the press conference, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell stated that Democrats are considering multiple changes to the university board appointment system, including a requirement that appointees must be confirmed by the General Assembly before they can begin serving their terms.
Surovell also floated the idea of extending the terms of appointees from four to six years, which would prevent any one governor from achieving full majorities on the 16-member boards. As it stands, governors appoint four members each year as other members’ terms expire, giving them complete control by their fourth year in office.
Surovell also said universities need to be able to hire their own counsel instead of having lawyers assigned to them by the Office of the Attorney General. He implied Attorney General Jason Miyares — who has been supportive of the Trump Administration — would not be effective in defending against probes.
“If you don’t have a lawyer to fight for you, how do you get the courts to help you?” Surovell said.
Miyares’ office pushed back on that assertion.
“Any assertion that our colleges and universities are not being vigorously represented is categorically false,” said Shaun Kenney, a spokesperson for Miyares. “Our position remains clear. The Office of the Attorney General expects full and faithful compliance with federal civil rights and anti-discrimination laws.”
Youngkin’s office and House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, released statements accusing Democrats of being silent on the “real issue” at hand, being the federal investigation into complaints of antisemitism at GMU.
“This isn’t politics,” Kilgore stated. “It’s civil rights law asking: Were complaints processed, investigated, supported, or ignored? Fighting antisemitism isn’t a pretext. Oversight isn’t partisan. It’s accountability.”
“There is no place for antisemitism on our campuses nor racial preferences driving admission or hiring decisions,” Youngkin spokesperson Peter Finocchio stated. “We must follow the law as established by the Supreme Court and federal laws, including civil rights statutes. Virginia’s world-class system of higher education will continue to be defined by our ability to graduate outstanding students who are fully prepared to succeed in the workforce.”
Trump and Youngkin’s increased pressure on universities
Trump’s Justice Department sent a letter to the rector of the GMU board on Monday notifying them that a fourth investigation into the school has been opened on the basis of possible discrimination in their admissions processes, which was first reported on by the Washington Post. Other investigations into the school have been opened on accusations of antisemitism and race-based preferential hiring practices.
GMU is the largest and most diverse university in Virginia, with over 40,000 students and an acceptance rate of nearly 90%, according to U.S. News and World Report.
The recent probes into GMU were opened weeks after University of Virginia President Jim Ryan resigned under similar investigations and constant scrutiny from the Trump administration.
Surovell noted the UVa board’s lack of support for Ryan as a contributor to his ousting in a previous report by Virginia Scope.
“Many members of the Senate have received reports of the Youngkin admin trying to influence members on all kinds of different internal governance matters, from really minor, routine stuff all the way up to who ought to be the next rector of their board or president of the university,” Surovell said.
Youngkin’s board appointees have made a number of consequential decisions in recent years — including dismantling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices, cancelling course requirements at GMU and Virginia Commonwealth University covering systemic racism and ousting now-former Superintendent Cedric Wins, Virginia Military Institute’s first Black leader, who was brought in amidst reports of racism and sexism.
In response to the reports, Democrats voted in June to reject eight of Youngkin’s university board appointees, most notably former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the UVa board.
Cucinelli, along with some GMU appointees, have been affiliated with the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint made for President Trump to reshape the American government. Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025 but has still enacted parts of it while in office, including efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.
Senate Democrats’ rejection of the appointees sparked a lawsuit. Miyares wrote that the confirmation vote was not conducted during a typical General Assembly session and is therefore invalid. Surovell has accused the boards of trying to usurp the authority of the Senate.
Youngkin has since made another round of university board appointments. If allowed to move forward, they would give him complete control of the institutes. Democrats will argue their case in court on Friday.