(The Center Square) – Virginia’s incoming governor is asking the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors to pause its search for the school’s next president until the board is fully staffed and confirmed next year.
Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger made the request in a letter sent Wednesday. She said the board’s current vacancies and recent concerns have weakened public confidence in the search and could affect the legitimacy of the final decision if it moves forward this fall.
“These challenges may impact the legitimacy of the current search for the University’s next president,” Spanberger wrote.
Spanberger told board leaders the university should not move ahead with final interviews or candidate selections until all board seats are filled in January. Several of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointees have not been confirmed by the General Assembly, leaving open questions about whether the current board has full authority to choose UVA’s next leader.
She said waiting until the board is fully staffed would help restore trust in the process.
Her letter also pointed to votes of no confidence from both the faculty senate and the student council earlier this year. She said those actions show broader concern inside the university community about the board’s recent decisions and its ability to oversee a transparent and credible search process.
UVA began looking for its next president after former President Jim Ryan announced an early departure in June. Ryan said he would step down following federal scrutiny of the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which the Justice Department warned may violate civil rights laws.
The board later appointed longtime law professor Paul Mahoney as interim president while the search continues.
Last week, UVA said it had started narrowing a pool of more than 60 candidates and was planning in-person interviews later this month.
Spanberger’s request signals she wants new board members in place before the university reaches that point.
Spanberger also told board leaders that deciding on finalists now would be premature. “I urge you to refrain from rushing this search process,” she wrote, adding that the presidential selection should wait until the board “is at full complement and in compliance with state law.”
She said she plans to make board appointments shortly after her inauguration, giving lawmakers an opportunity to confirm them early in the General Assembly session.
Spanberger argued that selecting a new president after those confirmations occur would help avoid questions about whether the decision was made by a board operating without full authority.
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
