Taking action: UVA faculty address McDonnell, launch social media sites
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UVA profs Tim Wilson and Siva Vaidhyanathan confer Wednesday in Open Grounds, a new flex space on the Corner that has become a central command for the people unhappy with the BOV.hawes spencer
Cries for the resignation of embattled UVA Rector have been echoing for days, and they're only getting louder. On Thursday, June 21, 15 faculty members who are also UVA alums sent a letter to Governor Bob McDonnell demanding that Dragas step down and that Teresa Sullivan be reinstated as president .
"As members of the faculty who are also loyal alumni of the University, our role as stewards gives us a special obligation to speak out when we believe this institution’s core values are at risk," reads the letter, which bears names from across the University including Darden School professor Laurence G. Mueller and Eric M. Patashnik, associate dean for academic affairs at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.
"People forget that institutions, even those as great as UVA, are fragile," says Patashnik. "Traditions, community, and honor can all be undermined if we lose sight of our deepest values."
He hopes the letter will have some impact on reversing the "deeply troubling" events surrounding the Board of Visitors.
"We love the university," says Patashnik, "and are hoping that our fellow alumni, colleagues and the people of Virginia will realize that it's not too late to correct a terrible error by the BOV."
While Patashnik and his fellow faculty/alums praise newly named interim president Carl Zeithaml as "enormously talented and highly respected," the 15 signees cite the Board's failure to consult the faculty as sufficient reason for his removal.
"The Board has failed to follow proper procedures and has shown an utter disregard for the institution’s commitment to shared governance," the letter reads.
The letter is one of several efforts undertaken by faculty, which also include the unveiling of various Faculty Senate-run social media portals including a Facebook page, a blog, and a Twitter feed (@UVAFacultySen).
"The purpose of these sites," says an email from computer science professor Carl Elk, who sits on the Senate's Task Force on Electronic Communication, "is to provide current information from the UVA Faculty Senate perspective on the events surrounding president Sullivan's departure and to allow the public and faculty to have open forum on this important public event."
49 comments
If nothing else, hopefully this will further encourage McDonnell to not re-appoint her for a second term.
Dragas may one day try to run for public office. if she gets elected, the people have only themselves to blame. This woman is toxic, as well as everything she stands (or lays down) for.
As the back room dealings of the Board of Visitors have been brought to light, I've been wondering what influence that same board has had on local issues like the bypass to nowhere that just happens to start at UVA's grounds and end at its research park. By the way, the contract for that monstrosity has just been awarded.
http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2012/06/west...
If you want to understand Helen Dragas listen to this
Charlottesville Right Now: 6-20-12 Siva Vaidhyanathan
Siva Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia, joins Coy to discuss historic events at UVA.
I agree with SV that hubris was her undoing but she fired Sullivan for love of UVa .
If I were her PR firm positioning her for higher office I would advise her to offer her sincerest apologies for her haste , step down and study Yoga until she was serene and mindful of how to govern, not
just from the heart but from the head as well.
NancyDrew - for every item her PR is putting out for her - there are about 50 others out there popping up!
This is great:
http://crookedtimber.org/2012/06/20/the-declaration-of-independence/
Nancy, you are one sharp young woman or man (could be, one never knows with this on line stuff) ........
plus a delightful sense of humor!
Thanks, I needed that!!!
Just a small correction: Carl Elks is a senior research scientist in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The new interim president is better qualified for the job than was president Sullivan who was a very talented one trick pony. Being great at only academics is no longer adequate to lead a major university. She deserved due process however.
County Farmer, you're half right. She was good at administration, she wasn't and aint much of a scholar at all. That's why she is administrator -just like Casteen. her three books 2 she is a co-author
Mrr/Mrs/Miss Never Forget, I'm not sure we need to call somebody a prostitute just because they appear to be a sneaky conniving dirty rotten scoundrel.
It is almost unimaginable that the firing of Sullivan, and the process used, would be called for by any reason given to date. There has just got to be a lot more to this circumstance.
The BOV are accomplished individuals and would not have risen to their stature by this type of behavior. I cannot believe that even two or three of them would take such dramatic and secretive action without think it through.
The backdrop to all this is the lack of funding by the State of Virginia and the huge expenses required to run UVA. Private donations to The Foundation are a necessity. Caution; if the BOV is crippled then it becomes Sullivan who must come up with the donations. She is not an alumnus, she is not a Virginian, and she has only the BOV to go to for funds.
The facility seems so willing to criticize the BOV; bite the hand that feeds them. A professor is paid more than The Governor. It’s a great gig receiving $330,000.00 per year plus perks, especially when it’s totally other people’s money. Yes that the full professor salary at UVA. They are not hired to administer but rather to instruct in a narrow topic.
The BOV needs it’s leadership to step out and explain what has happened, make the necessary changes as required and map the way forward. If this cannot be done quickly then the problem is a leadership crisis and a new Rector is required immediately.
Dear Gasbag,
Thank you for pointing this out.
I hereby apologize to all prostitutes everywhere; certainly did not mean to lump them in the same category as Dragas.
Please call the Communications Center to let them know if Helen's doing a good job: 202.463.1683.
Observer: "It is almost unimaginable that the firing of Sullivan, and the process used, would be called for by any reason given to date. There has just got to be a lot more to this circumstance.
The BOV are accomplished individuals and would not have risen to their stature by this type of behavior. I cannot believe that even two or three of them would take such dramatic and secretive action without think it through."
Why? Because a Darden MBA wouldn't do something so stupid? Dynamic Strategery (or whatever)?
Observer: "The BOV needs it’s leadership to step out and explain what has happened, make the necessary changes as required and map the way forward. If this cannot be done quickly then the problem is a leadership crisis and a new Rector is required immediately."
Ya think?
How can it possibly be in Teresa Sullivan's best interests to be reinstated before the post-June 30th membership of the BOV is known (even assuming that board will not include Helen Dragas)? If I were Dr. Sullivan's attorney, I would be advising her not to make any decision along those lines until after the membership of the new board became clear.
"It is almost unimaginable that the firing of Sullivan, and the process used, would be called for by any reason given to date."
I agree. Maybe the Board should explain itself.
"The BOV are accomplished individuals and would not have risen to their stature by this type of behavior. I cannot believe that even two or three of them would take such dramatic and secretive action without think it through."
Is your last name Stedfast, by any chance?
"It’s a great gig receiving $330,000.00 per year plus perks, especially when it’s totally other people’s money. Yes that the full professor salary at UVA."
Except it's, you know, not.
But thanks for playing.
Observer,
"The BOV are accomplished individuals and would not have risen to their stature by this type of behavior."
That's not really very true, and is why we have a lot of anger and conflict in our society that we do today. Individuals who are not that accomplished manage to get themselves into high places and foist it upon the rest of society. Wealthy does not equal hard worker, and being at the top does not mean you are a good leader.
In addition, the draconion control freak sort of leadership tactics might have worked for an Apple and Steve Jobs for a period of time, but it is not the same in every organization. It's easier to make your 3rd million when you have started by inheriting one. In any case, none of it protects you from group think, which is what so much of what goes wrong in corporate boardroom.
Tell us, how accomplished was Pat Kluge really? Not to beat that dead horse, but you can't make any sort of assumption about accomplishment based on the way the BOV is appointed. I would argue that the exact opposite has been demonstrated by most members of the board. Enough to cause real trouble.
Old Timer,
Love your post. Not to be a contrarian, but word is Patricia Kluge was quite an accomplished exotic dancer when John Kluge made her acquaintance...and eventually made her rich.
Hmmm...we have a theme going here.
@ Valerie. Exactly right.
Dragas won't resign. So this whole mess comes down to one guy, making one decision: does the governor reappoint Dragas? If he does, Sullivan doesn't want the job. U Va.'s death spiral accelerates: faculty disaffection, alumni send their money and their kids elsewhere, loss of accredidation (which is already wobbly) means loss of eligibility for federal research funding. End of U Va as a first rank school.
If on the other hand the governor does not reappoint Dragas, then maybe a reconstituted Board invites Sullivan back, and maybe she accepts (though would she risk getting fired twice by a still unaccountable Board full of plutocrat philistines and no scholars?) --and maybe she can pull U Va out of the death spiral. The outpouring of support certainly strengthens her position.
One guy, making one decision on one appointment, decides whether a 200 year old university lives or dies.
@ Never Forget - your "theme" is degrading women, and you're the one fighting hardest for it. Seriously, people, can we not discuss a woman's professional shortcomings without calling her a whore?
@No seriously - I am a woman and I found @Never Forget's "theme" quite funny. It is a comment section, not the article - far worse are out there on other media sites. Where is your sense of humor? And I for one would call Ms. Dragas just that to her face, I'm sure she has been called far worse!
What isn't out there is the simple fact that UVA has been doing on-line learning for decades as a part of the whole shebang - as in UVa has probably been doing it long before the others jumped on the wagon. This said, that truly shows the ignorance of the BOV and this one alum.
A Yoga Building?!! Reject that UVA that goes away with "communications" as a major.
I for one, wrote the BOV and our Governor, even in the last minutes of the game, you should keep trying...
@ No Seriously.
I love women. Believe me, I do. You can scarcely imagine how much I love women.
I am not degrading women.
Just two of them.
@Agreed Thanks for the encouragement. And I agree that the governor's decision on the reappointment of Dragas will be a "make-or-break" decision. But even if he does not reappoint her, I believe that the appointments he does make will be equally important to whether it is in Sullivan's best interests to accept any offer of reinstatement. IMHO she would be taking a huge risk to accept such an offer without knowing exactly who will be serving on the reconstituted BOV--even if she knew that Dragas would not be among them.
Governor McDonnell will do a "pocket veto" of Dragas' spot on UVa's BOV, a repercussion that she was prepared for. I think that Dragas was promised a lucrative seat on some corporate board for her role in the removal of President Sullivan. It's anyone's guess as to which mea-wealthy Darden alum she either pissed off or thwarted. Philosophical differences? Yeh, right....
One problem: Even if the Gov. does not re-appoint Dragas (and I don't think he will because that would undermine his future political aspirations), he will still have to appoint 4 or 5 new BOV members. These can be cherry-picked to follow Dragas's "strategic dynamism" (AKA: "strategery") so we end up back at square one.
I hope I'm dead wrong about this.
This just in:
Statement from Deans of the Colleges, Dean of Admissions, and University Librarian to the Board of Visitors
By on June 21, 2012
Below is a statement composed from deans of 10 of the University’s 11 schools, with the exception of the McIntire School of Commerce Dean Carl Zeithaml. According to the statement, these deans “did not offer Dean Zeithaml the opportunity to join in this communication, as we felt it would put him in an extraordinarily difficult position even to be asked.”
“To: Board of Visitors, University of Virginia
From: Deans of the Colleges, University of Virginia
Date: June 21, 2012
Re: Reinstatement of Teresa Sullivan, Ph.D. as President of the University of Virginia
“We, the deans of the Colleges of the University of Virginia, respectfully request that the Board of Visitors (BOV) reconsider their decision of June 8, 2012 and restore Teresa A. Sullivan to the position of President of the University of Virginia.
The Deans do not make this suggestion lightly. We are aware of both the dedication and responsibility that the BOV has for the University, and the fact that the Board has acted in what they believe are the best interests of the University despite a substantial amount of discord evoked by the decision in the faculty, the student body, and many members of the staff.
Among the reasons for the BOV’s decision were concern for the fiscal status of the University and more rapid action on fiscal and other issues, such as the role of on-line learning in our educational models and proactive approaches to the demographic changes that will occur in the faculty (retirements, etc.) in the next 5-8 years.
Appointment of an interim President (Carl Zeithaml, the esteemed Dean of the highly rated McIntire School of Commerce) will clearlydelay rapid action on the fiscal issues and other substantial changes that would await the installation of a permanent President. We recommend strongly that discussions begin immediately to reset the relationship with PresidentSullivan, reconstitute the team she had put together over that past year, and accelerate the important decisions to be made. The circumstances of the last two weeks have impressed on President Sullivan, the Vice Presidents, and the Deans the seriousness with which the BOV takes the challenges that face theUniversity—and the need to address these issues rapidly, thoughtfully, and in a collegial but urgent fashion.
Open discourse with clear understanding of what the BOV feels must be accomplished as rapidly as possible will be the most efficacious way of accomplishing the plans for such strategic direction. Such a move will restore to the University faculty, students, and all of the Deans—who will be charged with developing and implementing such strategic plans—a sense of joint ownership and responsibility that will energize us and go a long way to assuaging the emotions of these groups—including alumni and donors—who currently feel upset anddisenfranchised.
The determination of the BOV to stick to their plans for the stewardship of the University is extremely admirable, and speaks to a genuine and deep concern for the institution’s welfare and future—beyond the gifts of time and dedication you all give to UVA as part of your service. However, it is clear after nearly two weeks of outrage, indignation, upset, threats of withdrawal of support and loyalty, that the people of the University of Virginia, and their ideas, which together comprise the University much morethan buildings or landscapes, regard the decision as a mistake made in the absence of open discourse and courtesy. A reconsideration of the actions byboth the BOV and President Sullivan can change what will surely have long-term adverse effects on the University [and how it is viewed both inside and outside the walls], into an instructive lesson on the powers of thoughtfulness, reconsideration, fairness, and the powers of an open mind as advocated by our founder.
The deans are the administrators who hear directly from the BOV AND all of our other constituents on a regular basis [increasingly in the past two weeks, as we are sure you have as well]. We recognize that the BOVfrequently must make decisions based on information to which not everyone can have access. Indeed, it is a position in which deans find themselves very frequently. As deans start out in their administrative positions [no matter how fine a scholar s/he have been prior to their administrative appointment] they learn from every decision they make. We ask that the BOV and President Sullivan be informed by the reaction of the students, faculty, and friends of the University, and consider the galvanization of the administration, faculty, students, alumni, donors and, dare we say, the BOV members yourselves, by restitution of the President and serious and focused attention to the issues that led to this dilemma in the first place.
We commit to working to address the issues with the BOV, the Vice Presidents, and President Sullivan immediately. We can accomplish thiswithout the alternate but unavoidably slow pathway of another year-long presidential search, potential changes of some senior leadership that usually accompanies change at the top, and the scar that it is clear that will be with us, unavoidably, for a long time if we do not make a course alteration now.
We ask for your wisdom and reconsideration. We will respond as professionals no matter what the decision of the BOV is, but know that there will be excitement, rededication and a real sense of accomplishment and hope for the future among all of our constituents if we can work out a middle path. We stand ready to help with information, individual or group discussion, and all necessary discretion to help with the University that we all value so highly.
Finally, please know that we did not offer Dean Zeithaml the opportunity to join in this communication, as we felt it would put him in an extraordinarily difficult position even to be asked.”
Observer: "It is almost unimaginable that the firing of Sullivan, and the process used, would be called for by any reason given to date. There has just got to be a lot more to this circumstance."
I agree completely. I think the "online education" angle was the excuse a few members of the Board agreed on to do what they wanted to do anyway. I think a few rich and powerful alumni wanted her gone, and dangled the prospect of major donations if the Board figured out how.
I imagine a couple of the BOV members already didn't like her leadership style, her background as a sociologist, or the fact that she was an outsider to UVA. And if she wasn't properly deferential to a few deep-pocketed alums I can well imagine them plotting to replace her with someone more agreeable.
@A
WAKE UP you wrote
""It’s a great gig receiving $330,000.00 per year plus perks, especially when it’s totally other people’s money. Yes that the full professor salary at UVA."
Except it's, you know, not."
Salaries are public info. Check it out. Then go look up any manufacturing company. Spoiled baby!
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/databases/salaries/university-of-virginia...
an H Annex Professor INMD CV Medicine $420,000
Robert D (Bob) Sweeney Senior Vice President for Development and Public Affairs VP Office $413,900
Robert M Strieter Professor 25 MD-INMD Int Med $411,000
Carl P Zeithaml Dean and F S Cornell Professor of Free Enterprise Dean's Admin $408,000
Sharon L Hostler Professor 25 MD-PEDT Pediatrics $401,300
Larry Fitzgerald Lecturer Health System Support $397,800
Harry Jr Harding Dean, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy Frank Batten School $370,000
George A Rutherglen Professor Law School Central $334,300
Kenneth J Cherry Professor 10 MD-SURG Surgery $329,000
William B. (Bill) Harvey Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity Diversity Office $327,600
Bruce J Hillman Professor RADL Thoracoabdominal $324,000
Robert L Chevalier Professor 25 MD-PEDT Pediatrics $322,600
James L Hilton Vice President and Chief Information Officer CIO Office $320,000
Craig K Littlepage Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Programs AD Office $320,000
Meredith Jung-En Woo Dean, Arts and Sciences, Buckner W Clay Professor Govt & Foreign Aff $320,000
Joe C Campbell Professor Elec/Computer Engr Dept $319,600
John C Jr Jeffries Professor Law School Central $316,700
Roberto Ariel Gomez Professor PEDT Nephrology $316,100
Stephen S (Steve) Rich Professor PBHS Public Health Sciences Admin $312,000
Richard J Bonnie Professor Law School Central $312,000
Robert M Carey Professor INMD Endocrinology $306,300
Barry M Gumbiner Professor CELL Cell Biology $306,200
Gerald L. Baliles Director of Miller Center Miller Center $305,000
Deborah A Ryan Head Coach, Women's Basketball Women's Basketball $301,500
Anthony Guy Bennett Head Coach, Men's Basketball Basketball-Men's $300,000
BOV scheduled to meet Tuesday 6/26 at 3pm in rotunda to discuss President Sullivan’s employment contract.
@ Concerned Citizen My point exactly.
"U Va.'s death spiral accelerates: faculty disaffection, alumni send their money and their kids elsewhere, loss of accredidation." Which is nonsense.A great univ doesn't evaporate.especially in college age population growing Va where Uva is not only the best school in many fields but beautiful and a good cash deal.Let me assure you ,most prospective students and their parents could care less if its Teressa Sullivan or Ed Sullivan.Yes this issue is important but not in the hyped end of world terms you used.As to faculty disaffected ,I never knew a year at UVa when they weren't angry over something
@Observer:
You seem a little confused about the term "full professor." Your list includes the athletic director and the women's basketball coach, as well as a number of Deans and senior administrators and a former Governor of Virginia. There are a handful of actual professors who make $300K or up. Most of them, predictably, are in the Medical School. Your comment implies that when you're introduced to the average full professor on the street, that persons's salary is $330,000. Which it's not. Not even close.
I'm also puzzled by your contemptuous claim that faculty are paid with "other people's money." What are you paid with?
Not sure why I'm a spoiled baby for pointing out facts, but whatever.
Yeah, I too liked that part about being paid with "other people's money." I guess Observer is paid with his OWN money, somehow, which was never some other person's money at a previous point in time. Magical.
Do we know who called the BOV meeting?
I'm betting Fralin and the other honest Board members have the votes to end this fiasco.
@Corkie:
Ironically, since state employees are also taxpayers, they're among the few people who really are paid, in infinitesimal part, with their own money. (Although I suppose the same would be true of people who work at CVS and also shop there, say.)
But I suspect this point would be lost on our friend.
A --
It's possible that Observer is not being paid at all -- maybe Observer does not have a job, and still lives at home where mom and dad provide the food.
-- B
@ A&S grad June 21st, 2012 | 4:55pm
“I imagine a couple of the BOV members already didn't like her leadership style, her background as a sociologist, or the fact that she was an outsider to UVA. And if she wasn't properly deferential to a few deep-pocketed alums I can well imagine them plotting to replace her with someone more agreeable.”
I agree with your comments and could it possible be as simple as a personality dislike or clash? What prompted Dragas to set her compass to dump President Sullivan? Or WHO?
Silly me. Here I sat without realizing that in this highly educated community, claiming that powerful women achieved that power on their backs passed as high comedy. I mean, I guess that's what you have left since you can't make fun of Dragas for being fat, poor, or fashion-impaired.
Come on. Shots at sexuality are weak, cheap, and lazy. There is plenty of humor to be found here, but I agree you might have to work a bit.
"The BOV are accomplished individuals and would not have risen to their stature by this type of behavior. I cannot believe that even two or three of them would take such dramatic and secretive action without think it through."
And yet it cannot be disputed that two or three of them did take a dramatic and secretive action without thinking it through. Or are you suggesting that they knew exactly what the response would be, factored that into their analysis of the situation, and decided that it was still best not only to demand Sullivan's resignation but to provide exactly nothing in the way of a substantive explanation of their reasons for doing so?
One can be highly accomplished in one's own field of endeavor and yet completely ignorant of a great many things outside of that field. The fact that someone has had great success in business or medicine or academia or any of a number of other things does not necessarily demonstrate that that person is well-suited to lead in a different arena.
Does anyone else find it highly suspect--and not coincidental--the Dragas came out today with the statement below?
Posted: Thu 6:40 PM, Jun 21, 2012A A Updated: Thu 6:46 PM, Jun 21, 2012
Below is the statement from Rector Helen Dragas:
June 21, 2012
In my statement to the Board on Monday, I conveyed my heartfelt apologies for the pain, anger and confusion that has swept the Grounds over the last 10 days, and said that the UVA family deserved better from your Board.
I also indicated that this University was entitled to a fuller explanation of the Board's thinking for collectively taking the action that we did, and explained that, as Visitors, we have the very highest aspirations for the University of Virginia -- for it to reach its fullest potential as a 21st century Academical Village, always rooted firmly in our enduring values of honor, integrity and trust -- and that we want the University to be a leader in fulfilling its mission, not a follower.
Although I was reluctant to go into detail on our concerns, as I said, we owe you a more specific outline of the serious strategic challenges that alarmed us about the direction of the University. No matter how you feel about our actions, these challenges represent some very high hurdles that stand in the way of our University's path to continued success in the coming decade, and they are going to remain front and center for the next Board and the next President over the coming years. Simply put, the UVA family must be clear-eyed about the shoals and dangers that exist below the surface, and the hard work and strategic planning it will take for this community to navigate them together.
While the UVA student experience remains premiere, though our faculty creates dynamic newknowledge every day, and despite the enduring magic of Mr. Jefferson's University, the bottom line is the days of incremental decision-making in higher education are over, or should be. For some time, the Board of Visitors has been concerned about the following difficult challenges facing the University - most of which are not unique to UVA -- and we concluded that their structural and long-term nature demanded a deliberate and strategic approach, not an incremental one.
1. State and federal funding challenges - Since 2000, state funding per student has declined from $15,300 to $8,300 per student in constant dollars. Governor McDonnell has done much to restore stability to state funding, but the outlook for economic growth in this area over the long term is bleak. Federal research funding and federal support of student loans are both in decline, with no expectation of a recovery, putting pressure on the University to replace these revenue sources with sustainable alternatives. The University has no long-range plan to do so.
2. The changing role of technology in adding value to the reach and quality of the educational experience of our students. Bold experimentation and advances by the distinguished likes of Stanford, Harvard, and MIT have brought online learning into the mainstream, virtually overnight. Stanford's president, John Hennessy, predicted that "there's a tsunami coming", based on the response to online course offerings at Stanford (one course enrolled an astounding 160,000 students). Michigan, Penn, Princeton, Yale, and Carnegie Mellon are all taking aggressive steps in this direction. The University of Virginia has no centralized approach to dealing with this potentially transformational development.
3. A dynamic and rapidly changing health care environment. The UVA Medical Center, while excelling at cutting edge patient care and research, competes with competent and sophisticated private health systems providing high quality health care in a market undergoing substantive structural change. At the behest of the Board of Visitors, the Medical Center undertook a strategic planning study in 2011 that resulted in a well-articulated plan. Implementation will require strong leadership and very ambitious interim steps.
4. Heightened pressure for prioritization of scarce resources. Difficult choices will have to be made to balance competing demands for financial aid (the University's generous, $95 million per year financial aid program, AccessUVA, has consumed resources at an unsustainable and alarming rate over the last five years, yet it is considered necessary to compete with many elite private institutions in attracting the best and the brightest students) and faculty and staff recruitment, and retention. A wave of faculty retirements is coming over the next seven years, and faculty retention is increasingly difficult due to stagnation in faculty salaries. The College of Arts and Sciences alone estimates it would take $130 million by 2016 to provide competitive compensation and start-up costs to fulfill its aspirations in the humanities and the sciences. Yet, the University has no articulated long-range plan that prioritizes these competing demands for resources.
5. Issues of faculty workload and the quality of the student experience. The ratio of students to faculty is deteriorating. This change has not occurred as a part of a thoughtful process and planned strategy to integrate technology into introductory courses while extending importantsmall group and individual interactions between faculty and students. Rather, it reflects the stresses of increased enrollment and insufficient resource prioritization.
6. Issues of declining relative faculty compensation. In a letter dated May 11, 2012, the College of Arts and Sciences faculty issued a letter to the Board almost identical to one it issued to the Presidential search committee in 2009. It demanded urgency in addressing the decline of UVA in faculty compensation from 26th to 36th since 2005 among Association of American University peers, and noted our relatively poor performance vis-à-vis key public competitors such as UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, and UNC.
7. Drifting engagement direction - The securing of philanthropic gifts and grants from a broader base of supporters is critically important as our devoted volunteer leadership attempts to finish the UVA capital campaign. Large gifts received over the last year include much appreciated, donor-driven funds for international squash courts and contemplative sciences (the confluence of Eastern thought, yoga, meditation, etc.). Central institutional priorities should be articulated and highlighted for engagement, but cannot be without development of a specific vision and plan.
8. Research funding and activity - Research funding has been in decline, and we have decreased in federal higher education research rankings in the past five years. In 2008, we were #70 in the nation overall (compared to Virginia Tech's #43 ranking). These statistics are incongruous with other characteristics of the University that suggest we should be a research powerhouse. Mr. Jefferson's vision for his University and his early encouragement of the sciences suggests the same. In areas of applied research, UVA often is not the first institution in Virginia that governmental units and businesses go to when they need a partner.
9. Increasing accountability for academic quality and productivity. These issues are foremost on the minds of students, family, and legislators. The Board well understands that curricular programming is the responsibility of the faculty, and the Board has never suggested any specific curricular adjustments. It is the Board's responsibility, however, to ask for evidence that the current curriculum is meeting its stated goals and also to ask how well anyparticular curriculum or program actually prepares UVA graduates for the increasingly complex, international world in which they will live and compete. There is no long-term program in place for assessment, reporting, and improvement in many disciplines.
10. Increasing importance of a proactive, contemporary communications function. The recent events unfolding at UVA have proven a demonstrated need to fortify university communications functions with updated technologies. We need faster, multi-platform communications including cutting-edge use of mobile, digital and social media to complement a more traditional media-relations function and press outreach to tell the UVA story.
This is but a partial list. Put together, these challenges represent an extremely steep climb, even if the University were lean and on top of its game. Yet in the face of these challenges, the University still lacks an updated strategic plan.
Believe it or not, the last time the University developed a concrete, strategic plan was a decade ago - in2002. We deserve better - the rapid development of a plan that includes goals, costs, sources of funds, timelines and individual accountability. And, without micromanaging details such as calling for the elimination of specific programs or mandating distance learning, the Board did insist, and still insists, that the University leadership move in a timely, thoughtful, and organized fashion to address these and similar issues. Failing this, the University of Virginia will continue to drift in yesterday.
At the time of President Casteen's retirement, the search process should have included a thoughtful assessment by uninvested third parties who, in collaboration with the institution's stakeholders, would have examined everything from academic programs, faculty assignments, student services, research activity, technology, tuition and admissions strategies, administrative expenditures,public service and outreach, private support, the Medical School and hospital, and, yes, governance, both at the administrative and board levels.
With this said, I agree with critics who say that we should have handled the situation better. In my view, we did the right thing, the wrong way. For this, I sincerely apologize, and this and future boards will learn from our mistakes. However, as much as our action to effect a change in leadership has created a wave of controversy, it was motivated by an understanding of the very stiff headwinds we face as a University, and our resolve to push through them to forge a future that is even brighter than imaginable today.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Observer-
Your remarks are, well, not so observant. First off, you cite mainly Medical / Law professors. Most senior Med professors are also teaching doctors, and note the specalites: biometrics? endocrinology?
Second, the Miller Center is funded through private donors.
"The Center, under the oversight of its Governing Council, is an integral part of the University of Virginia, with maximum autonomy within the University system. Its programs are supported fully by funds it solicits (through the Miller Center Foundation) and its endowment."
Finally, you need to edumacate yourself before you try schoolin everyone else.
@A and @Snoop and @Booya
Sorry to confuse you. The link I supplied list salaries for all faculty. I simply copied a general page to get your attention. Use the link.
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/databases/salaries/university-of-virginia...
Another feature is that it has information on lots of state supported Universities nationwide. So you can see how well UVA is paid.
I have no contemptuous intent. But I do think the salaries of the academic leadership should be compared with the outside world. Academics are paid with other peoples money where many corporate types have ownership stakes.
As an example, look to MRS Dragas. Her career has been intense and she has created an ownership interest where she can lose her assets, or grow them. Thats her money at work. Free will gifting of time and treasure is to be admired. Confiscation of property by taxation prohibits free will gifting.
Oh, almost forgot. My family were all dead when I was 27 years of age. That was decades ago. I inherited the bills.
Sullivan was doing a great job. Let St. Hypomone go visit somewhere else .... preferably in the company of the great Glob McDonnell himself.
Does Mr Gehman even work at the university?
Just a former student with a UVA library card, chum Observer. UVA is important to anyone with a mind. Which group may not include you ..... ??
Ms. Dragas may indeed be a sterling examplar of the new "thin client" style of management. In other words, she's just your average flash in the pan.
Having seen the list of salaries above, it makes me believe in Obama and Socialism. Why do so many people need $30,000 to $40,000 a month salaries when some families are lucky to make $30,000 a year and can hardly afford to clothe and feed their kids.
Please reinstate President Sullivan. Do the right thing.
"Bold experimentation and advances by the distinguished likes of Stanford, Harvard, and MIT have brought online learning into the mainstream, virtually overnight."
MIT has been at this for more than a decade. Probably spent close to half a billion on it, and not made a penny back. That's not to say online learning isn't a good thing, but you should at least try to get your own talking points right.