Targeting Dragas: 'Unpleasantness' not over yet, say legislators
-
Del. Steven Landes (R), Del. David Toscano (D), Sen. Creigh Deeds (D), and Del. James P. "Jimmie" Massie III (R) hear comments from people wanting BOV reform--and the removal of Rector Helen Dragas.Dave McNair
Like a playwright struggling to finish a satisfying final act with characters who refuse to cooperate, State legislators, UVA faculty, and local citizens gathered at a "town hall" meeting at the UVA Law School's Caplin Auditorium September 27 to discuss ways that the "Unpleasantness of June," as it was often referred to, could be brought to a close.
The unpleasantness, of course, was the attempted ouster of UVA President Teresa Sullivan by the UVA Board of Visitors this past June, and should a play ever be penned about the drama, The Unpleasantness of June might actually make a good title.
Meanwhile, there's that closing act.
"We can't move forward until we understand the dynamics of what took place this summer," Del. David Toscano (D-Charlottesville) told the relatively small crowd, pointing out that not asking questions, or refusing to answer them is not consistent with the principles that guide a university, especially a public one.
During the mid-September on-Grounds meeting of the BOV, the first since the June debacle, new members Bill Goodwin and Bobbie Kilberg attempted to gag those who insisted on revisiting the events in June.
"We need to leave the past alone," said Goodwin, a billionaire and major donor to UVA. "The more you dig, the more you make the University look bad." Kilberg told Sullivan directly that she needed to stop responding to questions about the June events.
However, calling for censure at a university founded by a man famous for saying "reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error," might appear especially misguided to some.
In January, Toscano said, the state legislature will meet to confirm or reject appointed members of the BOV, including its embattled Rector Helen Dragas.
"That is a significant decision," Toscano told the crowd. To help them make it, Toscano, along with Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath County), Del. Steven Landes (R-Weyers Cave), and Del. James P. "Jimmie" Massie III (R-Henrico County), listened as a parade of speakers voiced their concerns.
Indeed, Deeds said that he had heard from more of his constituents about the "Unpleasantness of June" than any other issue since he has been in office. Massie, an Henrico County delegate with deep connections to UVA (he is an alum, as are his grandfather, father, and son) declared that he "cared deeply" about the University of Virginia, and that he hoped this bipartisan gathering might lead to proper reforms of the school's governing system.
One speaker, Rev. Jim Richardson of St. Paul’s Memorial Church, drew considerable applause when he suggested that the BOV be required to meet in a more plain "auditorium such as this," under more open public display, instead of in the hallowed halls of the Rotunda, which he said might have bred a mentality of entitlement.
Another speaker, UVA engineering professor Larry Richards, suggested that the BOV's infatuation for sealing itself away behind the wall of the Rotunda left them out of touch.
"The teachers, the students, the alumni all loved Teresa Sullivan," he said. "But the BOV didn't understand that. They didn't know. When they critized UVA's work with online education, they had no idea that UVA was a leader in the field. The BOV needs to know what it is the University actually does."
Richard Marks, a 1966 UVA grad, and one of 14 prominent alums who have called for "analyzing the crisis based on legal principles of corporate governance," got straight to the point.
"We are asking that you reject the reappointment of Rector Helen Dragas," he said.
From the outside, said Marks, it looks to people like "UVA is mismanaged at the top," and suggested that allowing Dragas to remain only continued to reinforce that view. Indeed, while some speakers pointed out that Dragas did not act alone, she has become the public face of the debacle.
"At a publicly traded company, if a Board member made decisions like this, they'd be gone," said Marks. "You want universities to be more business-like? Well, you have to know how the business works. The BOV did none of that, and that level of malfeasance is egregious."
After the general election in November, Marks told the legislators that they could expect UVA alumni to demand that Dragas not be re-appointed.
Deeds agreed that short-term fixes, in appointments, needed to be made, but also reminded the audience that in the long term the appointment system needed to be reformed. But he also said that wouldn't be easy.
"I once tried to have faculty members put on BOVs across the state," he said, "And I couldn't get the legislation out of committee."
Landes, too, said that "more transparency" was needed from the BOV, as well as better training for the job. Getting statewide support for changing things though could be a challenge, as other areas of the state might not feel as strongly as those in the Charlottesville area. But, as all of the legislators pointed out, they had received comments from UVA alums about the failed ouster from all across the country.
Before the vote in January, Toscano mentioned the accreditation report from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the body that guides and governs the statewide school system, and enforces standards of institutional integrity, governing board control, and faculty participation in governance.
One sensitive subject the Commission will have to explore is whether or not a not a small group of BOV members orchestrated the attempted ouster, and if forces outside the University influenced the move. Both would be governance no-nos. UVA officials, however, have insisted that the BOV made no procedural errors.
"That accreditation report in December is a big deal," said Toscano. "Particularly in terms of the appointment process."
Indeed, a negative report from the Commission could seriously discredit Dragas and the BOV ahead of the scheduled January legislative session.
"UVA alumni, if they feel strongly about this, need to speak up," said Toscano. "It's not over yet."
70 comments
If I came up on Helen Dragas lying in the middle of the road, I would'nt turn the wheels to miss her. The thing has NO business around UVA, Charlottesville, or Albemarle County. Please, please, some of you politicians that can, run her out of here. NOW.
If it only took a coup among the BoV to oust President Sullivan, why shouldn't it just take a coup to get rid of Dragas.
Anyone on the BoV want to meet tonight at the Rotunda? Email me.
Rector Dragas brought all this upon herself. This is wanted attention. Her leadership is questionable and she should leave UVA for UVA's sake.
There is no honor in holding onto a losing battle of leadership. Dr. Sullivan has the ability to lead the UVA into the next century. Rector Dragas does not. Any true UVA alumni would step aside and let President Sullivan take the reigns.
Rector Dragas asked President Sullivan to make a verbal statement to the Accreditation Committee, commending the leadership of the BoV at UVA. Really? Ask a sitting UVA president who was ousted by Dragas to support the leadership of the BoV that tried to fire her? I don't think so...Dr. Sullivan is a very intelligent woman. Dragas continues to undermine the UVA and its' proven leadership, President Sullivan.
glad that our elected reps feel they cant move forward and must dwell on topics that mean nothing in the broader terms. maybe the city of cville should issue a statement regarding the nhl lockout?
@super
William Faulkenr nailed it when speaking of the South: "the past is not forgotten, it is not even past". Dragas should have taken a couple of literature courses when she was a student.
In this case the past is not really gone with the wind as Dragas can be ousted by the Legislature. Her remaining on the board will devalue the past and future degrees held by every UVa graduate. Enough of a firestorm and Mr. Blowdry of a governor will toss her overboard to try and save his own severely damaged political career, I doubt it would ever even come to a vote.
I wasn't able to go to the meeting, so I don't know whether the alum who spoke about management of the University really used the word "maleficence" to describe the Board's lack of knowledge, but it seems like "malfeasance" would have made more sense? A word the Rector and the rest of them would know well from their lofty corporate perches ... and one with some legal consequences to it, unlike the more emotionally satisfying "maleficence."
Only once the painful and destructive Dragas tenure as Rector ends -- by whatever means -- her own initiative (the most honorable), a reversal of the Governor's indefensibly stupid reappointment (most unlikely) or the General Assembly's doing the right thing (it won't even cost them a single vote, and will pick up many) -- can anything good come about. Until then, the University is stalled, and its very accreditation is being challenged.
all because of the dysfunctional actions and intransigence of this real estate developer. It is simply time to move forward -- without Ms. Dragas.
t
The Dragas Disaster will forever taint the BOV and UVa until she is gone. This story must end with her ouster if she will not do the right thing and resign. The Dragas Disaster is a blemish on the governance of UVa and the Governor for re-apppointing her. The legislature should do the right thing and deny her re-appointment. The Dragas Disaster story at UVa should end in a victory for the students, faculty and alumni who were ourtraged by her shenanigans, her clandistine underhanded, manipulative machinations to do what could not be done in the light. The Dragas Disaster should become an iconic lesson to all backroom tyrants and politicians.
UVa Class of '72
re:
"We need to leave the past alone," said Goodwin, a billionaire and major donor to UVA. "The more you dig, the more you make the University look bad."
The longer you keep and support Dragas the more you make the University look bad. The I call for the BOV to produce a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in rector Dragas. They can clean their own house - and not wait for the legislature - and move forward with their heads held high. They can create their own standards of ethics and acceptable behavior. The late "unplesantness" , a.k.a. The Dragas Disaster , could end on a positive note. She should be ousted by her BOV colleagues as an example of unacceptable Board behavior.
UVA Coll. '72
If the present Governor wants a shot at the White House as some have suggested then this Drags debacle will drag him down.
This guy who re=appointed under the circumstances???? The White House?? You're kidding. Right?
"Let's not go back digging into old stuff..." --Kenneth Lay
these guys all think alike.
Dateline September 3, 1783. After a freak storm, Gov. MCDonnell found himself governing Virginia immediately after a recent unpleasantness with Great Britain. His first official act, after conferring with trusted advisor William Goodwin the First, was to appoint George William Frederick, aka George III, as President of the Virginia House of Burgesses. His second act was to accept Mr. Goodwin's offer to be a special advisor to the House. He also instructed George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others to work with George in a spirit of cooperation. Mr. Goodwin advised that there should be no further discussion of the unpleasantness, as it might "make the country look bad."
@super - more like the NFL debacle. Did you see the replacement referee's awful call during the Packer's/Seahawk's game?
Dragas is more like this inexperienced ref. playing in the big leagues.
UVA is taking a beating. Reason enough for the BoV to have her removed.
Is recovering damages out of the question? UVA can easily show damages caused by this BOV.
@IC - This is a crisis. After the Faculty Senate voted "no confidence" in Dragas, that told me that the damage done to UVA was insurmountable under her governance. The only way to restore faith in the BoV is to remove Dragas and change its' structure.
Further, the potential loss of accreditation is pretty damning evidence about the dysfunction among board members and their lack of leadership.
I believe President Sullivan is doing all she can to "recover damages".
I meant recover monetary damages.
@Eurohoo, No I am not kidding.
Just look at the illustration for "Essayist: Dragas just a tool," with McDonnell having dreams not of 'My Father', but of the White House with Dragas placed in front of the White House, as if she is his ticket in. Some people are visionaries and some are delusional.
@IC - a corporate board that makes a major decision without public notice or consultation is guilty of malfeasance. I believe UVA should be remunerated for Dragas' malfeasance.
UVA's Board of Visitors is defined as: "The Rector and Visitors serve as the corporate board for the University of Virginia, and are responsible for the long-term planning of the University. The Board approves the policies and budget of the University, and is entrusted with the preservation of the University's many traditions, including the Honor System."
The faculty must voice their opinions about this fiasco to the General Assembly. Their voices will be heard.
For intellectual and moral reasons, Dragas should leave--resign or be "fired" by the General Assembly. Virginians need to contact their state House and Senate members.
Dragas is not smart enough to have orchestrated the coup. Whether it is Kirk, Kington or Nau or some other combination, the deeper governance problems will not end when she is gone. They all need to do what Kington did and resign. And where is Kirk? His absence from the Aug & September meetings have not been mentioned by anyone at the BOV meetings. Where is he hiding and what is he up to these days? All Kirk seems to do is send emails to Dragas that say "Call me"
@Outraged, if the illustration infers Dragas is the Gov's ticket then Dragas is in charge of implementing someone's plan. That someone would have to be major player like a Boss Rove or Koch Bros type for Gov to buy in to the plot. The predetermined star to fill Dr. Sullivan's place would then be a Condi Rice type who would implement the next phase. Gov promised VP slot. What exactly were the rest of the players promised? When the Gov reappointed Dragas it became clear Dragas was a tool and Gov was going to get something out of the deal. I'm thinking whoever comes forward with the details could save their neck. Everyone else is going down.
Apologies to Dolemite for not being more effusive in my appreciation of his/her likening these guys (particularly Goodwin and the Nixon/Agnew operative whose outrageous and offensive instruction to the President of the University of Virginia -- as soon as they take their newly-appointed seats --is "shut up!") to Ken Lay. We really need to keep the dirty paws of people like this (starting with Dragas -- the public face of the wrongdoing) off our beloved University. They need to find another Enron-type structure to use as their vehicle of greed, abuse and pilfering. I do believe that once we pry Dragas's fingers off the gavel, and encourage more daylight into the proceedings, these guys will, in fact, find a different sandbox in which they can urinate.
<<"We need to leave the past alone," said Goodwin, a billionaire and major donor to UVA. "The more you dig, the more you make the University look bad." Kilberg told Sullivan directly that she needed to stop responding to questions about the June events.>>
This statement speaks volumes about the mindset of the BoV and the University, since the fish always stinks from the head..
I still think that the entire BoV should resign and a new system be put in place as to how members representing the different Stakeholders should be elected. No one governor or party should have this kind of unilateral power in appointing members to the the BoV.
Also the entrenched VP of Student Affairs, Patricia Lampkin, and the entire body of the Dean of Students should all be fired. They are neck deep in their own corrupt practices.
@moi what corrupt practices, could you be more specific ?
@ Nancy
Who do you think covers up for all the rapes at UVA? No transparency in the investigations conducted and in sexual misconduct hearings? Not one rapist expelled from UVA in over a decade? Given the national statistics that 1 in 4 female college students is sexually assaulted, does it stand to reason that there is never enough proof at UVA to expel not even one accused student? They have no problem proving and expelling students that cheat or plagiarize, yet proving sexual assault under the most recent standard, imposed on them by the dept of education, of "preponderance" seems to be a colossal hurdle. In other words if one party is more believable (51:49) they can be found guilty. UVA's record is totally bizarre!
Over the years hundreds of girls have been crushed, damaged and dropped out as a direct result of UVA's sexual misconduct hearings, deemed as the second rape, yet not one male student has been expelled? If this does not scream, UNFAIR and CORRUPT, then what Dragas is being accused of is totally insignificant and benign.
@moi
Let me get this straight. You, whoever you are so wise that you are demanding that the entire BOV resign, that the entire staff of the Dean of Students and Student Affairs resign.
You must be really wise, really gifted.
Reveal who you are, run for President, run for Governor. We need for you to save America, because you are really great.
Moi, please tell us your real name so that we can devote ourselves to your greatness
Moi is - Toril Moi (born 1953 in Norway) is James B. Duke Professor of Literature and Romance Studies and Professor of English, Philosophy and Theatre Studies at Duke University. Previously she held positions as a lecturer in French at the University of Oxford and as Director of the Center for Feminist Research at the University of Bergen, Norway. She works on feminist theory and women's writing; on the intersections of literature, philosophy and aesthetics; on "finding ways of reading literature with philosophy and philosophy with literature without reducing the one to the other."
moi has lectured in Nau Hall (BoV, Nau Hall)
Moi is a professor at Duke who is bashing UVA?
Teril Moi is also on The Johns Hopkins University New Literary History Advisory Board - Advisory Editor.
What's surprising? Duke and Johns Hopkins are UVA competitors. Why not slam UVA while its' down (sarcasm)?
We are vulnerable right now, and the BoV just don't get it. President Sullivan knows the vultures are circling.
@moi - go back you your own universities and make your complaints known.
...oops-@moi, go back to YOUR own universities and complain
Why is Moi disparaging the UVA name? Seems unethical.
I hope President Sullivan, and Mr. Nau on BoV have a long talk with Duke's President Brodhead about Teril Moi.
Talk about conspiracy theories!
Really, Who are you?
For all you pseudo intellectuals it's really quite simple "moi" is "really" french for "me". That's who I am, me! ROFL
Duke? John Hopkins? are probably no better.
Instead of changing the subject by shooting the messenger why not discuss the issue I addressed. Of course anything UVA does is great and how dare anyone question it. Catholic Church, Penn State and more recently University of Montana in Missoula have had to pay the price for sexual abuse cover ups. The time has come for UVA to face the music. You see there will always be bad people in every institution, thieves, rapists, etc, that nobody can prevent, but it's the cover ups that always come back to bite and those in positions of power who cover up are even lower than the criminals, aiding and abetting such behavior.
To Moi: I believe the subject at hand is about Dragas failures. Failures of the BoV.
Talk to the folks at the Hook about the subject you want to address. You make this page messy.
Whoever you happen to be...please move on.
To Moi: I am the mother of a graduate student. I care deeply about the UVA.
@moi - the same software that vets out cheaters, can vet out posts. go back to Duke and do your damage there.
@Courtney's Mom
my original post was about the BoV and Nancy Drew asked me a question, which I answered. Sorry to burst your little bubble that UVA has more than the one dimension you see. If you really cared about uva you might notice that half the student body consists of females and what affects them is very relevant.
You stated earlier, "There is no honor in holding onto a losing battle of leadership. Dr. Sullivan has the ability to lead the UVA into the next century. Rector Dragas does not. Any true UVA alumni would step aside and let President Sullivan take the reigns."
Perhaps you misunderstood my prior statement about Dragas. I agree that she should resign because she dishonored her position and much more but the point I was making is that it is trivial compared to what else is going on in UVA and Sullivan despite her rhetoric on the subject I raised has failed in this regard. That subject has everything to do with Dragas because it's all about honor and integrity.
moi the great one!
Dear Hook:
I respectfully request that you investigate whether Moi is Duke professor using The Hook and the UVA Saga in a manner that is clearly unethical. If you are truth seekers, you owe the community this.
@really
Which position do you hold in the Dean of Students Office? Did I touch a raw nerve? You've never been challenged and I've just started.......have a lovely evening if you can.
@moi
Are you a professor at Duke?
In answer to your question, NO.
Please don't flatter yourself. Duke and Johns Hopkins are highly ranked, UVA is not a threat to them and I doubt very much any of their professors would be as juvenile as you. The accusation reflects on you and the way you think. Is that what you do to other schools?
Once again you detract from the subject!
BoV failures are one thing, vetting your personal attacks against UVA personnel here is quite another.
You need to contact the Hood for validation as you will not find it here.
To Really: I think moi is here to distract from the Dragas fiasco. The BoV failures. You are right in questioning moi as a Duke professor.
She is a frustrated staff member at best. She probably works for the woman she wants fired. Enough said on the matter.
My guess is moi or someone close to moi has been raped at UVA and is trying to make the point that if we are speaking of UVA and honor it is shameful how victims of rape are treated. I agree with moi's point. Sadly.
To Moi: If your claims had credibility, the BoV would have taken immediate action. Please move on.
The HOOK has been focused on the wrongful ouster of a prominent University President. This post is about the shadow coup, presided over by Dragas, that attempted to remove the president without a full discussion among the governing BoV, faculty, staff, and community at UVA. This debacle has been disastrous to all of us among the UVA community.
The focus is on the forest, not the trees.
UVA's accreditation is at stake; the faculty retention is at stake, the staff, the students...
Please do not disparage the UVA at this time.
Create your own personal blog. State who you are and your purpose.
@IC - ...and your private schooled child does not have to be educated with non-English speaking students who did not score above the 132 IQ? Your child did not have any conflict at the family level nor was diagnosed with PTSD due to abuse, right? Your kid is not hungry in the morning, right?
All stats bear out that the "no kid left behind" is a disservice to the poor and disadvantaged - the very kids the program was suppose to help. Figures!
When the playing field is fair for all kids, I will listen. Otherwise, just go pay for your kid's private education...and get off this page!
moi = Sean Cannan
All you have to do to verify is read almost anything he has ever posted either here under his own name or as "human rights" on the Washington Post's articles about Dragas's attempted coup. He also likes to post on the Cavalier Daily site where he frequently gets schooled in the facts by kids half his age.
Use some common sense folks. The claim that he is someone actually named Moi is as nutty as some of his allegations regarding the university. Would you think someone posting under the name "Really" is really named really?
All of the BOV bears guilt - why are we letting them off the hook (no pun intended) and focusing only on Helen Dragas? Even the newest members and advisors seem to behave the same way. They all should go. And regarding moi - we need to avoid killing the messenger. The sad truth is that UVA has done some incorrigible things. It doesn't mean President Sullivan has done them, but they have occurred. I don't want to ignore them, I want her to own up to them and FIX them by getting rid of the people who did them - and some are very high up. Just like I want Helen Dragas to own up to her incorrigible acts and fix them - by leaving.
Watcher, I agree. We have now seen the Board bully President Sullivan in a public forum which was being recorded. Imagine how she might be received in a session behind closed doors if she tried to address how victims of rape are handled at UVa. Anyone can look at the stats and common sense tells you male students are being protected or possibly simply UVa's reputation. Courtney's mother, as a mother of a grad student I would think you would be in favor of UVa's record and actions concerning rape improved. I have zero confidence in our present Board whatever the issue. I agree the problem clearly is much deeper than just getting rid of Dragas. Think of it this way though. Had the Board or the Governor acted in an appropriate manner regarding Dragas we probably would have happily moved on. They have shown us our problem is far greater than Helen Dragas. "It will not end until the Board acknowledges publicly that UVa suffered a significant failure of corporate governance; and it will not end until Board members finally explain candidly, to satisfy common sense, what really motivated them to act so precipitously."
@ Courtney's Mom and Really, please take a deep breath and count to ten. Moi is raising legitmate issues in any discussion that addresses the big fundamental subject of all of these Dragas-related articles: governance at UVa. It is beyond dispute that how UVa addresses sexual assault is deserving of scrutiny -- our own recent history and murder trial, and the litigation the University and several of its officers are now facing as a result, is proof enough of that. For a subject to be relevant to this discussion, the commenter need not limit his or herself to the soap opera-ish aspects of the Rector's flaws regarding only the ousting of the President. It's all a part of a deseased, festering whole. Carefully and slowly read the comments of Citizen Party and of Eurohoo and of Moi, to get a clearer sense of the diagnosis, as well as some suggestions on a cure.
@watcher
Imagine how pissed Lady Pat must have been to see this outsider, Sullivan, waltz in and take her crown. So who do you think has been undermining the President? Sullivan apologized to Susan R. . Susan R has a photo of Lampkin on her website as one of the villains responsible in the cover up. How dare Sullivan humiliate Lady Pat? Think about the slap in the face!
Lady Pat wields her own unchecked power and enjoys "free" Pavillion mansion as accommodation and earns well over $230,000. Hubby works in the Alumni Association earning more dollars ($?) whilst the University struggles financially! Time for a new more modern and reVAMPed office of student affairs!
<<"We need to leave the past alone," said Goodwin, a billionaire and major donor to UVA. "The more you dig, the more you make the University look bad." Kilberg told Sullivan directly that she needed to stop responding to questions about the June events.>>
By doing some digging, you will also find that Dragas' father also planned his own coup at ODU with their sitting president. I'm thinking Helen is just trying to live up to Daddy's record...
@non-smoker. What is this about. Lady Pat, SusanR, Hubby, who are these people?
@watcher, tig and context
Thank you for spelling it out in terms that open minded individuals reading can see that for an institution to be on solid footing it needs to be transparent and open. This board and much of the administration has been anything but transparent. People are not stupid and for years these games and shenanigans have gone unchecked. UVA June shone the light on it and now it will be impossible to regain the trust of all the stakeholders without a major overhaul and more transparency. The cancer has to be removed entirely for the patient to be saved and for it to go into remission. Nobody said change is easy but for this institution to be able to go forward it needs to address the ugliness head on. UVA will not lose it accreditation if it shows the community and the world it is cleaning house. The entire point of accreditation is to show that the rules and standards are being respected. It will hurt in the short run but it will salvage UVA for the long haul. Sullivan has to step up to the plate and take charge. She was given a huge mandate when the board was forced to reinstate her. She has the power right now to affect the changes needed. Go for it Sullivan, demand the Governor to get rid of the board and start from scratch before its too late. Have new members from across the spectrum of stakeholders appointed and purge the old Casteen gaurd from this once esteemed institution. This is what leadership is about. Threaten them with your resignation if they don't give you the powers a president requires to manage an institution.
I don't know who Susan R. is either. But I don't think there is a need to demand anything from anyone. The President can just DO. She could start by going back to the sad Kevin Morrissey investigation. She was really really new and it seems she was hoodwinked into believing University officials were doing the right thing but they weren't. Perhaps if she looked at the evidence now she would see with new eyes. There are plenty of Susans who are behaving badly.
Saw my name in these blogs ... I have opinions but since I have no dog in this particular fight, kindly leave me out of this session. I do see there was another rape this week, are you people prepared to watch another student's life turned upside down?
Let's please stop getting sidetracked with trying to figure out secret identities -- the real, boring problems are serious enough to not need to waste time on gossipy sleuthing. Back to the issue at hand, now that Sullivan has been "back" for over 3 months, it is time to begin assessing her success in overcoming BOV opposition, as well as efforts the BOV is taking to undermine her (and which UVa constituencies it is lining up to toss her out again). Two of Sullivan's pet causes, the new budgetary model and peer-review of faculty performance, are areas where the faculty (who rallied to save her back in June) have vocally shown opposition to her direction. The BOV, in not getting behind Sullivan to support these reforms that would make the UVa workplace more like other "real world" workplaces (reforms which one would expect them, as corporate types, to favor), seem to be implicitly letting her stick her neck out unprotected, such that the BOV might later pretend to be on the side of a faculty and departmental aparatus that remains pampered and unscrutinized, and ultimately claim it is letting her re-go "for" the faculty. So far, in the context of Sullivan's efforts to bring UVa managment and finances up to modern standards in such basic areas as employee performance reviews and merit-based raises, the BOV oddly does not seem to have her back, other than perhaps to hold the rope that is attached to the guillotine blade. She must feel very alone, and it is almost forcing the failure of her leadership.
BOV makes list of worst ideas for 2012.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/wapo-calls-sullivan-ouster-one-of-the-...
Dragas must resign. She lacks leadership and the faculty are fleeing the UVA. More than 25% are leaving the UVA in the next 12 months. Bravo DRAGAS!
I hadn't seen that report, "25% of..." But, if there is any truth to the basis of the report, this has to be stopped. she is a self-centered, destructive force who is pathologically incapable of doing the right thing and resigning. It obviously doesn't matter to her that she is destroying the institution she so laughingly claims to "love". She probably actually believes that her continued presence is good. If you asked her what good she served by continuing on as Rector, you would likely get the same corporate-like doublespeak and gibberish she offered in June by way of explanation why she did what she did in order to become the sole queen bee. The General Assembly has to remove her.
Moi is not the only one with a personal agenda and the agenda is misinformation that does not serve UVA very well.
Over a third of UVA faculty are retirement age eligible. President Sullivan has consistently forecasted that she expects faculty turnover of 25 percent or more because of the aged faculty and normal attrition.
Bill Wulf did not resign. He retired. He is 77 years old and had not taught a class or published anything in over 10 years.
Really,
How then do we explain Bill Wulf's resignation letter? A plot to deceive us?
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/UVa_Professor_Bill_Wulf_Resigns_1...
@buzzman
Really is a self important non-entity hack from the Dean of Students office.
@buzz man
My point is to criticize Bill Wulf's declaration of resigning when it should be taken at it's face value as really retirement because he is 77 years old and before "resigning" he had not taught a class or published a paper in over 10 years. Not sure how you can resign if you are not actually doing any work.