“We need to stay in our lane” At UVA, Ryan Calls the Shots for the Faculty Senate
The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors passed a resolution in late April requesting a report by June on efforts to improve viewpoint diversity. The resolution directs senior leadership to present, at the June BOV meeting, a summary of the university’s efforts to ensure an “intellectual climate and campus culture where all students, faculty and staff are able to express politically diverse views, engage in constructive discussion, and respond to competing perspectives in good faith.”
What could have been a chance for shared governance has instead become a showcase for President Jim Ryan’s control, with the Faculty Senate caught between deferring to him and fighting for a voice.
At a recent Senate meeting, faculty voiced frustration over their unclear role in the report. The resolution called for an appointee from the faculty senate to contribute to a report on improving UVA’s viewpoint diversity. But the Faculty Senate has been left in the dark with President Ryan and Interim Provost Gertler running the show. “It just feels like someone is asking for us to report about work being done in a very broad way, in a very short time,” one senator said, decrying the lack of guidance. Another questioned inaction: “Are we saying we actually are going to sort of stonewall this? Or what’s going on here?”
Ryan’s dominance is evident. Faculty Representative to the Board of Visitors Michael Kennedy, navigating the tension, noted that Ryan is “very deliberate with his moves with the Board, very strategic.” Kennedy urged restraint, saying, “We need to stay in our lane when the president is working with the Board.” Some senators echoed this deference. However, another suggests that if the appointee's job is to “go and work with what the president and the provost are putting together. And support it. I don't think you'll get a good view of the faculty. How do you quantify that?” Instead of just offering actual input, one senator emphasized the need for a representative with “a productive and previous relationship with the Board,” arguing that the resolution’s Broad goals make it “almost impossible” to find someone uniquely suited.
Other senators, however, rightfully demand agency. One senator ripped into the inaction, scoffing at how the Senate was letting Ryan run the show, “It just feels like ‘let's pretend this isn't happening’.” One proposed to “try to contribute to the report” by highlighting department-level efforts, suggesting faculty “reach out to members of the Senate and say, could you share this with your department … and let’s have them identify what they think is happening in their sphere of influence.” Another questioned the process: “Are we going to be like a little team with three of us reporting the same thing as the president and the provost? Or is there an expectation there’ll be three reports?” The most biting comment said it quite bluntly, “It just seems odd that we just let that time go by and wait for President Ryan to tell us what we are doing.” These voices reflect a push to ensure faculty perspectives aren’t sidelined. Michael Kennedy fielded pointed questions about the stalled appointee role for the upcoming June Board meeting. When he couldn’t provide any details, he even said that what Ryan and Gertler were doing was “above my level.”
The Senate’s split—between those ceding ground to Ryan and willing to play the game of higher-ed realpolitik and those asserting faculty agency—exposes a crisis in UVA’s governance. Suppose Ryan’s report overshadows authentic faculty input. In that case, the Board may receive a sanitized account, undermining the resolution’s call for viewpoint diversity and the BOV’s desire to collaborate and work with the Faculty Senate as Kennedy even noted. Will the Faculty Senate seize this moment to speak for itself, or will Ryan’s control silence the voices UVA claims to champion? This conversation isn’t over and more will be discussed at the May 28 Executive Council meeting, which is a little over a week before the Board of Visitors meeting in early June. From our point of view, it certainly seems like the Faculty Senate will not be meaningfully contributing to this report.
Is the Board of Visitors aware of these behind-the-scenes games? It sounds like the June Board of Visitors Meeting is shaping up to be another one where Ryan and Hardie focus on dog and pony shows that prevent the Board from making the much-needed changes to the University of Virginia.
