Youngkin’s UVA Legacy: A Damaged Institution that Spanberger Must Repair

(previously published by the Richmond Times Dispatch and Charlottesville Daily Progress)

Former UVA President Jim Ryan’s recent letter to the university’s Faculty Senate—corroborated by former Rector Robert Hardie and other board members—raises new questions about the role that Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s and his choice for rector, Rachel Sheridan, played in recent University crises. Rebuilding the University’s reputation now becomes a challenge for Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger.

Virginia governors routinely appoint board members to the state’s public colleges, but Youngkin pursued sweeping ideological change. Echoing President Trump’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), he portrayed universities as drivers of unwanted cultural shifts and pledged to dismantle DEI programs. When the Trump administration threatened to strip UVA of federal research funding unless it accepted DOJ’s interpretation of discrimination law, neither Youngkin nor Attorney General Jason Miyares offered public opposition. Instead, they amplified anti-DEI rhetoric as the pressure campaign intensified.

What Youngkin Inherited

When Youngkin took office in 2022, UVA’s strengths were well known. The University ranked 25th among all U.S. universities and 4th among public institutions. The School of Law was the nation’s top public law school, and UVA’s programs in business, nursing, and veteran services were among the country’s best. Newsweek ranked the UVA Medical Center No. 1 in Virginia and 42nd nationally.

Research funding climbed from $311 million in 2015 to $570 million in 2024, including nearly $300 million for the School of Medicine. Under Ryan, UVA launched major initiatives such as the School of Data Science, the Karsh Institute of Democracy, and the Manning Institute of Biotechnology.

Fundraising also soared. UVA’s “Honor the Future” campaign hit its $5 billion goal 18 months early and now stands at $6.1 billion, helping expand affordability programs like “Success UVA,” which guarantees free tuition for Virginia families earning under $80,000 and full college costs for those earning under $30,000.

Many contributed to these achievements, but Ryan quarterbacked them for the last seven years.

DOJ Attacks Begin

The climate shifted dramatically when the Trump Justice Department began targeting UVA earlier this year. By then, Youngkin had appointed a majority of the Board, including Sheridan, who became the chief conduit between UVA and DOJ. Throughout June, Sheridan had multiple conversations with DOJ officials. According to responses to FOIA requests from Senator Creigh Deeds and Ryan’s recent letter , Sheridan kept Ryan, Rector Hardie, and most of the Board largely excluded from those conversations.

Ryan and his team had assembled extensive information to answer DOJ’s inquiries, but university lawyers advised him to wait before submitting them. That delay created the false impression that Ryan was slow walking the investigation and reinforced DOJ’s claims that it could not work with him. A June Board meeting that could have authorized the response was abruptly canceled, reportedly over legal concerns involving the proposed appointment of former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. In mid-June, DOJ escalated its demands through two sharply worded letters, including one addressed to “Rachel Sheridan, Rector”—a position she did not yet hold.

Youngkin was not a passive observer in this drama. His office drafted an extraordinary resolution requiring UVA to renounce DEI entirely. Although the Board softened the directive, choosing only to close its DEI office, Youngkin quickly went on Fox News to declare, “DEI is dead at UVA.” When DOJ threatened to “bleed [UVA] white,” both the governor and the attorney general remained silent.

While DOJ officials said they lacked confidence in Ryan, they consistently denied demanding his resignation. Yet Youngkin and Sheridan privately encouraged board members to push for Ryan’s departure before July 1, the date when Sheridan officially became Rector. To increase the pressure, Sheridan, apparently without Board authority and perhaps without the attorney general’s knowledge— engaged another lawyer who pressed Ryan to quit. When legislators use the word “malfeasance,” they cite this example as Exhibit A.

To resolve the crisis, Ryan proposed stepping down after the 2025–26 academic year to allow a smooth transition. Sheridan refused, claiming DOJ insisted he depart immediately. On June 26, 2025, Ryan resigned. DOJ never received the materials that Ryan had prepared.

The Kent Enterprise

Ryan’s ouster is not the only controversy involving Sheridan. In September 2024, an anonymous letter from 128 UVA doctors demanded the removal of Health System’s CEO Craig Kent and his leadership team, alleging a hostile work environment, improper billing procedures, and risks to patients and staff. The Board began an investigation and placed Sheridan in charge. She arranged for UVA to hire Williams & Connelly, a prestigious D.C. firm, to conduct the inquiry and present its findings.

No written report from this multi-million-dollar inquiry was ever shared with the Board, and the public knows nothing about its findings. Instead, shortly after the Board was verbally briefed by the law firm in February, Kent—whose contract had been extended for five years just months earlier—was told he would be fired if he refused to resign. He immediately stepped down and the public was left with no way to judge the allegations. Some, including Thomas A. Scully, a prominent Republican who directed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under George W. Bush and was then a member of the UVa Health System Board, blamed Kent’s departure on “silly partisan politics,” arguing that Sheridan steered the investigation toward a predetermined conclusion. Kent’s critics were not satisfied by the resignation and continued pressing for leadership changes; within months, others from his team departed for other institutions.

Now, the University faces a novel lawsuit alleging that Kent and his team engaged in an illegal RICO conspiracy that contributed to patient deaths and damaged physicians’ reputations. The case may force disclosure of the Williams & Connolly materials—or provoke countersuits from Kent’s team. Such is the fallout from opaque decision-making and crisis mismanagement.

Spanberger’s Options

One of the Spanberger’s first challenges is to right the ship at UVA. She has wisely suggested slowing its presidential search until new Board members can be appointed. While Youngkin objects—hoping his appointees will pick the next president—there is no urgency, and the Board is not at full capacity.

Spanberger also has other options. She will likely propose legislation to reform the board appointment. She could even remove present board members for “malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence, or gross neglect of duty.” Governors must exercise such power sparingly, but Youngkin’s recent removal of Bert Ellis shows that it can be done.

The task of repairing the damage of the past year begins in January—and it will fall not to the outgoing governor who helped create the turmoil, but to his successor.

David J. Toscano practices law in Charlottesville and served 14 years in the Va. House of Delegates. He is the author of Fighting Political Gridlock: How States Shape Our Nation and Our Lives, University of Virginia Press, 2021, and Bellwether: Virginia’s Political Transformation, 2006-2020, Hamilton Books, 2022. He publishes commentary on state and federal policy and politics at Fights of Our Lives.