The Honorable Members of the Virginia General Assembly
Richmond, Virginia
Subject: Urgent Concerns Regarding Gubernatorial Appointments to University Boards of Visitors and the Politicization of Higher Education Governance
June 11, 2025
Dear Honorable Members of the Virginia General Assembly,
On behalf of the Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), we write to express our profound alarm at the increasing politicization of public university governance in the Commonwealth. This troubling trend is most clearly illustrated by Governor Glenn Youngkin’s appointments to the Boards of Visitors (BOVs) at Virginia’s public colleges and universities—appointments that appear to prioritize partisan loyalty over academic integrity and institutional well-being.
Boards of Visitors are entrusted with a critical public duty: to uphold the mission, academic independence, and autonomy of our universities. Their stewardship must reflect an unwavering commitment to the public interest, shared governance, and academic freedom—not by partisan ideology or the political agenda of the appointing Executive.
Regrettably, we have observed a pattern of significant overreach among the Governor’s appointees marked by efforts to:
- Micromanage university operations, undermining the roles of faculty and administrators.
- Impose ideological litmus tests on curricula, faculty hiring, and administrative appointments, violating principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
- Undermine shared governance, disrupting long-standing, collaborative systems that have served Virginia universities and colleges well for hundreds of years.
- Threaten academic freedom and open inquiry, thereby chilling campus discourse and compromising the independence of research essential to advancing the public good.
- Attack principles of justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion–principles that dismantled racial segregation and exclusion, and that ensure access to all Virginians, regardless of their race, class, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
- Cede institutional authority to executive orders and agency directives not established in state law, often to align with a volatile federal administration for personal political gain.
These actions constitute a direct assault on the quality and reputation of Virginia’s public higher education system. Such politicization from gubernatorially-appointed board members erodes academic freedom, shared governance, and faculty morale, emboldens external political actors with partisan or ideological ambitions, and threatens the national and international standing of our colleges and universities.
If left unchecked, this politicized overreach will undermine Virginia’s ability to attract and retain top scholars, educators, and students. Public trust in our institutions will erode.
As Majority Leader Surovell points out in his letter to the Rectors of Virginia’s universities, governing boards operate under legislative authority. Title 23.1, Subtitle IV, Subchapters 14 through 28 of the Code of Virginia states, “The board [of visitors] shall at all times be under the control of the General Assembly.” He writes, “This statutory language…unambiguously establishes the General Assembly’s authority over these public entities funded by taxpayer dollars and serving the public interest.” In short, the authority of BOVs derives from the legislature, not the executive branch.
When the Governor appoints board members who disregard their fiduciary responsibilities in favor of political agendas, the legislature has a duty to intervene. That includes blocking the appointment of partisan actors and reining in those already confirmed.
To this end, we support and commend the recent vote of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee to not confirm Governor Youngkin’s recent appointments to the Board of Visitors at the University of Virginia, the Virginia Military Institute, and George Mason University.
We therefore urge you to take the following actions:
- Deny confirmation to all current BOV members appointed by Governor Youngkin who are awaiting legislative approval. The pattern of politicization and overreach among the Governor’s appointees is sufficiently alarming to warrant a comprehensive rejection.
- Reject any future nominations of Governor Youngkin, “who do not possess the judgement, character, or willingness” to exercise appropriate independent judgement and will reject external influences that compromise their fiduciary duties as permitted under VA Code § 23.1-1300 and House Joint Resolution 6001.
- Withhold confirmation of all future BOV appointments by Governor Youngkin until he demonstrates a sustained commitment to appointing individuals who uphold academic freedom, respect shared governance, and prioritize institutional integrity over politics.
- Direct all BOVs to rescind and halt implementation of ideologically driven decisions including but not limited to those related to diversity, equity and inclusion programming, curricula, medical care for transgender youth, and nondiscrimination policy.
At the heart of Virginia’s public universities is a sacred commitment to open inquiry—the freedom to ask difficult questions, challenge orthodoxies, and pursue evidence wherever it leads, without political interference. Members of the Boards of Visitors serve as the guardians of this ideal; they act as fiduciaries for the people of the Commonwealth, not as political operatives for a governor.
For generations, Virginia’s renowned system of higher education has flourished precisely because its stewards have honored this public trust. Governor Youngkin’s appointees have chosen a different path. By functioning as agents of an ideological agenda, they have abandoned their fiduciary duty, jeopardizing the very principles that made our universities pillars of academic excellence and engines of economic prosperity.
This is not a sustainable path. The ongoing politicization of our university boards will irreparably harm Virginia’s ability to attract world-class faculty, retain top students, and secure the public’s trust. It poses a threat to a reputation built over centuries.
The General Assembly, as established unequivocally in the Code of Virginia, is the ultimate authority and final check on this executive overreach. You have both the power and the profound responsibility to intervene. We urge you to wield that authority with conviction and act decisively to safeguard our institutions. The legacy of Virginia’s commitment to higher education and its future hangs in the balance.
Sincerely,
Timothy Gibson, PhD, President, VA-AAUP
On behalf of the Executive Committee, Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors
