Sullivan stepping down as UVA President

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Mon Jun 11, 2012, 01:06 PM - Edit history (3)

Sullivan stepping down as UVA President

Huh? She just got there.

Sullivan stepping down as UVA President
By David McNair | [e-mail]
Published online 11:45am Sunday Jun 10th, 2012

According to a Sunday email from UVA Rector Helen Dragas, University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan is stepping down August 15, citing a “philosophical difference of opinion” with the Board of Visitors. Sullivan replaced President John Casteen, who served as president for 20 years, back in August 2010.

During a press conference at UVA today, broadcast live on WCHV, Dragas rebuffed questions about "what on earth" had changed about the BOV's relationship with Sullivan in just two years, and what the specifics of the philosophical conflict with her were. As for the timing of the decision, Dragas said it had been "evolving over time," before refusing to answer additional questions because she said she had to rush off to a meeting.

Sullivan to step down as U.Va. president Aug. 15

From a comment there:

lrw2a responds:
9:34 AM EDT
FYI, the public BOV minutes are online for those who want to review them.

So we go there:

Board of Visitors, University of Virginia

By: Times-Dispatch Staff | Times-Dispatch
Published: June 10, 2012 Updated: June 10, 2012 - 11:49 AM

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. --
University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan will step down Aug. 15, the university announced today.

According to the university, the parting was mutual between Sullivan and the Board of Visitors.

http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2012/06/10/update-board-of-visitors-accepts-president-sullivans-resignation/
Update: Board of Visitors accepts President Sullivan’s resignation

Rector, Sullivan cite "philosophical difference" as reason for departure

By Krista Pedersen, News Editor on June 10, 2012

The Executive Committee of the Board of Visitors officially accepted the resignation of University President Teresa A. Sullivan Sunday afternoon, a decision which was announced to the community via a University-wide email that morning.

Rector Helen Dragas, in a press conference with Vice Rector Mark Kington Sunday afternoon, called Sullivan’s resignation a “difficult decision that was mutually reached by President Sullivan and the Board of Visitors.” She declined to comment on any further details of the agreement.

Dragas cited a “philosophical difference” between Sullivan and the Board about the “vision of the future of the University,” mentioning quickly changing environments in the fields of academia and health care.

“That environment we believe calls for a different approach to leadership,” Dragas said. “We know that the University has exceptional potential and the Board of Visitors believes we need a bold, strategic, visionary leader to take us to the next level.”

University of Virginia president to step down

By Daniel de Vise, Jenna Johnson and Anita Kumar, Published: June 10
The Washington Post

The University of Virginia’s first female president, Teresa Sullivan, will step down this summer after just two years on the job because of an apparently abrupt rift between her and the school’s governing board over the direction of one of the nation’s premier public universities.

The announcement Sunday shocked the university community and signaled potential hard times ahead for the flagship university, an institution founded by Thomas Jefferson and unaccustomed to instability. The previous president, John T. Casteen, stayed for 20 years. When she exits on Aug. 15, Sullivan will have served two years and two weeks, the shortest presidential tenure in the school’s history.

Sullivan attributed her departure to “a philosophical difference of opinion” between herself and U-Va.’s governing board of visitors. It was unclear when the rift began, but its existence surprised the Charlottesville community.

The disagreement may be rooted in money. Helen Dragas, who chairs the board, portrayed an institution facing “an existential threat” from the combined effects of an economic downturn, state disinvestment and looming faculty departures. She faulted Sullivan’s administration for a culture of “incremental, marginal change” and said the institution needs a leader more adaptable to “the realities of the external environment.”

From a comment there (remember: on the Internet, anyone can say anything):

Cavalier1985 wrote:
8:03 AM EDT
I am surprised but not shocked that Sullivan is gone. I thought she was doing a great job but this resignation/termination has the fingerprints of McDonnell, Cuccinelli and their lapdogs. Cuccinelli had better get ready for all of the FOIA requests! I'll expect to see the entire record of BOV meetings over the last two years before I'll consider writing another check to the University!

It's clear that McDonnell's lapdog BOV appointees wanted Sullivan out. Unfortunately, McDonnell (the wannabe 2016 GOP Presidential hopeful) is NOT a UVA grad, although two of his kids currently attend UVA. Now what? The next UVA President will clearly have to be "one of our own." The old guard will simply not accept an outsider. Why did we waste two years when we KNEW this fiasco would occur? The next hire had better be a significant improvement. The BOV obviously doesn't want an academic in the position, so if that's the case, hire a professional fundraiser/broker/backslapper as the next President and have the Provost deal with the academic side of things.

This is the second time that UVA has gone outside the family to hire a President. Both of them (O'Neill and Sullivan) were quickly ousted. Why? Unfortunately, the old guard of UVA still operates under a 1950's business model. So what if it is 2012? The politicians in Richmond have bled UVA of resources since the late 1980's yet still expect UVA to remain a leading institution. What have they been smoking?

This is about maintaining our place as an elite global university, NOT winning a few more football and basketball games. The spotlight will be on McDonnell and the BOV to make a great choice. Outsiders need not apply. No excuses will be accepted for another failure. Engaged alums will be watching!

And another:

lrw2a responds:
9:34 AM EDT
FYI, the public BOV minutes are online for those who want to review them.

So we go there:

Board of Visitors, University of Virginia

Early Exit at U. of Virginia

Sullivan has taken high profile positions against the positions of the two most powerful Republican politicians in the state (while she has also worked with them on other issues). She has questioned the push by Governor Bob McDonnell to cap the use of tuition dollars to pay for financial aid for other students. (Governor McDonnell issued a statement of praise for Sullivan on Sunday.)

She also resisted many of the efforts of Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II to obtain records of a former faculty member who works on climate change. Cuccinelli argued that the records might show flaws in climate change research while many academic groups argued that he was trying to intimidate researchers who hold the consensus view that climate change is real. The Virginia Supreme Court in March backed the university's position that Cuccinelli did not have a right to all of the papers.

[JPZenger]

1. We want answers

There needs to be some transparency.

The most plausible reason may be that she did not want to spend most of her time fundraising. Other guesses are that she was not willing to make cutbacks in funding of certain departments or financial aid that the new boardmembers wanted, and/or was not willing to embrace offering online degrees to raise money for the University.

It also is possible that this is blowback for the University's fights with Ken Cuccinelli, who is expected to be the Republican nonimee for Governor. UVa won a State Supreme court case against him a couple months ago.

[JPZenger]

2. More theories and discussion at this link

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1351249-president-sullivan-leaving.html

One theory is that Cuccinelli became furious when he found out in April that UVa was about to offer an endowed professorship to climate researcher Michael Mann to get him to come back to UVa. Did Cucci send out his minions to get revenge?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Thanks. A link from there goes to

Update: Climate Depot Exclusive: Climategate prof. Michael Mann may be moving back to the University of Virginia -- Reportedly about to be offered 'chaired professorship' at UVA

About that website: About CFACT

In 1985, the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) was founded to promote a positive voice on environment and development issues. Its co-founders, David Rothbard and Craig Rucker, believed very strongly that the power of the market combined with the applications of safe technologies could offer humanity practical solutions to many of the world’s pressing concerns.

[JPZenger]

7. The endowed professorship was named after parents of boardmember who pushed her out

I don't know what to make of this. A story is leaked on a climate change denial website that Michael Mann is about to offered an endowed professorship. That endowed professorship is named after the parents of one of the members of the Board of Visitors, who provided much of the funding for it. That boardmember then is one of the 3 main boardmembers who force Sullivan to resign.

Coincidence???

---
Completely different theory:

The Board was recently presented with the administration's proposed academic budget that was status quo - no major cuts, and no overall changes in staffing levels. They may have been angry that it didn't propose major changes. The Board also pushed for a study of financial aid at the U., particularly regarding whether need-based aid could be reduced without affecting quality of enrolled students. The outside consultants came back to the Board and said they did not recommend any major changes, just some tweaks Did those two things make the board angry????

[carrowsboy]

8. You mean...

The Cooch was able to stop obsessing over gay sex for 2 seconds to think about something else?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. U.-Va. board ouster of President Teresa Sullivan sparks anger

U.-Va. board ouster of President Teresa Sullivan sparks anger

By Anita Kumar and Daniel de Vise, Published: June 11
The Washington Post

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Outrage escalated on the historic University of Virginia campus Monday over the abrupt ouster of President Teresa Sullivan by a governing board that offered few new details about why it had acted or what exactly had gone awry.

Sullivan was asked to resign after two years in the job, state and university officials said, because the governing board of visitors had grown impatient at what its members perceived as a lack of overarching vision for the future of the state flagship university.
....

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), who learned about the action from Dragas on Wednesday night, said he was not consulted until after the decision to remove Sullivan had been made.
....

The board’s decision, made last week, was unanimous, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The board, with 16 voting members, is split equally between those appointed by McDonnell and by his predecessor, Timothy M. Kaine.

[JPZenger]

4. The full Board of Visitors never even voted on this forced resignation!!!

Here's the Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning on Sullivan's firing:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2012/jun/12/tdmain01-uva-preside...

Some excerpts:

"while Sullivan, faculty and top administrators were blindsided by the action of the board of visitors, the chairman of the U.Va. business school's foundation said he knew of 'this project' to oust her weeks ago."

"The board's rector, Helen E. Dragas, and vice rector, Mark J. Kington, requested Sullivan's resignation late Friday afternoon with no prior warning or board action, three sources told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. A vote never was taken by the full board on Sullivan..."

"Peter Kiernan, chairman of the Darden School Foundation board of trustees, sent an email trying to reassure those expressing shock at the announcement. 'Trust me, Helen has things well in hand,' Kiernan, a former Goldman Sachs partner, said in the email, which was obtained by The Times-Dispatch. 'A number of you have asked if we were surprised by this announcement. Here is the truth,' his email states. 'Several weeks ago I was contacted by two important Virginia alums about working with Helen Dragas on this project, particularly from the standpoint of the search process and the strategic dynamism effort'."

"faculty members are demanding 'a full and candid explanation of this sudden and drastic change in university leadership.' The executive council of the faculty senate, which held an emergency meeting Sunday night hours after the surprise announcement, issued a statement Monday blasting the board of visitors for its 'inadequate and unsatisfactory' explanation and vowing 'to investigate this matter thoroughly and expeditiously. We were blindsided by this decision,' the council said. 'She has impressed us with her intelligence, leadership, and commitment to transparent administration and open, honest communication. We witnessed her renowned dedication to higher education. She excited faculty across the Grounds and created a sense of optimism about the university's future,' they said."

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Talk of Sullivan's exit was at least weeks old

Talk of Sullivan's exit was at least weeks old

By: Ted Strong | Daily Progress
Published: June 11, 2012 Updated: June 11, 2012 - 10:22 PM

As a stunned campus came to grips Monday with the news of University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan’s ouster, university officials did little to clarify what Sullivan had done to earn their disapproval. A leaked email indicates that plans had been afoot for at least several weeks.

“Here is the truth,” wrote Peter D. Kiernan, president of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees, to his “fellow directors.” “Several weeks ago I was contacted by two important Virginia alums about working with [Rector] Helen Dragas on this project, particularly from the standpoint of the search process and the strategic dynamism effort.” It was not immediately clear who received Kiernan’s message.

Discussions about one of the factors officials said prompted their decision, the rate of change at the university, had been going on for longer, apparently. “Evidently, conversations about the rate of change have been ongoing at least since last fall,” Dean Robert F. Bruner of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration reported in an email to his school’s faculty and staff after being briefed on the move Sunday along with other officials.

The decision to push Sullivan out was finalized by at least late Wednesday night, when Dragas informed Gov. Bob McDonnell of the move, according to the governor’s office. Kiernan wrote, “no major decision of this kind can be made without the support and assent of the governor.”

Note: I have edited the quote to make it fit into four paragraphs.

[dr5645kr]

9. Spam deleted by cyberswede (MIR Team)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Schapiro column: Sullivan's ouster a coup d'etat at U.Va.

Schapiro column: Sullivan's ouster a coup d'etat at U.Va.

By: Jeff E. Schapiro | [e-mail]
Published: June 13, 2012 Updated: June 13, 2012 - 12:00 AM

....
Officially, it is a resignation, rooted in murky differences between Sullivan and the board of visitors. Unofficially, it is a coup d'etat, possibly forced by a slender majority of trustees with whom Sullivan, popular with students and faculty, clashed over an unpopular task: reconciling U.Va.'s financial needs with its academic integrity — potentially shrinking its undergraduate program to buttress pricey, high-profile ventures such as its teaching hospital.
....

At Virginia, Helen Dragas, the rector, and Vice Rector Mark Kington will have their hands full, simultaneously shopping for a new president and battling a perception that Sullivan's departure is an inside job pulled off by a handful of elites with interlocking personal interests.

Dragas and Kington, for example, are members of the board of directors of utility giant Dominion, whose chairman, president and chief executive officer, Tom Farrell, is a U.Va. alumnus and former rector. Farrell, mentioned for the university presidency during the search that produced Sullivan, is a lifelong friend of Bob McDonnell, the Republican governor remaking the school's board through his appointive powers.

So far, McDonnell has named eight new members. He could appoint four more next month; another four, next year.

[JPZenger]

11. 33 UVa Department Chairs Send Letter Demanding an Explanation

www.cavalierdaily.com

Good letter signed by 33 department chairpersons and program directors at UVa explaining why they felt Pres. Sullivan was doing a great job, and demanding an answer about why she was suddenly deposed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. Cabal Hall? Why would Darden trump Carr's Hill?

Cabal Hall? Why would Darden trump Carr's Hill?

By Courteney Stuart | [e-mail]
Published online 7:39am Wednesday Jun 13th, 2012

An alleged clash between UVA President Teresa Sullivan and the Board of Visitors has resulted in Sullivan's ouster after less than two years in office, leaving faculty and staff at the University in shock. However, details emerging from defensive-sounding Board members suggest that the departure was less a mutual agreement and more of a palace coup orchestrated by alumni and friends of the Darden School.
....

"I have never seen a board act so recklessly, arrogantly, and secretly in my entire life," says {prominent UVA-based media scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan}, who calls Sullivan's ouster "very scary" and "deeply embarrassing" to the University. "Everything they've done," he says, "is 180 degrees away from the scholarly tradition that had made UVA great." {Darden School Foundation chair Peter Kiernan}, who lives in Greenwich, Connecticut and who recently penned a book titled Becoming China's Bitch: And Nine More Catastrophes We Must Avoid Right Now runs a venture capital firm. But it's his former role as a partner at Goldman Sachs and as a prospective member of the UVA Board that has raised some eyebrows.

Vaidhyanathan leaps at the "philosophical difference" mentioned by Sullivan in her brief statement following the announcement. "The philosophical difference is the difference between how an MBA thinks and how a Ph.D. thinks," says Vaidhyanathan. "It looks like a cabal of MBAs have decided that we need creative destruction or some sort of high energy, bold visionary re-engineering of the University." Another concern is that Goldman Sachs, which recently took a major ownership position in a group of online universities, might find a role at UVA. After all, Dragas noted in her remarks that online classes have recently been "legitimized" by some "elite institutions."
....

Reports suggest that UVA's loss will be another university's gain, as interest in hiring Sullivan appears to be streaming in. That doesn't surprise Vaidhyanathan, who cites Sullivan's understanding of teaching and faculty governance, what he calls two core Jeffersonian values. "She understands that universities are built for the long haul, to interpret the wisdom of the ages and look 100 years into the future," says Vaidhyanathan. "It's not supposed to work like Goldman Sachs. Unfortunately, the guys at Goldman call the shots at UVA."

(Edited to stay within a four paragraph limit.)

[JPZenger]

13. Your photos of the week

Last edited Wed Jun 13, 2012, 03:43 PM - Edit history (1)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. A theory of what led to Sullivan’s ouster

Disclaimer: the things you read on the Interwebz might be true.

Hat tip to Cabal Hall? Why would Darden trump Carr's Hill? (See the comments.)

http://www.annemarieangelo.com/?p=40
A theory of what led to Sullivan’s ouster

The theory I have is that Goldman Sachs’s Education Management Corporation, a for-profit education provider, wanted to make or made a bid to offer online education through UVA. From this endeavor, EMC would invest profits back into the University, helping to heal some of the University’s fiscal woes. When Sullivan was reluctant or refused to agree to the venture, key members of the Board threatened litigation related to her performance as a fundraiser for the University.
....

So, the theory is that EMC approached the University with the potential of offering the “online education” component to which Dragas has referred, as a subsidiary of UVA’s educational offerings, one that would have healed a lot of fiscal woes for the University. As an independent entity who invested its profits back into the University, EMC’s involvement wouldn’t have made the University in and of itself private. Essentially it would have been selling the UVA ‘brand name’ for the opportunity to receive major gifts for the University. When Sullivan resisted this venture, the Board found fault with her performance as a fundraiser and made moves to oust her.

Given the heavy involvement of Darden in this scenario, I’d be curious to know more about the ways Darden has privatized over the years, and whether this model bears any resemblance to those processes.
....

I think it’s no huge jump to suggest that a Governor who was interested in privatizing state infrastructure, and who was making a bid for Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential nomination (and given that Goldman Sachs was Romney’s largest corporate contributor in the 2008 election)* would have gone along with Goldman’s plan and turned a blind eye when they ousted Sullivan.

* http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cid=N00000286

[JPZenger]

15. The more stonewalling the Board does, the more theories will arise

President Sullivan refused to do something that the Board wanted her to do, and the Board doesn't want you to know what it was.

Right now, Governor McDonnell is about to decide whether Rector Dragas will be re-appointed for another 4 year term.

[JPZenger]

16. One of the cabal-leaders resigns, more to go

http://www.readthehook.com/104241/hell-breaks-loose-uva-faculty-condemn-sullivan-ouster

[mahatmakanejeeves]

17. Whoops

The email, addressed to "Fellow Directors," actually went wider than the 40 business titans who control the school. According to a knowledgeable source, it appeared as though Kiernan clumsily employed the "reply all" function with the email list affixed atop Darden School Dean Bob Bruner's regular monthly newsletters. That means Kiernan may have inadvertently shot his email to the desks of such University bigwigs as Michael Strine, John Simon, and, yes, even to Sullivan herself.

I hate it when I do that.

[JPZenger]

18. Interesting article - was President removed so UVa could get $100 million from hedge fund billionare

http://www.readthehook.com/104250/important-alums-did-they-topple-presidency

[Blue_Tires]

19. i thought the whole thing was political from the start...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

20. Leadership drama consumes U-Va.; board names Zeithaml interim president

Leadership drama consumes U-Va.; board names Zeithaml interim president

By Daniel de Vise and Anita Kumar, Published: June 18 | Updated: Tuesday, June 19, 3:00 AMThe Washington Post CHARLOTTESVILLE — A week of chaos and uncertainty set off by the removal of University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan ended early Tuesday when the university’s Board of Visitors appointed an interim leader after almost 12 hours of debate.

Carl P. Zeithaml, dean of the university’s top-ranked McIntire School of Commerce, will start Aug. 16.

“We just feel that he has a unique skill set, considering the challenges we face,” Vice Rector Mark Kington said before the vote. The tally was not unanimous: board member Heywood Fralin voted against the appointment, and Robert Hardie and A. Macdonald Caputo abstained. Another member, Glynn Key, was absent.
....

Protesters packed the Lawn, a mix of students, professors, toddlers and doctors in lab coats. One young man held a sign that read, “Emperor Dragas, Darth Kington don’t speak for me.”

A sharp critique came from John T. Casteen, the revered 20-year president of U-Va. Sullivan’s predecessor arrived on the Lawn to thunderous applause. Casteen had urged the board — in vain — to hold Monday’s meeting in public, saying it was what the public deserved.

The last time the Lawn was this full of protesters was May 1970, after Nixon ordered an invasion of Laos, followed by the Kent State shootings. Some students were wearing ties for that event, too. Edgar Finley Shannon was president of UVa at the time.

I knew there was a scene of that in a video at YouTube. Amazingly, I found it right away. I used the search term "university student protests 1970." The protests on the Lawn appear at 4:32 in the video. Enjoy watching.

[JPZenger]

21. An extremely disappointed set of students, alums and faculty

It appears that 4 of the 16 boardmembers were willing to beg Pres. Sullivan to stay. They couldn't get the other 5 votes they needed. The Board apparently had trouble finding someone who would take the job, after the way they treated Sullivan.

[JPZenger]

22. Update: Re-vote Likely, Pres. Sullivan Says she will come back if board chair is gone

A set of boardmembers are seeking a re-vote next week. Meanwhile, President Sullivan has told friends she would be happy to come back as president, as long as the current chair/rector is no longer on the board. The chair's term expires shortly, and the governor has told allies that she will not be re-appointed. The governor will soon be appointing 5 or 6 new boardmembers, effective July 1.

[JPZenger]

23. Boardmembers supporting Sullivan demanded new vote - now scheduled for Tuesday afternoon

[mahatmakanejeeves]

24. Zeithaml suspends presidency: Will wait until BOV votes on Sullivan reinstatement

Just when you thought it couldn't get any stranger, it's another plot twist. I'm out of popcorn.

Zeithaml suspends presidency: Will wait until BOV votes on Sullivan reinstatement

By Hawes Spencer | [e-mail]
Published online 8:30am Friday Jun 22nd, 2012

The man tapped as the interim president of the University of Virginia has decided to go back to work as the dean of the University's McIntire School of Commerce and cease further negotiations with the Board of Visitors until the Board resolves the question of whether or not to reinstate unceremoniously ousted of President Teresa Sullivan.

"Trust cannot be restored in our community until the President Sullivan's status is clarified and ultimately resolved," Zeithaml said in statement emailed to the community on the morning of Friday, June 22.

Three members have called a public meeting of the Board set for 3pm on Tuesday, June 26. Sources indicate that a scramble is on to muster the eight votes that would be needed to reinstate Sullivan.

"There is an enormous groundswell of support for Terry Sullivan's reinstatement as our president," Zeithamel says in his statement.

And:

Dragas to Kington: 'Why we can't afford to wait'

The electronic exchanges were released by the University in response to a records request from the student newspaper (and then piggybacked by other news organizations). They provide insight into the mind of Dragas, a leader whose institution has been in turmoil since she and Kington unceremoniously ousted the president over what appears, in large part, to be an alleged failure to leap into online education.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

26. Gov. threatens U-Va. officials with removal

Last edited Sat Jun 23, 2012, 04:40 PM - Edit history (1)

Well, here we go. This whole debacle was orchestrated from the word "go." "Gosh, you know how much I hate to do this, but my hands are tied. You leave me with no choice."

Let me see; who is he going to put on the board? Failed teabag flunkies? Sure, how about Bob Marshall and Eugene Delgaudio?

As always with Republicans, "follow the money."

McDonnell tells U-Va. board to resolve leadership crisis, or he will remove members

By Anita Kumar and Jenna Johnson, Published: June 22
The Washington Post

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Gov. Robert F. McDonnell told members of the University of Virginia’s governing board Friday that if they do not resolve the leadership crisis at the historic school next week, he will remove all of them.

McDonnell (R), who had repeatedly resisted involving himself in the escalating troubles at the state’s flagship university, sent a stern three-page letter to the Board of Visitors late Friday, nearly two weeks after the ouster of President Teresa Sullivan.

The board has called a special meeting Tuesday to discuss whether to reinstate Sullivan. But McDonnell said if the 15 voting board members cannot make a decision at that meeting, he will ask all of them to resign. If they refuse, he will remove them for cause, a power granted to him by state law but rarely used.

“Let me be absolutely clear: I want final action by the board on Tuesday,’’ he wrote. “If you fail to do so, I will ask for the resignation of the entire board on Wednesday. Regardless of your decision, I expect you to make a clear, detailed and unified statement on the future leadership of the university.”

[mahatmakanejeeves]

27. Interesting comment from "Readthehook"

'Strangely silent'? Republican lawmakers weigh in on UVA crisis

Clifford Kiracofe June 23rd, 2012 | 7:11am

The context of the Sullivan mess is state and national. The overall issue is education policy. While much attention on the threads has been given to the procedural issue of the firing, the broad policy issue should also be addressed because that is the real issue.
....

Looking at the national context, the Sullivan mess takes place within the national context in which well funded and influential lobbies are seeking "educational reform" nationwide in K-12 and in higher education. Kiernan and Jones are directly linked to this national political/policy activity. Their interest and role is indicated by their board membership of StudentsFirst and organization led by the controversial Michelle Rhee.

The conservative American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has already weighed in supporting the BOV firing. ACTA was founded by VP Cheney's wife Lynne Cheny in 1995.

Reinstatement of Sullivan, if it occurs, is not going to halt the political agenda of the "education reform" movement spearheaded by Wall Streeters and conservatives.

The General Assembly needs to assert its authority in the Sullivan case and to remain vigilant with regard to the activity of forces from outside Virginia targeting our educational system.

American Council of Trustees and Alumni

and:

democracy June 23rd, 2012 | 5:08pm

Thank you Clifford Kiracofe, cville reader2, and Concerned Virginian for your kind words.

As I noted before, what’s taking place at UVa is not isolated to its grounds (although some may think that to be the case).

Indeed, one need only to look at Bob McDonnell’s efforts in Virginia to expand virtual schools run by K12, Inc. Perhaps not surprisingly, McDonnell has taken $55,000 in contributions from K12, and he has snuffed attempts to rein in the current quasi-voucher funding for students that attend virtual schools. And, even though research shows that private for-profit schools have very poor achievement records, McDonnell insists that “Virtual schools provide excellent instruction” (wink).
....

In Michigan, state Rep. Tom McMillin (R) is carrying legislative water for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing group funded by corporations and oligarchs, including the Koch brothers, that seeks to craft public policies for the benefit of the wealthy and not the people. McMillan pushes the same discredited ideas and policies as other conservatives: he wants more tax cuts for corporations and the rich; he is opposed to affordable health care for all citizens; he doesn’t support the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment; he wants to push his religious views on everybody else and ban abortion. In education, the conservative litany continues: McMillin wants to impose merit pay, end due process rights for public employees, and dismantle public education.
....

The bottom line is that conservatives (ALEC, Tom McMillin in Michigan, Bob McDonnell in Virginia, the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, Walton and Broad and Olin Foundations, Goldman Sachs, etc.) want to privatize public education.

What is occurring in Virginia (and Michigan, and elsewhere) constitutes “bad education reform.” But so did No Child Left Behind, and so does Race to the Top. Wendy Kopp, chief charlatan at Teach for America, pushes “bad reform.” Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson are local examples of “reform” gone wrong (Note: when will Henderson push for an authentic, independent, in-depth investigation of the cheating that took place in the DC public schools?). In Albemarle County, the central office and the school board pay little if any attention to teacher, staff, and parent input, and push badly-flawed technology as if it were cheesy-crust pizza.

The current “reform” mania in education stems from “A Nation at Risk,” a screed noted for its inaccuracy as well as its impact on reshaping public education not for democratic citizenship, but for “economic competitiveness,” a “paradigm shift” for which there was absolutely no evidence.

This brand of “reform” is top-down and almost always autocratic. It relies on secrecy and avoids transparency. Corporations and cronies are favored over principled behavior and “the People.”

And it truly is bad news: for students, for educators at all levels, for communities and states, and for the country.

[Duppers]

28. UPDATE - She's back. Yay!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014152672#post7

[mahatmakanejeeves]

29. BREAKING NEWS: McDonnell re-appoints Dragas to U-Va. board

McDonnell re-appoints Dragas to U-Va. board

Got your change right here. That is, none whatsoever.

By Anita Kumar, Updated: Friday, June 29, 4:14 PM
The Washington Post

RICHMOND — Gov. Robert F. McDonnell on Friday reappointed Helen E. Dragas, the embattled leader of the University of Virginia’s governing board, to a second four-year term on the board.

Dragas, as U-Va. rector, drew fierce criticism this month for organizing the ouster of the school’s popular president, Teresa Sullivan. On Tuesday, Dragas reversed course and voted with a unanimous Board of Visitors to reinstate Sullivan.

Dragas, a Virginia Beach developer, was first appointed to the board by McDonnell’s Democratic predecessor, Timothy M. Kaine. Some of the anger toward Dragas and her allies on the board subsided this week after the board rescinded the forced resignation of Sullivan.

Still, the reappointment of Dragas could raise questions about whether rifts on the board that had appeared during the leadership crisis could reemerge in coming years. McDonnell (R) brushed aside that issue.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

30. Blog: Friends of the Academical Village

Friends of the Academical Village

[JPZenger]

31. Interesting link about right wing conspiracy to take control of universities