The Board of Visitors named Scott Beardsley the 10th President of the University of Virginia. The December 19 announcement, issued around 3:30pm the Friday before the University shuts down for the holiday season, follows statements from numerous student, faculty, and community organizations calling on the board to delay its search and appointment.
Beardsley, currently the dean of UVA’s Darden School of Business, will begin his tenure as president on January 1. He was unanimously appointed by the Board, per the press release.
“We are confident that Scott’s leadership, vision, and commitment to the UVA community uniquely position him to serve as president at this moment,” said the Board in the release announcing Beardsley’s selection. “He understands the breadth of the University’s responsibilities across education, research, healthcare, athletics, and public service, and he brings a steady, unifying approach grounded in respect for shared governance and academic excellence.”
In a separate release from University Communications, Beardsley addressed the UVA Community. “I am deeply honored to be named the 10th president of the University of Virginia, an institution with a historic legacy shaped by visionaries and dedicated members of the University community,” Beardsley said. “As president, I embrace the responsibility of carrying forward that legacy while advancing UVA’s mission and ensuring we are prepared for the evolving landscape of higher education and health care. I am committed to excellence and bringing a results-driven and student-centered approach to promote the University’s academic excellence, faculty strength, exceptional patient care, financial sustainability, public service mission, and impact for the long term.”
On December 12, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution urging the Board to postpone its search, and stating that the Board “has disregarded the harm that their current course of action will cause.” The resolution warned that “any individual selected for the presidency under the current search timeline and by a Board that does not have its full complement of 17 members … should be aware they will not assume their position with the confidence of the Faculty Senate if hired as UVA’s tenth president.” As of July 2025, the Board of Visitors’ web site listed 12 regular members, plus the university’s rector and vice rector.
In the hours before Beardsley’s selection, both the UVA chapter of the American Associations of University Professors and the Student Council Executive Board publicly called for the Board to suspend its presidential search.
“After negotiations between major stakeholders and the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, it has become clear that the Board is neglecting the damage a rushed presidential selection will do to Our University,” the student council said in a statement. “We fear that at its current pace, an appointment is motivated by partisan interests, and not those of the university and its student body. The search must be suspended.”
“Not only has the Board’s credibility been altered with much of the current student, faculty, staff, and alumni bases, but the present actions threaten future constituencies,” the statement continues. “Students cannot put their hope into an appointment made despite our Vote of No Confidence, a lack of discussion regarding our needs, and a deficiency in student representation on the committee itself. Our simple requests have been met with complex excuses.”
This is a breaking story. C-VILLE is monitoring developments, and will cover the appointment of Beardsley in more detail upon returning for the first issue of 2026.
