The internal evaluation of University President Teresa Sullivan to determine whether to extend her current contract will likely come to a close on June 30, University Rector George Martin said.
“Consistent with good board governance, the evaluation of the University President is a continuous, ongoing process,” Martin said in an email. “We are currently in the midst of the formal evaluation period. My goal is to conclude this process no later than June 30.”
Sullivan’s contract is set to expire on July 31, 2016. She says she would like to continue her work at the University, as she has many plans in mind for the institution.
“My goal as president has been and will continue to be working to ensure that the University of Virginia remains one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher education, and to enhance its excellence in teaching, research, patient care and public service,” Sullivan said in an email.
Sullivan said she has two issues she would like to primarily focus on leading up to the University’s bicentennial.
“First, the Cornerstone Plan, our strategic plan, is a guiding blueprint for our most important initiatives and priorities,” Sullivan said. “Second, because of the generational turnover in our work force, it is critical to recruit and retain the best possible faculty and staff. I believe we are making very good progress on both fronts, but there is still work that needs to be done to realize the important goals ahead for the University.”
Fourth-year College student Meg Gould, student member of the Board of Visitors, said the review process for Sullivan’s contract required input from a wide variety of University community members — including from Sullivan herself.
“The Board is looking at the broad narrative of what President Sullivan has done or acted upon at the University over the past years,” Gould said in an email. “Her current contract extends until next June, so this contract discussion concerns the amount of time that her presidency will extend beyond that pre-determined date.”
Gould said her position allows her to effectively provide an opinion on Sullivan’s evaluation from the perspective of the student body.
“As the student member, I am involved in the process as any Board member is, having had the opportunity to reach out to many students to gather a more grounded perspective outside of the Boardroom, as well as being fortunate to have the opportunity to voice a student perspective at the table for these discussions,” Gould said.
Current Board member Helen Dragas, former rector of the Board, said that while Board members are limited in ability to discuss personnel performance matters such as Sullivan’s reinstatement, there are changes she would like to see made regarding administrative models and policies.
“I have made no secret of the imperative to craft sustainable, innovative and concrete plans that would make a University education available to Virginia’s middle class without breaking a family’s economic back,” Dragas said in an email. “I do not believe the administration’s high tuition/high aid model that taxes middle class families accomplishes this.”
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