The Full Board of Visitors met Friday to conclude the final meeting of the calendar year. The Board approved all 16 resolutions from committee meetings that had occurred prior to the convening of the Full Board, including increases in the tuition for most graduate schools, increases in student housing and increases in meal plan rates. Additionally, University President Jim Ryan announced a $20 million commitment from Board member John L. Nau III.
After the closed session of the Full Board, the Board met for the final session where they voted on resolutions that had previously been approved in individual committees earlier in the Board of Visitors meeting.
In addition to the 12 resolutions voted on collectively, four resolutions were voted on separately at the request of Board member Dr. Stephen P. Long. These resolutions included increases in the tuition rates at many of the University’s graduate schools, which Long voted against, as well as increases in student housing rates and increases in meal plan costs.
Increases for tuition at the graduate schools ranged from a 0.6 percent increase on the lowest end at the Graduate School of Engineering to a 4.1 percent increase on the highest end at the Graduate School of Data Science. Undergraduate on-Grounds housing will experience increases ranging from 5.45 to 5.55 percent, while student meal plans will experience increases ranging from 5.21 to 5.91 percent for the 2025-26 academic year. Despite being voted on independently, all four resolutions ultimately passed and will go into effect July 1, 2025.
Twelve resolutions were approved together, including a resolution for the implementation of the Ivy Corridor Student Housing project. This project involves the construction of additional on-Grounds undergraduate housing along Ivy Road, in accordance with the goals of the University’s 2030 plan to house all second-year students on-Grounds within the next five years. Additionally, two degree programs were added to the School of Education and Human Development — a Bachelor of Science in ESL Education and Secondary Education.
The consent agenda — the list of items to be discussed in the meeting — included two items and was unanimously approved. The first of these agenda items approved updates made to the Critical Incident Management Plan, which outlines steps the University should take to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergency incidents.
Pursuant to Virginia law, public Universities must update their emergency management plan every four years. According to Board Rector Robert Hardie, there are “no major changes” to the plan, with only minor revisions being made such as using updated National Incident Management System nomenclature and updating the top hazards and risks facing the University.
The second item enumerated on the consent agenda was the assignment of Architecture Dean Malo Hutson to be the next resident of Pavilion IX on the West Lawn. Hutson was appointed Dean of the School of Architecture in 2021 after serving as director of the Urban Planning Ph.D. Program at Columbia University. Hutson’s lease at Pavilion IX will commence January 2025 for a five-year term.
After approving the consent agenda, the Board proceeded to review the Gifts and Grants Report. The University received thirty significant gifts since the last Board of Visitors meeting, each of at least $250,000. After acknowledging the numerous donors listed on the report, Hardie introduced University President Jim Ryan to make an announcement of a donation made by Board member John L. Nau III.
“I am absolutely delighted to share the news that the [John L. Nau III Foundation] has made a $20 million commitment for graduate education in the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,” Ryan said.
Nau has previously donated $17.6 million in 2022 and $27.5 million in 2020 to help fund an endowment to support the Karsh Institute of Democracy and to also previously support the College, respectively.
The announcement was met with applause from the rest of the Board. Ryan went on to speak on the importance of graduate students and said that the donation will help support 30 to 35 graduate students per year. Nau said that he made this decision after speaking with Dean of the College Christa Acampora, and with Ryan who agreed to match Nau’s contribution with an additional $10 million from the University.
“I asked [Acampora] ‘Where’s the biggest gap in the College?’ [and] it was the graduate students,” Nau said. “It was an easy decision.”
Acampora thanked Nau for his donation and spoke about the importance of graduate students and how the money would be invested. She said that endowments like this have had impacts such as increased graduate school applications, and specifically mentioned the departments of English, chemistry and neuroscience as areas where the money might be directed to reinforce the growth of the University’s international prominence in these fields.
“Graduate education is the critical fuel for the overall academic ecosystem that we try to sustain here at the University,” Acampora said. “Graduate students … are at the leading edges of discovery and creativity.”
The Cavalier Daily has reached out to University spokespersons for additional details on how this donation will be invested within the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and had not received a response at the time of publication.
Lisa Kopelnik, fourth-year College student and the Board’s student member, gave her speech to the Board, following the consent agenda vote. In her remarks, which she gives at every Board meeting as the student member, Kopelnik focused on student self-governance and said that this semester has brought a sense of normalcy and a renewed sense of community, crediting Student Affairs and Class Councils for providing weekly spaces for students to gather and enjoy each other’s company.
“I hope to reflect on how we have steadied the ship amid what has been a turbulent period for students and for higher education,” Kopelnik said. “These efforts have restored the energy and spirit of the student body.”
That normalcy came despite other challenges, according to Kopelnik who touched on students engaging in difficult dialogue, including on topics regarding the war in the Middle East, the second anniversary of the Nov. 13 shooting and the recent presidential election. Additionally, Kopelnik said that although the allegiance of Board members is to the University and the Commonwealth, students have expressed concerns about the polarization and politicization of higher education that could affect the Board’s decision-making.
“Every Visitor is tasked with … a commitment to the people of the University and the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Kopelnik said. “It is our responsibility as the Board to model the open-minded discourse and consideration of student voices that ensures student faith in our governance.”
The Board of Visitors will reconvene Mar. 6 and 7 for its first meeting of 2025.
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