The Academic and Student Life Committee of the Board of Visitors met Thursday for a presentation on the general undergraduate student experience, an update on The Policy, Accountability, and Critical Events unit of Student Affairs and to hear from student leaders of fraternity and sorority councils. The Board also approved 6 resolutions for professorships, or endowed chairs that current faculty members can be elected to hold, and discontinued two Master’s programs. The meeting concluded with a panel of three faculty members discussing their experience at the University.
Brie Gertler, deputy provost and senior vice provost for academic affairs, presented data from the Student Experience in the Research University Survey — which gathers information on aspects of the undergraduate experience including academic engagement, general perception of on-Grounds environment, professional development, student wellbeing and cost of attendance. The presentation primarily focused on measurements of student belonging and religious diversity.
Gertler presented the University's survey findings in direct comparison with its peer universities, including University of California at Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gertler prefaced the presentation with a general optimism for where the University currently sits.
“Looking at trends and also looking at how we fare relative to our peers, the news is almost uniformly positive,” Gertler said.
Using data from 2018 to the present, 2024 survey results indicate that student responses have reached their highest levels regarding satisfaction with the value of their education, feeling safe on campus and contentment with their decision to attend the University. Further, between 85 and 90 percent of students responded that they often interact with students who hold views other than their own in and out of the classroom, according to Gertler.
The response rate for the SERU survey was 18 percent, lower than in previous years but higher than peer universities. Women were overrepresented in responses.
Muslim and Jewish student demographics were disaggregated for survey questions measuring student belonging and whether students felt their religious views were respected. Fewer Muslim students reported a sense of belonging than the total respondents, and both Jewish and Muslim demographics saw a “dramatic plunge” in the extent to which they believe students of their religious beliefs are respected at the University between 2022 and 2024. 52 percent of Jewish students and 66 percent of Muslim students responded positively to this prompt. Gertler said that Christian students and other religious demographics had similar or slightly higher levels of belonging.
Baucom said the University intends to spend more time and resources understanding these low ratings in sentiments of religious respect and then will act to improve this aspect of the climate.
“We actually have faculty research in the quantitative and other social sciences that are going to help us get involved to the bottom of this,” Baucom said. “We can’t wait … just to understand. We need to be able to go ahead and act.”
Gertler shared some actions taken to combat the falling ratings in belonging such as the Religious Diversity and Belonging Task Force report. According to the report, the Task Force began after the start of the Israel-Hamas war and proceeding concerns about Islamophobia and antisemitism around the world. The report used SERU data to inform the mission of the initiative and the recommendations that would precipitate.
Actions taken by the University prescribed by the Task Force included hiring a Civil Rights Response Coordinator and a Coordinator for Interfaith Engagement in Student Affairs. The University also participated in Hillel’s Campus Climate Initiative and developed student orientation training regarding the University’s discrimination and harassment policy.
“I think all of these are steps that we are taking, can take, and should take at this moment,” Gerlter said. “We want students of every faith to feel that U.Va. is their university, that they are an integral part of this university, and that they can bring their whole selves to the classroom and sports fields.”
Board member Bert Ellis disagreed with the University's investment in religious value initiatives, and other Board members concurred that additional data should be gathered before further action is taken.
“I look at this [presentation slide] and I see a lot of words and a lot of administrative overhead,” Ellis said. “I don’t see anything we’re doing or anything that’s going to affect this issue.”
Other board members questioned the statistical validity of the small sample sizes of Muslim and Jewish students and the wording of particular survey questions in producing response bias.
Ultimately, the presentation was used to show ways the University is improving in these areas, and Gertler showed that the University is still ahead of similar peer institutions in these figures
Following the SERU presentation, four student leaders of fraternity and sorority life presented on their respective organizations in light of the recent national disaffiliations and dropping rates of recruitment.
Greek life at the University, specifically in the Inter-Fraternity Council, has experienced several terminations and sanctions within the past year for hazing, and many of the investigations into hazing are conducted by PACE and Student Affairs. Leaders for the four Greek councils presented at the Board meeting about their ongoing affairs and initiatives.
Ryan Phelan, IFC president and third-year College student, reported ongoing IFC initiatives, including the Rugby Project focusing on sexual harm prevention, risk management plans and philanthropy projects including a prospective blood drive event.
Meredith Collier, one of the vice presidents of Inter-Sorority Council recruitment and third-year Education and College student, reported a higher-than-average GPA among women in the ISC compared with non-ISC women, and described initiatives including revised recruitment counselor training and a dress swap sustainability project.
Jada Marsh, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and fourth-year College student, said the NPHC, the umbrella organization for historically Black Greek-lettered organizations, has 43 active students and shared that their motto is to be a “community-conscious, action-oriented” organization.
Keli Presley, representative of the Multicultural Greek Council and Nursing graduate student, said the MGC is a home for students who do not see themselves reflected in traditional Greek Life. The MGC includes communities for Latinx, Asian, Multicultural and LGBTQ+ students, to name a few.
“These organizations help support us and our cultural identities,” Presley said. “[Our mission] is to promote cultural awareness, leadership, community engagement and academic excellence, while fostering an inclusive and supportive space for all members.”
Carlos Brown, Board of Visitors vice rector, thanked the council leaders for their time and work.
Following the presentation from Greek council leaders, Kenyon Bonner, vice president and chief student affairs officer, clarified the powers and purpose of PACE, a unit of Student Affairs established in 2024 with the purpose of supporting student accountability and processing critical event response. He noted that PACE members will reach out to student orgs. regarding University policies and offer to be a resource for learning how to with these policies.
According to Bonner, there are three main functions of PACE. PACE facilitates student accountability practices including supporting the University Judiciary Committee and the Honor Committee. The unit also regularly reviews University and Student Affairs policy and oversees emergency response plans. Bonner said he wants to be clear that PACE does not adjudicate cases or issue sanctions — this is the role of UJC, over which PACE has no authority.
A few members of the Board requested a further exploration of PACE’s purpose in a later Board meeting. One Board member said PACE’s duties seemed to overlap with those of UJC, and that the unit infringed upon student self-governance.
Baucom also provided enrollment projections for 2025-2031 during this Committee meeting. These seven-year projections are presented every two years. Baucom said these estimates predicted no significant growth to on-Grounds undergraduate enrollment. Although forecasts predict demand will increase, Baucom said the University’s size has hit a “sweet spot,” occupying an attractive niche as a public university.
Estimates showed a 9 percent increase in graduate enrollment distributed between the Graduate Schools of Arts and Sciences, Data Science, Medicine, Nursing and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, according to Baucom. Projections also predict a 28 percent growth in off-Grounds programs, mostly predicted to occur at the new Fairfax campus as it looks to build new programs and see online growth.
The final presentation included three faculty members speaking broadly on their experience at the University — Kenneth G. Elzinga, the Robert C. Taylor professor of economics, N. Scott Barker, professor of electrical and computer engineering and Danielle Citron, Jefferson Scholars Foundation Schenck distinguished professor of law.
Elzinga said he feels blessed to work at the University and can not imagine having a better job than his current position as University professor. However, Elzinga mentioned two areas of concern regarding the University — DEI and the way it is being implemented, and the grade inflation in Engagements courses. According to Elzinga, students’ time would be better spent taking other courses.
Elzinga stated that he views the ways in which DEI are generally implemented into University settings as “immoral.” According to Elzinga, his views on the implementation of DEI would be improved if the people who implement policies and programming consulted the works of African American scholars who shaped his own understanding of DEI. Elzinga listed Thomas Sowell, Jason Riley, Roland Fryer and Glenn Lowry as examples of Black trailblazers whose scholarly works should be utilized in the implementation of DEI.
Barker shared his experience in research at the University and his gratitude for the University’s Strategic Investment Fund that has enabled him and other researchers to progress their work and even found startups from these innovations.
Citron is a privacy scholar and advocate at the Law School, and she said that over the last decade, her research on non-consensual sharing of real or fake intimate images has gained more attention due to the increased spread of “devastating” deep fake photos of young girls. Citron said she is working with lawmakers to amend policies surrounding this issue.
Ian Baucom, executive vice president and provost, led the approval of the six resolutions for professorship and the discontinuation of two master’s programs — the Master’s of Arts in Asian Studies and the Master’s of Arts in Chemistry. According to Baucom, both a Master’s of Arts in Chemistry and a Master’s of Science in Chemistry had previously been offered, and this discontinuation would consolidate the two parallel programs. Both the Master’s of Arts in Asian Studies and Master’s of Arts in Chemistry programs experienced low enrollment and underwent a thorough review process before the decision to discontinue them was made, Baucom said.
The next Meeting of the Board will be held June 5-6.
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