Youngkin names five new members to UVa Board of Visitors [Video]

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has named five new appointments to the University of Virginia’s governing Board of Visitors. The Republican governor’s appointees will now make up a 13-4 majority on the board, which is responsible for the school’s long-term planning, budgets and policies.

If that voting bloc holds, it could have a significant impact on the university’s future direction at a time when conservatives have questioned the school’s investment in diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives; its response to rising reports of antisemitism on Grounds; its reaction to student-led protests of the ongoing war in Israel; and its dedication to preserving free speech and the 182-year-old Honor System, trademarks of the school Thomas Jefferson founded 205 years ago. Both UVa President Jim Ryan and Rector Robert Hardie have been in the crosshairs of Younkin appointees who already sit on the board. The former is hired by the board, and …