UVA announces special committee to help select 10th president

University of Virginia leaders on Friday announced the formation of the Special Committee on the Nomination of a President, which will guide the process of identifying and recommending candidates to the Board of Visitors to serve as UVA’s 10th president.

The special committee includes a diverse group of UVA students, faculty, staff, alumni and former and sitting members of the Board of Visitors. It will be charged with inviting and incorporating a broad and inclusive range of perspectives from across UVA’s vibrant community as the presidential search moves forward.

Here are the members of the special committee:

• Rachel Sheridan, committee chair: rector of the University; president, Virginia Athletics Foundation; partner, Capital Markets Group, Kirkland & Ellis. Sheridan earned an undergraduate degree from UVA in 1994 and a law degree in 1998. She is the parent of a UVA student.
• Porter Wilkinson, committee vice chair: vice rector of the University; counselor and chief of staff, Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents. Wilkinson earned a law degree from UVA in 2007.
• Kenyon Bonner: UVA vice president and chief student affairs officer. Bonner is the parent of a UVA student.
• Philip Bourne: founding dean, School of Data Science; professor of biomedical engineering
• Marvin Bush: vice president and director, Winston Capital Management and Winston Partners Group; vice president, Virginia Athletics Foundation. Bush graduated from UVA in 1979.
• Quana Dennis: former teaching faculty member, Saint Anne’s-Belfield School. Dennis graduated from UVA in 2023 and earned a master’s in 2024 and is a UVA doctoral student.
• Jim Donovan: member, UVA Board of Visitors; vice chairman, Global Client Coverage at Goldman Sachs; adjunct professor, UVA School of Law; board member, Karsh Institute of Democracy. Donovan is the parent of a UVA student.
• Pam Edmonds: trustee emerita, the College Foundation; trustee, UVA Health Foundation. Edmonds graduated from UVA in 1991 and is the parent of a UVA student.
• Marvin Gilliam: member, UVA Board of Visitors; owner and manager, MAM Development; trustee, Virginia Athletics Foundation. Gilliam graduated from UVA in 1978.
• Peter Grant: founding partner of Anchormarck Holdings; chair of UVA’s recently concluded Honor the Future capital campaign. Grant earned an undergraduate degree from UVA in 1978 and an MBA in 1986.
• John Harris: member, UVA Board of Visitors; private investor and previous managing director, chief financial officer and senior adviser for The Carlyle Group. Harris graduated from UVA in 1982.
• Jim Lambert: Janet Scott Hamilton and John Downman Hamilton Professor at the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science; UVA Board of Visitors faculty representative. Lambert earned a master’s degree from UVA in 1990 and a doctoral degree in 1994.
• Dr. Babur Lateef: former member, UVA Board of Visitors; former chair, UVA Health System Board; chair, Prince William County School Board; founder and owner, Advanced Ophthalmology. Lateef is a UVA graduate student.
• David Leblang: Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics at the College of Arts & Sciences; professor of public policy, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy; director of policy studies, UVA’s Miller Center of Public Affairs
• Paul Manning: member, UVA Board of Visitors; chair, UVA Health System Board; chair and CEO of PBM Capital
• George Martin: former rector of the University; former managing partner, McGuireWoods. Martin graduated from UVA in 1975.
• Lori McMahon: UVA vice president for research; professor of neuroscience
• Sherri Moore: associate professor, McIntire School of Commerce. Moore graduated from UVA in 1985.
• John Nau: member, UVA Board of Visitors; former chair and CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors. Nau graduated from UVA in 1968.
• Dr. David Okonkwo: member, UVA Board of Visitors; professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Okonkwo is a 1994 UVA graduate and the parent of a UVA student.
• Gregory Perryman: UVA Board of Visitors student representative
• Amanda Pillion: member, UVA Board of Visitors; former mayor of Abingdon. Pillion earned an undergraduate degree from UVA in 1997 and a master’s in 1999. She is the parent of a UVA student.
• Jimmy Reyes: former member, UVA Board of Visitors; owner, Reyes Holdings
• Adam Richard: co-chair, UVA Staff Senate Executive Committee
• Dr. Mitch Rosner: chair, UVA Department of Medicine; Henry B. Mulholland Professor of Medicine; interim executive vice president for health affairs at UVA Health
• Gretchen Walsh: Olympian; world record holder; NCAA Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year (swimming and diving). Walsh graduated from UVA in May.
• Doug Wetmore: member, UVA Board of Visitors; senior vice president for business development, Centauri Health Solutions. Wetmore earned a bachelor’s degree from UVA in 1988 and a law degree in 1991.
• Carla Williams: UVA director of athletics. Williams is the parent of a UVA student.

“The Board of Visitors deeply values the perspectives from across Grounds and beyond as we make this important decision for UVA’s future,” Sheridan said. “We are committed to a process that is inclusive and considers input from every corner of the UVA community. I look forward to working with the members of the special committee, who are not only incredibly accomplished individuals, but also devoted supporters of UVA.”

The special committee will be charged with overseeing the process to identify, recruit, screen and recommend candidates to serve as the University’s 10th president. An executive search firm will assist the special committee in conducting a nationwide search.

There will be numerous avenues for UVA community members to provide input to the special committee. This will include listening sessions and other forms of engagement with students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and supporters to inform the process and the subsequent deliberations by the board. These town halls will take place in Charlottesville as well as other locations in Virginia and beyond. In addition, the committee will launch a website to provide updates on the process and to solicit input on potential candidates and selection criteria from the entire UVA community.

“This search will play a critical role in the future of our great institution and it’s important that we get it right,” Sheridan said. “That means taking the time necessary to identify and pursue great candidates, while also operating transparently and in close coordination with the broader UVA community. The members of the special committee represent so many aspects of our University, and on behalf of the Board of Visitors and all of UVA, I want to express gratitude for these distinguished individuals being willing to commit their time and talent to this important process.”

The first meeting of the special committee will be in August.

Update on interim selection process

As the search for 10th University president gets underway, the board is also in the process of selecting an interim president to help lead UVA until a permanent president is selected.

Over the past 10 days, multiple board members have conducted listening sessions with various groups on Grounds and collected extensive comments from the online portal. The board will analyze that feedback and meet as soon as practicable to elect an interim.

“These listening sessions have been incredibly productive and they have demonstrated the pride and love the community has for this great University,” Sheridan said. “They also revealed a great deal of consensus about the leadership qualities we are looking for in an interim president, including integrity and stability during this transition; an experienced academic leader with deep knowledge of UVA and our history, values, and culture of faculty shared governance and student self-governance; and the ability to forge connections and build trust across a wide array of stakeholders.”