Dive Summary:
- Helen Dragas, who survived a no confidence faculty vote and played a prominent role during President Teresa Sullivan's ousting and return at the University of Virginia, left her position as rector on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors as of the end of June.
- Dragas spoke to The Washington Post about her plans to stay on as a board member, committing to innovation at the university where she hopes to help keep higher education affordable in Virginia.
- In reflecting on last year's events surrounding the Sullivan controversy, Dragas, emphasized that while faculty views of where the university should be headed count, the school "belongs to the people in this state who pay faculty and staff salaries and whose taxes bought the bricks that built the school and created its priceless brand."
From the article:
"... We did the right thing in that we pushed for needed planning and change. We did it the wrong way by not understanding that when you do so at a high-profile, public institution, you have to communicate with the public. A lot. That seems clear in hindsight, but it was a lesson I learned the hard way. ..."