CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors chose the dean of the university’s undergraduate business school early Tuesday to become the interim president upon the departure of the ousted Teresa Sullivan.
The board voted 12-1 with two abstentions to approve McIntire School of Commerce Dean Carl Zeithaml to serve as interim president after Sullivan’s Aug. 15 departure. The decision came shortly before 3 a.m., nearly 12 hours after the meeting began.
Zeithaml specializes in strategic management and has been McIntire’s dean since 1997. He spent 11 years on the faculty of the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
“I realize that it is a very difficult time for many people within our community, but I look forward to working with our faculty, students, staff, alumni and University leaders to move U.Va. forward,” Zeithaml said in a statement.
Rector Helen Dragas said a special committee to nominate a permanent president will form soon. She said the board hopes to engage faculty, staff and alumni in the selection process. She and the board had been roundly criticized for the lack of explanation and transparency in calling for Sullivan’s resignation.
The panel never formally voted on Sullivan’s departure or fully explained it, touching off a furor among faculty, administrators, students, donors and alumni. Dragas announced the resignation June 10.
Board member Heywood Fralin cast the lone “no” vote, with A. Macdonald Caputo and Robert Hardie abstaining. Board member Glynn Key had left before the official vote.
