During her eight-year tenure leading the University of Virginia, Dr. Teresa A. Sullivan faced a slew of headline-grabbing crises, any one of which could have torpedoed a college presidency.
In summer 2012, she agreed to resign under quiet pressure from the Board of Visitors, setting off a political firestorm across the historic campus in Charlottesville. But within three weeks, following outcry from students and faculty, the board reinstated her.
Two years later, a trio of high-profile controversies repeatedly catapulted UVA back into the national spotlight: a second-year student was found murdered following her disappearance; a Black student was bloodied by state alcohol agents who arrested him in an off-campus incident; and Rolling Stone published a story about a fraternity gang-rape on campus – a report later discredited and retracted.
UVA found itself in the spotlight of international media coverage again last August, when rallying White nationalists and counter-protesters violently clashed in the college town. An angry motorist plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters, injuring 19 people and killing a 32-year-old woman.
Through it all, Sullivan, the school’s eighth president and first woman to hold the position, seemed indefatigable and focused, some observers say. And she did more than survive the challenges of grappling with safety, cost, diversity and other thorny issues confronting higher education. As she hands the reins over to Dr. James E. Ryan, who starts Aug. 1, she leaves behind a legacy of advancement and accomplishment.
“Certainly, she led UVA through some really turbulent moments,” says Peter F. Lake, the Charles A. Dana chair and director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University.
“Her presidency was really cutting-edge, almost as if it will be a case study about how to interact with all of the relevant issues in higher education today,” observes Lake. “She was at ground zero for numerous hot-button issues that one alone could sink a presidency. Her name will become a common discussion point around issues and how they are addressed on college campuses. Her path is the new leadership model in higher education. I’m just impressed with her fortitude.”
