University board fight ends; Spanberger to fill 22 seats

The legal battle between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and state Senate Democrats over university boards of visitors ended quietly Monday, as both sides acknowledged the matter would be made moot by the upcoming Virginia General Assembly session.

Following a hearing Monday, the Fairfax County Circuit Court continued the case until June 2026, at which time it will be dismissed.

The quiet conclusion came months after nine Democratic state senators won a preliminary injunction to block rectors at George Mason University, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Military Institute from recognizing eight rejected Youngkin appointees. In November, the state Supreme Court declined to review the lower court decision, dealing a final loss to Youngkin and state Attorney General Jason Miyares, whose office represented the rectors.

Miyares’ office argued that the eight appointees should be allowed to serve, since they were rejected in party-line votes in the Senate committee, instead of by the entire General Assembly. However, the senators’ attorney said there was no precedent for calling the entire House and Senate to vote on gubernatorial appointees outside of regular session.

Among the rejected board appointees were former Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli and former state commerce and trade secretary Caren Merrick. In total, eight Democratic senators serving on the Senate Privileges & Elections Committee rejected 22 of Youngkin’s university board appointees this year, objecting to what they viewed as the politicization of university governance under the Republican Youngkin.

In essence, the case’s conclusion means Youngkin’s appointees will not sit on the three boards, and Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger will have the opportunity to fill 22 empty board of visitors seats in January, as long as the Democratic-controlled legislature confirms her picks.

Of significance at GMU, said Jim Finkelstein, a retired faculty member who specializes in the study of university presidents’ contracts, is that Spanberger will be able to name 10 people to the current board of six, shaking up the political balance.

“Under normal circumstances, it takes a governor three years to appoint a majority of a university’s board,” explained Finkelstein. “At Mason, a governor typically appoints four of the 16 members each year. If, as expected, Gov.-elect Spanberger is able to appoint a majority of Mason’s board within 30 days of taking office, that would be, to the best of my knowledge, unprecedented in modern Virginia higher education.”

Fight over governance

In late July, following the senators’ July 1 lawsuit, Fairfax County Circuit Judge Jonathan Frieden ordered the requested injunction, days before George Mason’s board met to review university President Gregory Washington’s job performance. Miyares’ office appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which heard arguments in October.

Attorneys for both sides declined to comment Tuesday.

The court case unfolded while George Mason and U.Va. were dealing with the Trump administration’s investigations into alleged civil rights violations, specifically alleging that both universities discriminated against white male job candidates via diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

In June, U.Va. President Jim Ryan resigned amid a Department of Justice investigation, but Washington has refused to step down at George Mason, despite the Department of Education’s finding in August that the university under his leadership illegally favored employees and prospective employees of color, and the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee’s report alleging Washington lied to Congress. U.Va., meanwhile, reached an agreement in October with the DOJ, settling what the department called “unlawful racial discrimination.”

Over the summer and fall, George Mason’s and U.Va.’s boards — made up entirely of Youngkin appointees — have been criticized by Virginia Democrats, faculty groups and others who say they failed to defend their institutions against the Trump administration’s charges.

Adding fuel to the fire, Ryan alleged last month that three U.Va. board members, possibly with Youngkin and attorneys hired by the board, may have been behind the pressure he received to resign, instead of the DOJ. In response, the U.Va. Faculty Senate called for the immediate resignation of Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson. Neither has stepped down or responded publicly to the faculty resolution.

Following her election, Spanberger asked U.Va.’s board to pause its search for a new university president until she makes board appointments. However, the presidential search committee is expected to meet Thursday in Charlottesville to discuss presidential candidates in closed session.

Spanberger will have the opportunity to name six members to VMI’s board and four members to U.Va.’s board upon taking office; she has promised to make these appointments on day one of her term, Jan. 17, 2026.

Virginia’s governors also have the ability to remove board members for malfeasance, but Spanberger has not spoken publicly about any plans to remove current members.