Interim president for U-Va., professor, board member quit amid uproar of Sullivan’s ouster

As the University of Virginia elected Carl Zeithaml, the McIntire School of Commerce Dean, to serve as the interim president, succeeding former president Teresa A. Sullivan, the university remains in turmoil. A governing board member and a star professor have given their letters of resignation. The contagious controversy over the university leadership claimed Mark Kington, the vice rector of U-Va.’s embattled Board of Visitors, as the architect of Sullivan’s ouster, who stepped down in a gesture of conciliation. Some faculty members said they would not work with Zeithaml and condemned him for accepting the position.

The 16-member governing board of leaders had labored to present a united front in the decision to remove Sullivan, who resigned on Sunday June 10 in the face of seemingly overwhelming opposition on the panel. Republican Governor Robert McDonnell of Virginia spoke on the matter for the first time, saying the board made a mistake by not speaking openly with the community, leading to a week of increasing protest on the usually tranquil Grounds of the historic Virginia campus. “There are absolutely things they should have done differently,” the governor told reporters in a conference call. “There’s been a lot of heartache and crisis and grief on that campus.” McDonnell, whose twin sons attended U-Va., said he would closely monitor the situation in Charlottesville and weigh recent events as he schedules appointments with the board in the coming weeks.