Former U-Va. President Teresa Sullivan unanimously reinstated

The governing board at the University of Virginia on Tuesday voted unanimously to reinstate Teresa Sullivan as president, more than two weeks after board leaders forced her to resign and unleashed upheaval on a campus that is usually reserved. Board Leader Rector Helen E. Dragas and Sullivan, the two women at the center of the conflict, had a meeting in the historic Rotunda, a sign of unity after division at the landmark university. “We have both come to the conclusion that it’s time to bring the U-Va. family back together,” Dragas told the Board of Visitors in a surprising turnaround for a board leader who had been persistent in her claim that Sullivan wasn’t moving fast enough to address fiscal and academic challenges.

Dragas created and lead the campaign of exclusion and secrecy for the resignation of Sullivan. After her reinstatement, Sullivan stepped outside to a deafening applause, telling the crowd that everyone, including Dragas, had the best interest of the university in mind. “This is not a sign of weakness on their part, but a sign of strength and deliberation and a good example to each of us,” Sullivan said. Due to the leadership crisis, Thomas Jefferson’s university has lost wealthy donors, a Board of Visitors member, and star professor, computer scientist William Wulf.