State Senate confirms Bert Ellis’ appointment to U.Va. Board of

Visitors

The Virginia Senate confirmed College and Darden alumnus Bert Ellis’ appointment to the University Board of Visitors Tuesday. Ellis’ confirmation to the Board comes after months of protest from students, faculty and community members including the Student Council representative body, University Democrats and Faculty Senate.

The amendment to strike Ellis’ name from Senate Joint Resolution 276 — which confirms a number of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointments — failed in a 20-20 vote prior to the passage of the resolution. Two Democratic senators, Sen. Lynwood W. Lewis and Sen. Chapman Petersen, broke rank and voted alongside Republicans to reject the amendment in an otherwise party-line vote — Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears cast the tie-breaking “nay” vote.

Youngkin appointed Ellis and three other new Board members July 1, 2022. Since his appointment, Ellis has objected to progressive reforms at the University. In a 2021 year-end update to the Jefferson Council, Ellis painted his mission as a “fight” against the “onslaught” of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on Grounds.

As a member of the Board of Visitors, Ellis is one of 17 appointed officials responsible for long-term planning for the University, including approving funding for initiatives and licensing the University’s system of student self-governance.

Ellis will serve on the Board through June 30, 2026 alongside fellow Youngkin appointees Stephen Long, Education alumna Amanda Pillion and College and Law alumnus Doug Wetmore.

This spring Student Council will operate with a budget of $177,020 — almost five semesters of tuition and fees for an in-state student — and will focus on student-centered support such as free Sexually Transmitted Infection testing and providing Cavalier Advantage Grants. This spring’s budget is a four percent decrease from last spring’s budget of $184,671 but a nine percent increase from $162,470 in the fall.

$168,485 of the budget comes from the Student Activities Fee — the $50 fee students pay yearly as part of their tuition — and $8,535 comes from private, non-SAF funding. Historically the non-SAF money comes from the $25 table fee for Contracted Independent Organizations at the Fall Activities Fair. This year saw no substantial flow into this pool following the elimination of the tabling fee.

Ceci Cain, Student Council president and graduate student, said she sees the budget as concrete evidence of the organization’s evolving efforts to benefit the student body.

“[The budget] shows a shift in the amount and type of resources that we have been able to provide as a student government,” Cain said. “More first-generation, more low-income students and students of color