The University of Virginia's decision to name longtime business school dean Scott C. Beardsley as its next president is drawing sharp criticism from conservatives who say the school is continuing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies it previously promised to dismantle, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Beardsley's public résumé once highlighted his role in hiring a chief diversity officer, launching a racial equity and inclusion group, and expanding the number of women and minority faculty while he led UVA's Darden School of Business.
Those references were quietly removed earlier this year, before the Republican-led Board of Visitors selected him as president, the Post reported.
A section previously labeled "Global DEI" was renamed "Global Excellence," and multiple explicit references to diversity initiatives were deleted, according to the report. University officials said the changes came as part of a broader review following a 2023 Supreme Court ruling striking down race-based college admissions.
The board voted in March to dismantle UVA's stand-alone DEI office. Still, some conservatives argue Beardsley's record shows he remains deeply committed to the very ideology the university pledged to abandon.
"It defies belief that Gov. Glenn Youngkin and his board would elevate a DEI ideologue like Scott Beardsley," said Stu Smith of the conservative Manhattan Institute's City Journal.
Smith said the selection signals that UVA is protecting DEI ideology despite mounting public and legal opposition.
Beardsley replaces former president James E. Ryan, who resigned this summer amid pressure from the Trump administration over the university's DEI policies.
Ryan's departure followed federal scrutiny and negotiations that resulted in UVA agreeing to submit quarterly compliance reports to the Justice Department.
Acting under that agreement, interim President Paul Mahoney paused several federal investigations into the school's DEI programs. Critics say naming Beardsley raises questions about how aggressively the university intends to comply going forward.
James A. Bacon, a conservative blogger and former leader of the Jefferson Council, said he was "baffled" by the selection.
"The board shut down the DEI bureaucracy, then turned around and picked someone who enthusiastically implemented DEI at Darden," he said, adding that he expects Beardsley to do "the bare minimum" to comply with federal requirements.
Others urged caution about drawing conclusions too quickly. Joel Gardner, president of the Jefferson Council, said Beardsley was following directives under the previous administration and has pledged to be apolitical.
"We're in wait-and-see mode," Gardner said.
Beardsley is set to begin his term as president on Jan. 1.
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