University of Virginia Library

New Board Appointee

Wilkinson Seeks Council Help

By Barry Levine
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Newly-appointed member of the
Board of Visitors, J. Harvie Wilkinson III,
asked the Student Council last night for
its help in "making student opinions
known to the Board."

Mr. Wilkinson, the son of a retiring
Board member, is the first student ever to
be appointed to that position. He is a
second-year law student.

"If there is anything you want to be
said at the meetings," he told the
Council, "I want it to be known that I am
available to talk with any of you about matters
concerning the University."

Clear Satisfaction

Several Council members expressed their
clear satisfaction with the visit. Vice President
Kevin Mannix, on behalf of the Council,
thanked Mr. Wilkinson for coming and said he
"hopes the rest of the Board would follow the
example."

"In some cases I may not agree with some of
your views," Mr. Wilkinson said, "but I think I
could convey your ideas to the Board whether I
agree with them or not."

Reaction among Council members to the
recent appointees ranged from "pleasant
surprise" to "cautious approval." President
James Roebuck sent a Council-endorsed letter
to Governor Linwood Holton praising Mr.
Wilkinson's appointment as "a first step
towards more effective student communication
with the Board."

"At the same time," the letter continues,
"there is still a need to have elected student
representatives to participate in Board sessions.
While it is helpful to have Mr. Wilkinson on the
Board, it is clear that he cannot speak for the
student body except in cases where he has
specifically been requested to do so by Student
Council."

Ex-Officio Members

Mr. Roebuck asked that Governor Holton
appoint the President and Vice President of the
Student Council as ex-officio members of the
Board, "the type of action taken by Governor
[Raymond] Shaefer [of Pennsylvania]."

"A minimal step for your immediate
action," he wrote, "would be to make clear to
the Student Affairs and Athletics Committee -
that committee of the Board which deals most
specifically with student problems that it is
in their best interests to invite the President and
Vice President of the Student Council to sit in
an advising capacity throughout their
meetings."

The lack of a black appointee is "regretted"
by many of the Council members. While
acknowledging the "constructive steps" taken
by the Governor "to improve race relations in
Virginia," Mr. Roebuck said that he felt that
"your commitment to equality would have
been tangibly demonstrated by placing a black
person on the Board of Visitors."

"We are certain that if you were appointing
members to the Board of Trustees of Virginia
State College," the letter continues, "you
would not hesitate to designate white persons
for these positions. No less action is demanded
in relation to the University."

'Right Direction'

Some other representatives said they felt it
was "a long step in the right direction." Tom
Breslin, among others, remarked that "We're
still working with much the same Board, but
we'll just have to see who's elected the new
Rector."

Kevin Mannix expressed confidence that Mr.
Wilkinson will do a "fantastic job," but
nevertheless called the appointment a "political
move," adding that "if a student was to be
appointed, it should have been a student
representative."