University of Virginia Library

INTRODUCTION OF WILLIAM B. HARVEY

The President introduced Mr. William B. Harvey, who has just been appointed Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity. Mr. Harvey, who will assume his duties on November 1st, – the first person to have this title at the University – is at present the Vice President of the Center for Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity at the American Council on Education in Washington.

Mr. Harvey, the President explained, would speak later in the day at the Diversity Committee report session.

The President summarized racial and other incidents that have taken place since the University opened this fall. What has taken place has been the work of what he called “creeps,” not persons exercising their rights of freedom of speech and discourse. He emphasized the importance of police involvement in dealing with these incidents and cited examples of police investigations being hampered because of lack of timely notification of the incidents – part of the University’s response to these things has been a program to educate students to the importance of notifying the police

immediately. Mr. Harvey had suggested the value of a public, symbolic show of solidarity, and the black ribbons worn by members of the University community over the last several weeks have been in response to his suggestion.

There has been good support from alumni on the wearing of ribbons, and good faculty support on making statements in the classroom. The General Counsel is looking into formal involvement by the University Judiciary Committee in dealing with racial incidents, and the President noted that with the principles of student self-governance in mind, the student leadership – as well as the faculty – must be involved in these efforts.

The General Counsel and several of the lawyer Members discussed the difficulties of the legalities of dealing with some of these issues. There was discussion, too, about the possibility of the Board raising the reward offered by the Alumni Association for information regarding the perpetrators of these incidents. Mr. Payne said it is important that the University emphasize publicly the positive things it has done in recent years to encourage minority students.

The President said it has been “a rough fall” for student abuse of alcohol, with increased arrests by the police for underage possession, and a rise in the number of alcohol- related hospital emergency room visits. There seems to be a pattern of this across the country, and he cited a series of mass arrests at Duke University this fall.

The President next gave a report on AccessUVa: a total of 749 students in the first year class are participating; 201 low-income students this year are eligible for a loan-free education; and 375 middle-income students will receive a combination of loans, grants, and work-study packages. He has found that donors are very interested in supporting the program.

The University this semester has admitted 116 undergraduates and 21 graduate students, chiefly from Tulane University, who were displaced when the New Orleans universities were forced to close because of Hurricane Katrina. Of the 137 students, 107 are Virginians.

The President reported that Mr. Terry Belanger, the Director of the Rare Book School – which is located in the Alderman Library – has been given a MacArthur Fellowship. He explained that the MacArthur Foundation awards so-called “Genius Grants” – a $500,000 stipend, with “no strings attached,” which is spread over five years. Mr. Belanger has said that he intends to use the money to support the Rare Book School.

The President said that opportunities are being explored to extend the University’s international reach, and he cited possibilities of areas in the world where the University might establish its presence.