University of Virginia Library

Ludicrous

But that claim, it seems, is only
ludicrous. For the board is, of
course, not an unexpected body, but
one appointed by the governor,
And, once appointed, each Visitor
if for six years a representative not
of The Virginia public, but of
nobody really but himself.

Thus, if the Commonwealth
ought to have a voice and a vote in
University affairs - and, in a
state-owned university, clearly it
ought - then the Commonwealth,
the citizens of Virginia, would do
well to eliminate the clumsy
middle-man called the Board of
Visitors and put the University
under the governor and/or the state
education department, where
public control of the university can
be more immediate and direct.

The Board, of course, need not
be abolished. For it serves useful
purposes: It's advice may at times
be useful; it may be an easy forum
for the voices of alumni and others:
and, perhaps most important, it is a
place for the governor to put
people he wants to reward
especially well-endowed people
who have thrown a little this way.