CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WTVR) - After nearly 11 hours of meeting behind closed doors, one dissenting vote and two abstaining, the University of Virginia's embattled Board of Visitors has appointed McIntire School of Commerce Dean Carl Zeithaml to lead the University as its interim president.
The Board rejected calls from the Faculty Senate and ignored massive protests on the lawn outside the Rotunda Monday to reinstate ousted president Teresa Sullivan. Instead favoring Ziethaml in a 12-1 vote early Tuesday.
Ziethaml's term as president will begin as Sullivan steps down on August 15.
According to his biography on UVA's website, Zeithaml joined the university's undergraduate business school in 1997. His biography also states his area of expertise as "strategic management, with an emphasis on global and competitive strategy."
A press release from UVA last month indicates that Zeithaml was present at events in China with Teresa Sullivan during her first and presumably only international trip on behalf of UVA.
Board of Visitors member Heywood Fralin of Roanoke was the lone dissenting vote against Zeithaml. Hunter Craig stated during the open meeting that he had hoped to reinstate Sullivan, and was willing to resign his post on the board if he were to be replaced by a member of the faculty.
Rector Helen Dragas ended the marathon meeting by looking to the next step in the process: beginning the search for a permanent president. She added that the Board of Visitors will seek greater engagement with members of the faculty.
