CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The University of Virginia Board of Visitors is expected to name a new rector and vice rector at its meeting Friday, the first session attended by 10 new appointees from Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

That group includes a pair of Charlottesville residents – Robert Byron and Peter Grant II – and three women.

Byron, who got his undergraduate degree and law degree from UVA, is the chairperson and co-CEO of Blue Vista Capital Management.

Grant, who holds an undergraduate degree and a master’s in business administration from UVA, is the founding partner of Anchormarck Holdings LLC and the vice chair of Expedition Trust Company.

Spanberger’s other appointments include Michael C. Bisceglia, Carlos M. Brown Jr., and Rudene M. Haynes, from the Richmond area, Owen D. Griffin Jr. and C. Evans Poston Jr. from the Tidewater area, and Victoria D. Harker, Elizabeth H. Hayes and Mohsin Syed from Northern Virginia.

The new appointments have already been approved by the General Assembly, Sen. Creigh Deeds told Cville Right Now.

The new rector and vice rector will be filling the remainder of the two-year term vacated when former Rector Rachel Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson resigned in January, at Spanberger’s behest.

The new duo will begin their term immediately and conclude June 30, 2027. At that point, the vice rector will begin a two-year term as the next rector, according to BOV bylaws.

Before Sheridan and Wilkinson resigned, they led the BOV through an accelerated search for UVA’s new president, naming Scott Beardsley to that post in January.

Beardsley replaced Jim Ryan, who was forced to resign under pressure from the Trump administration over the way UVA promoted diversity, equity and inclusion at the school. After stepping down, Ryan wrote to the Faculty Senate, accusing Sheridan and Wilkinson of orchestrating his ouster.

During her first address to a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly on Jan. 12, Gov. Spanberger addressed the controversy.

“Virginia has some of the finest colleges and universities in the world. And yet, news story after news story, it’s not about their successes — it’s about them becoming political battlegrounds,” Spanberger said. “Our students deserve better. Our educators deserve better. Our institutions deserve better. Our economy and our Virginia deserve better. And this ends right now.”

Spanberger said she has issued an executive order directing the Department of Education, under Sec. Dr. Jeffrey Smith, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Candi Mundon King, to review the way Boards of Visitors at higher education institutions are appointed.