CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors wants the process used to hire new President Scott Beardsley to be reviewed, but the BOV is sticking with the former business school dean as the school’s leader.

In a vote Thursday, the BOV affirmed Beardsley’s selection, but instructed its committee on Audit, Compliance and Risk to evaluate how his hiring came to be.

“I am grateful for the trust the board has placed in me and intend to continue to lead with the same commitment to transparency, engagement and constant improvement that is at the heart of the resolution they passed today,” Beardsley said in a statement released by the school. “After a challenging period for our community, restoring trust begins with listening and answering as many questions as possible and making certain that we are in the strongest possible position moving forward.”

The review will focus on process of selecting and judging candidates, the collection of faculty, staff, student and alumni input, and record-keeping, as well as examining processes at other institutions that could be adopted by UVA, according to a release.

“The intent of this review is to be as transparent as we can about how the search for UVA’s 10th president was conducted and to strengthen the University’s playbook for future executive searches, not to revisit the outcome of that search,” new Rector Carlos M. Brown said in a statement. “Scott Beardsley was elected the president of the University and the board is prepared to work with him on our shared goals, like increasing affordability, endowing financial aid and improving accessibility for all Virginians. However, given the significant challenges the University has faced over the past year, we have an added responsibility to check our work, to answer as many questions from the community as we can, and to make absolutely certain that our recruitment practices and procedures enable us to identify and attract the best possible candidates for key positions going forward. Answering these questions will hopefully be a first step in rebuilding the trust between the board, faculty, students and alumni.”

Beardsley was chosen by the previous board ahead of new Governor Abigail Spanberger’s inauguration, despite Spanberger requesting the body delay the process, a desire echoed by much of the university’s faculty, staff and students. Beardsley was chosen by a board that had five vacant seats and a rector, Rachel Sheridan, who had been accused of orchestrating the politically-motivated ouster of former President Jim Ryan.

Sheridan, Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson, major donor Paul Manning and two other board members resigned at Spanberger’s behest and, on Jan. 17, she appointed 10 new members, including Brown and Vice Rector Victoria Harker.

“Selecting a new president is one of the most important tasks the commonwealth delegates to university boards, but our current board manual contains only a few sentences about how that process should work,” Harker said in a statement. “Our goal, through this review, will be to bolster future searches with the guidance they need to run a thoughtful and transparent process and select the very best leaders for the University.”

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.