CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Ahead of the 2026-2027 academic year, UVA President Scott Beardsley announced the 22 members of his strategic plan committee on Monday, a mix of Board of Visitors members, alumni, faculty, staff and students who will help develop the University’s long-term goals under Beardsley’s tenure.

The committee will meet over the course of the summer and work to create a concrete agenda to work on in August as the fall semester begins. Many ideas for this agenda were developed during Beardsley’s “Grounds for Conversation” listening and learning tour, which ran from when Beardsey took office in January and will continue to run through the fall.

The committee intends for a final review and approval process of their plan by the Board of Visitors in April 2027.

Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science Jennifer West and vice president for strategic initiatives in the Office of the President R. Marc Johnson, will serve as committee co-chairs.

“I’m grateful to this committee for helping shape a strategic plan rooted in our community’s highest aspirations,” Beardsley said in a release from the University. “Together, we will write the next chapter of this incredible university and amplify our global impact and mission of education, research, patient care and public service.”

In May, Beardsley told Cville Right Now that the process of assembling this long-term plan will take around a year, and the committee will continue this work through community-wide surveys on top of other ways for community members to provide input through in-person and virtual opportunities. These will be announced on the committee’s website, which will be released soon.

Some general goals, Beardsley told Cville Right Now, are keeping the University a premier institution for healthcare, student aid and athletic success.

“I didn’t come in thinking I know all the answers and we’re going to do A, B and C,” Beardsley said. “But there are some obvious things we need to do. Continue to support patient care at the hospital, make sure we’re doing a great job there. Supporting ‘Access UVA’ for scholarships for the next generation of students. We need to do that support every year, and the faculty. So, some of them are evergreen priorities. And of course we want to win at athletics.”

Other considerations holding weight in the agenda include quality of faculty, student experience, global impact, the “Connected Grounds” initiative improving accessibility and further developing of the physical campus and service across the commonwealth.

However, the committee will further articulate these priorities and ultimately determine where future investments will go toward.

Beardsley’s long-term strategic plan will build on those of former Presidents Emeritus Jim Ryan and President Emerita Teresa Sullivan in 2019 and 2013, respectively, as the work of Ryan’s “Great and Good” plan largely concludes.

“It’s largely run its course,” Beardsley told Cville Right Now. “A lot of it’s complete. So, it’s normal that every 10 years or so, 8-10 years, you refresh your strategy in light of a new context. And so that’s what we’re doing. Taking a fresh look at where we are, what we’ve achieved, what still needs to be done, getting a lot of input and coming up with a new strategy.”

Other members of the committee include Nicole Hall, Dean of Students, Leslie Kendrick, Dean of the School of Law, John Kosky, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, and Loris McMahon, Vice President for Research and Professor of Neuroscience. Seven other professors, an undergraduate and graduate student along with other staff members will also serve on the committee.
Six members are ex-officio, including rector of the Board of Visitors Carlos Brown, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Wagner Davis, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs and CEO of UVA Health Mitch Rosner, Vice Rector Victoria Harker, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Brie Gertler and UVA Wise Chancellor Donna Henry.