by James A. Bacon The University of Virginia’s controversial $2.2 billion Strategic Investment Fund is such a great idea that UVa officials are recommending it as a model for other state universities. By adopting UVa’s approach and consolidating university reserve funds statewide, a sum that could approach $9 billion, the Commonwealth could establish an investment fund that…

William H. Goodwin, rector of the University of Virginia, has disputed the account by former rector Helen Dragas that a June Board of Visitors meeting held in closed session violated the Freedom of Information Act. The Freedom of Information Advisory Council issued an advisory opinion Friday saying that the board appeared to violate the law,…

by James A. Bacon For policy junkies following the tit-for-tat between members of the General Assembly and the University of Virginia over the controversial $2.3 billion Strategic Investment Fund, I am providing some of the documentation underlying the ongoing reporting on the subject (such as this article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch today.) First, a letter from Patrick D. Hogan, chief operating officer of…

by James A. Bacon The Virginian-Pilot has identified material in Freedom of Information Act documents released to members of the General Assembly that seem to support the version offered by former University of Virginia Rector Helen Dragas of a closed session held June 10 by the board. While the board justified the closed meeting on the grounds of discussing…

by James A. Bacon William H. Goodwin Jr., rector of the University of Virginia, has taken to the Washington Post to defend the university’s $2.3 billion “Strategic Investment Fund,” which will generate up to $100 million a year in cash to advance the university’s strategic plan. Expenditures will undergo a two-tier review process before approval by the…

Did the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors hold a closed session to avoid discussing in public what to do with a $2.3 billion pot of money? by James A. Bacon This past June 10, the University of Virginia Board of Visitors held its regular quarterly board meeting. With its preferred meeting place in the Rotunda undergoing renovations, the board assembled in…

by James A. Bacon University of Virginia officials vigorously dispute allegations by members of the General Assembly that the university was less than transparent with its $2.3 billion Strategic Investment Fund, a pot of gold that critics have characterized as a slush fund. Patrick D. Hogan, chief operating officer of the university, supplied records yesterday from…

by James A. Bacon Lawmakers have raised new concerns about a $2.3 billion University of Virginia investment hoard that critics have characterized as a “slush fund.” The controversial pot of cash was originally labeled as “University Operating Funds.” Then it was marked “Strategic Investment Fund” in a Jan. 31 document — two weeks before the Board…

Here is the University of Virginia’s explanation of where the infamous $2.3 billion “Strategic Investment Fund” came from: The reserves have been accumulated through sound financial management from the following sources: – In June 2009, the University held approximately $620 million in unrestricted funds and related earnings that had accumulated in its history and were…

by James A. Bacon Two state senators, one Democratic and one Republican, have dialed up the heat on the University of Virginia by calling for an investigation and forensic audit of a $2.3 billion fund that the university describes as a “Strategic Investment Fund” and ex-Board of Trustees member Helen Dragas characterizes as a “slush fund”…

T. Rees Shapiro with the Washington Post has written an excellent article describing how the University of Virginia’s drunken party culture leads to unfortunate sexual encounters, and how difficult it is to sort out afterwards what happened. The story focuses on a single incident in which first-year woman Haley Lind and a first-year athlete, who asked to remain…

by James A. Bacon A few more details have emerged about the University of Virginia’s supposed “slush fund,” but not enough to really help outsiders judge whether the university’s financial arrangements amount to a scandal or not. Helen Dragas, the former Board of Visitors member who leveled the accusation in a Washington Post op-ed, talked…

Helen Dragas, former member of the University of Virginia Board of Trustees, has made an extraordinary charge in a Washington Post op-ed published yesterday. At our June meeting, administrators revealed their coffers include a $2.3 billion pot of reserves, surpluses and earnings that for years has been hidden in plain sight, loosely labeled as necessary…

A former University of Virginia law student filed a federal lawsuit yesterday alleging that the university, following guidelines issued by the federal Office of Civil Rights, violated his due process when finding him responsible for sexual misconduct with an intoxicated student and banned him from the university. According to the suit, a retired judge serving as…