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UVA at the Intersection

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sherlockj
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Credit: UVA Today

by James C. Sherlock

UVA has forged yet another academic/political merger and named it, with characteristic modesty, the Karsh (major donors) “Institute of Democracy”.

To those who say the university has more “institutes” and “centers” than bricks, I say give this one a chance until a closer look.

The executive director is Ms. Melody Barnes. Ms. Barnes’ biography and CV reveal her to have an impressive education and to be well left of center politically. Like nearly every member of the UVa faculty.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

But let’s leave her to it. There is more to assess.

The institute has an advisory board. The chairman is Larry Sabato. His balanced and temperate perspectives on democracy can be found on his Twitter account.

The professor’s work includes A More Perfect Constitution, in which he recommends 23 changes. Survey them for yourselves. One would increase the number of Senators to 136 and the House to nearly 1,000 members. I guess we can credit him with fresh thinking.

But electing him as chairman is a bit of a woke fireworks display. Hard to miss.

Advisory board member James Murray is a moderate Democrat. Mr. Murray is also a Northam appointee to the UVA Board of Visitors who served as the immediate past chairman of that organization. I know him well. He is temperate, smart, fair, very accomplished in his personal pursuits and experienced in board leadership.

His chairmanship of the institute’s advisory board, or that of another member in his mold, would have sent an entirely different signal.

The Vice Chair is School of Law Dean Risa Goluboff. Her appointments exclusively of leftists to law school faculty positions have cemented her credentials.

So be it. The outspoken Mr. Sabato, Dean Goluboff and Ms. Barnes are who they are. They show what the university expects from this institute. And therefore what the rest of us can expect.

Now to my favorite part of the story. There is a video that introduces everyone to the new institute.

James Ryan, the University President, first speaks at the 55 second mark. He provides narration to a video clip of a statue of Thomas Jefferson in front of the rotunda.

One can easily shoot a video of the rotunda without the Jefferson statue in the scene, but the producers of this video did not. The editors have positioned Mr. Jefferson as a symbol of the university’s heritage and prestige. I agree. But cue the faculty outrage.

At the 1:22 mark, Mr. Ryan instructs us that the University today stands “at the intersection of … conservative and liberal.”

Really. He said that.

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9 responses to “UVA at the Intersection”

  1. CJBova Avatar
    CJBova

    He also said, “at the intersection of north and south.”

    Why is UVA “at the intersection of north and south”?

    They want to engage with anyone “doing the great work on the ground.” What is “the great work”?

    What do they mean when they say, “…as we go through yet another crossroads in our political history”?

    I am frightened by what their woke idea of changing “the course of American Democracy” will mean.

  2. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    “At the intersection of … conservative and liberal.”

    I’d like to see a single program organized by the Institute for Democracy that had a moderate speaker, much less a conservative speaker. If such a program has ever been presented, it was an aberration.

    1. Cathis398 Avatar
      Cathis398

      one of its first events is this one, co-sponsored by the center-right American Enterprise Institute: https://www.aei.org/events/conservatives-and-american-democracy/

      at least three of the speakers (Douthat, Burns, and Continetti) are at best moderate and arguably quite conservative. the others might be also; i don’t know them as well.

      not only that. the Board of the institute includes quite a few conservatives, including business leaders, Bush administration members, and Justice Anthony Kennedy: https://news.virginia.edu/content/advisory-boards-diverse-perspectives-guide-uva-karsh-institute-democracy

      so not just a “single program” but the institute’s own advisory board seems to insist on the kind of balance that you have described as an “aberration.”

      I understand your interest in portraying everything at UVa as being far left, but given that you read a lot of the Karsh site carefully, i’m perplexed as to how you managed to miss these rather obvious counterexamples to your argument. and they aren’t the only ones.

    2. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      Jim Murray is on the advisory board. I have written a story here that congratulated him for personally funding the first balanced debates at UVa in at least a decade.

      I suspect people like Jim will try to guide the public debate in this modestly named “Institute of Democracy”.

      I don’t expect the same from the research and findings that are to be conducted by the faculty.

      Mr. Sabato, the chairman, has abandoned both his composure and his reputation to be a twitter firebrand.

      Dean Goluboff as vice chair makes no pretense of political balance.

    3. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      Jim Murray is on the advisory board. I have written a story here that congratulated him for personally funding the first balanced debates at UVa in at least a decade.

      I suspect people like Jim will try to guide the public debate in this modestly named “Institute of Democracy”.

      I don’t expect the same from the research and findings that are to be conducted by the faculty.

      Mr. Sabato, the chairman, has abandoned both his composure and his reputation to be a twitter firebrand.

      Dean Goluboff as vice chair makes no pretense of political balance.

  3. walter smith Avatar
    walter smith

    Wow…a chance to criticize the wokeness at UVA? Like waving a red flag in front of a bull…
    Did you notice in the 5 minute video the absence of any particular word?
    Bueller? Bueller?
    How about REPUBLIC?
    Meanwhile, Melody Barnes wants to unite non-profits, activists and organizers…You mean they aren’t already?!? And she closes with her desire that in 100 years they will have “changed the course of American democracy.”
    Why? How? To what end?
    If Jim Murray is the closest to sane, and I do not know him, but he has not objected to ANYTHING Tailgunner Jim Ryan has done, then this proportionally is as non-partisan as a grain of sand along the Atlantic Coast.

    How about this for UVA priorities…check out the Diversity Council “charter” and tell me what you think it is supposed to do, while the Institute for Democracy changes the course of American Democracy – https://dei.virginia.edu/sites/g/files/jsddwu511/files/2021-10/DiversityCouncilCharter-OCTOBER2021.pdf

    Meanwhile, let’s examine the mambo-jumbo of the Institute for Democracy –

    The Karsh Institute of Democracy will take full advantage of UVA’s position as one of the nation’s top public universities and its unique historical link to the nation’s founding to serve as a nonpartisan catalyst for action. It will foster participation and civil debate on issues of national importance, support and amplify the study and discussion of the underpinnings of democracy, and engage in public outreach for practical impact and action with students, citizens, policymakers and other leaders.

    The Karsh Institute will accelerate collaboration among and augment the work of several schools and centers already dedicated to the study of democracy at UVA, including UVA’s Center for Politics, the Democracy Initiative in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, the Miller Center of Public Affairs, the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service and the teaching and research of many faculty members across Grounds
    Non-partisan catalyst? Amplify…underpinnings…practical impact and ACTION (always a cover word for Marxists – direct action) “accelerate collaboration” (another loaded word, like intersectionality)

    UVA has too much money and is miles from its educational mission. The kids are being indoctrinated. The professors have to pass the DEI litmus test of Tailgunner Jim and Kevin McDonald. Seriously, in 2 years of Covid and all sorts of actions impinging on civil liberties and wreaking economic damage on millions of Americans in “our Democracy,” has ONE law school professor raised ANY concerns? How about a UVA doctor or economist? Are they all Marxists? Or are the 5% who aren’t Marxists scared to speak because they know they will be canceled?

  4. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    Maybe they should just name it what it is going to be: The Karsh [major donors) Institute of Democrats.

  5. disqus_VYLI8FviCA Avatar
    disqus_VYLI8FviCA

    I was a minor donor to UVa throughout the years. Now I am a former donor. Things like this just confirm that I made the right call.

  6. beachguy Avatar
    beachguy

    Mr. Ryan instructs us that the University today stands “at the intersection of … conservative and liberal.”

    I would suggest that the University is, and has been, well beyond the intersection of common sense and liberal. Conservative does not even appear in the rear view mirror.

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