UVA interim president Carl Zeithaml is stepping aside, he announced in statement emailed to press this morning, saying "trust cannot be restored in our community until the President Sullivan’s status is clarified and ultimately resolved."
Zeithaml said he would cease negotiations with the University’s Board of Visitors over the terms of his interim presidency, and end all activities associated with the role he agreed to take on earlier this week.
He signed off of the message by identifying himself as Dean of the McIntire School.
The full text of his statement is below.
Dear University colleagues:
I am grateful for the trust that members of the University’s Board of Visitors expressed in asking me to serve as interim president during this extraordinarily difficult time in the life of our University. I made the decision to accept this transition role because of my love for U.Va., as well as my desire to help in a time of crisis.
In the three days since I accepted this position, I have talked to many in our community about what transpired on Grounds while I was out of the country on University business, and I received a great deal of input from numerous colleagues, including members of the faculty. I deeply appreciate and respect this input.
Clearly, we agree that the University and its reputation have been damaged these past 13 days, but that together we can mend the harm done and move our great University forward. Trust, one of our core institutional values, has been compromised.
There is an enormous groundswell of support for Terry Sullivan’s reinstatement as our president, and I understand that the Board will meet next week to consider this possibility. As a result, I am suspending any further negotiations with the Board regarding my status as interim president, as well as any activities associated with this role. In the meantime, I will return my focus to the McIntire School.
Trust cannot be restored in our community until the President Sullivan’s status is clarified and ultimately resolved.
With kind regards,
Carl Zeithaml
Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce