iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

The incredible shrinking attack on U.S. universities continues. Cornell has signed an agreement—but unlike the UVA agreement, instead of pledging to follow the gov't's highly questionable July "guidance" on discrimination, Cornell simply agrees to hand it out to faculty as a "training resource"!

Both parties affirm the importance of and their support for civil rights. Cornell affirms its committment to complying with federal civil rights laws and agrees to include the DOJ's "Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination" of July 29, 2025 as a training resource to faculty and staff so long as that Guidance remains operative.

410644

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Thomas Frampton @tframpton.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Some UVA faculty urged that a “no confidence” vote in the Board of Visitors would spoil the chance of productive partnership moving forward. But if the BOV won’t even respond to this polite (secret) letter FROM THE DEANS… the problems run so much deeper.

0339

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Natasha Heller @nlheller.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

State Sen. Creigh Deeds asks the BOV: “What is your understanding of the importance of shared governance in a university? What is your understanding of the significance of having lost the confidence of the people who educate students in that university?” www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

cavalierdaily.com

Virginia General Assembly demands answers about Ryan's resignation in Aug. 1 letter

In a 10-page letter obtained by The Cavalier Daily, State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, demanded written responses and documentation from University Rector Rachel Sheridan and University Vice ...

041

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Columbia and Brown, by settling, have encouraged this tactic. Authoritarians are emboldened by capitulation, and they won't stop until the cost outweighs the benefits.

8716239

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements This is a big deal

August 1, 2025
AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
Committee on Economic Statistics and Committee on Government Relations

Statement from the American Economic Association on the
Dismissal of the BLS Commissioner

Leaders of the American Economic Association express their grave concern over the dismissal of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earlier today.
The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions. Undermining the independence or credibility of these agencies threatens the integrity of the information that markets, institutions, and the public rely on every day.
Measuring the vast and dynamic U.S. economy in real time is inherently challenging. It is standard practice for statistical estimates to be revised as more complete and higher-quality data become available. These revisions reflect the commitment of statistical agencies to accuracy, transparency, and methodological rigor-not failure or bias.
The BLS has long had a well-deserved reputation for professional excellence and nonpartisan integrity.
Safeguarding this tradition is vital for the continued health of the U.S. economy and public trust in our institutions.
We call upon elected officials to respect and preserve the independence of the nation's statistical infrastructure.

Lawrence Katz
President, American Economic Association
Katharine Abraham
President-Elect, American Economic Association
Karen Dynan
Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Economic Statistics
Kenneth Troske
Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Government Relations

11850772113

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Janet Spittler @janetspittler.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

These are exactly the questions that need to be answered.

2156

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Steven L. Johnson @stevenljohnson.org · 02/08/2025

And, thank you @creighdeeds.bsky.social!

072

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Steven L. Johnson @stevenljohnson.org · 02/08/2025

Cavalier Daily reports an important development that will certainly be on the mind of many BOV members on Monday. While I am not a lawyer, it appears to me that Deeds is establishing a legal basis for the GA to seek an injunction on the enactment of any Voluntary Settlement bsky.app/profile/dem8...

1248

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Delegate Katrina Callsen @katrinacallsen.com · 30/07/2025

Good meeting with @uvahealth.bsky.social and @creighdeeds.bsky.social to discuss how UVA and schools in our Research Diamond are paving the way for medical innovation and economic opportunity. Our UVA Manning Institute For Biotechnology will be a hub to turn science into medicine that heals.

063

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

cpcville @cpcville.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

If you care about #UVA, sign this letter to the BoV and share the link. win.newmode.net/wahoos4uva/u...

win.newmode.net

New/Mode | Make your voice impossible to ignore

021

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Erik Linstrum @eriklinstrum.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Seems clear that the Columbia capitulation crosses the red line of academic freedom, if what Rashid Khalidi says here is accurate (and I have no reason to think it is not)

184

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

AAUP @aaup.org · 01/08/2025

“The focus on monetary damages paid by the university and restrictions on campus protests and diversity policies obscures the Trump administration’s imposition of the right to interfere directly in university admissions, hiring, and promotion decisions.” —Aaron Nisenson, AAUP Senior Counsel

25229

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 31/07/2025

DOJ put out a memo stating that all recipients of federal funding must ban trans people from bathrooms. www.justice.gov/ag/media/140...

Alt text:
A section from a government memorandum titled "Segregation Based on Protected Characteristics" under the header "What Constitutes Unlawful Segregation?" It explains that segregation by federally funded entities based on characteristics like race or sex is generally unlawful, even if intended to promote inclusion. Highlighted text focuses on concerns regarding allowing males, including those who identify as women, access to female-only spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic events. The memo claims this compromises women's safety, privacy, and equal opportunity, potentially violating Title IX, and advocates for sex-based boundaries based on biological differences.

1121408655

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Deborah McDowell @dem8z.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

A typical summer in Charlottesville where everything looks the same around the grounds. Mothers in loose linen dresses and fathers in khaki cargo shorts, their children—prospective UVA students—in tow, tour the grounds. Nothing is the same. Everything has changed. For me, dread is redolent.

1564

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

AAUP @aaup.org · 24/07/2025

For higher education to function, students and faculty must be free to think and speak their minds. Students, faculty, and all who care about higher education must stand up and fight back against this unprecedented continuing assault. We have no choice. 4/4

210333

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Andrew Ferguson @epikt.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

coming here next, UVA. trump's doj is negotiating with our trumpist board as represented by a pet trump law firm to sell us out the same way. up to all of us to show them they are not the university

092

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Andrew @tjsleakyroof.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

it is absolutely critical that the first priority of the new Virginia state legislature that will sit next January is to drastically reform the UVA Board of Visitors in both membership and organization, or they will be dismantling UVA next.

3267

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Deborah McDowell @dem8z.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

UVA announces presidential search committee. Noticeably few faculty members are on the list. view.mc.virginia.edu?qs=e828e5831...

view.mc.virginia.edu

UVA announces presidential search committee

5246

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Terrified that this is what's next for UVA.

1282

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Erik Linstrum @eriklinstrum.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

There are 28 members on the committee to select a new president at UVA. There's exactly one faculty member from Arts & Sciences, the biggest school and the heart of undergraduate education. There are 10 members from a discredited board news.virginia.edu/content/uva-...

news.virginia.edu

UVA announces special committee to help select 10th president

The committee includes current and past University leaders, faculty members, students and several alumni.

2197

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

AAUP @aaup.org · 16/07/2025

We condemn this campaign to exert ideological & political control over higher ed in Virginia, including these attempts to attack & displace our campus leaders. We will fight for the independence of George Mason, UVa, & every public college & university in VA. — Tim Gibson, AAUP Virginia President

02510

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Andrew Ferguson @epikt.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

it’s not even that the board is only giving lip service to the idea of working with anyone else in the community—everyone knows they’re lying about that—it’s that the lip service they’re giving is the rector pursing hers in sheer shock & disdain at the idea she ever might have to face a question

1104

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Krisanne Combs @ennasirk.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

They're digging in and holding leaders to account. I've been impressed enough with their work that I just threw a donation their way. Some of the "pro" outfits out there could take a few lessons from these young journalists. 2/2 www.cavalierdaily.com/page/donate

cavalierdaily.com

Donate to The Cavalier Daily - The Cavalier Daily - University of Virginia's Student Newspaper

UVA's premier student-operated independent news organization and Charlottesville's oldest daily newspaper.

172

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Krisanne Combs @ennasirk.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

As a student journalist during my UVa days (at the now-defunct rival to the CD) one thing that gives me hope through this whole debacle of federal bullying and institutional kowtowing is that the student journalists at the Cavalier Daily are knocking it out of the park. 1/2

1113

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Let's talk for a sec about the fact that the right wing group on the UVA Board that orchestrated the ouster of President Ryan (due to his support for DEI) is called "The Jefferson Council." Invoking Jefferson to oppose diversity & inclusion is historically resonant. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/u...

nytimes.com

Inside the Conservative Campaign That Took Down a University President

623064

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Senator Tim Kaine @kaine.senate.gov · 13/07/2025

It's a difficult time for UVA and those who care about our schools. I had an important discussion with UVA students, faculty and staff on Friday to talk about President Trump's attacks on our universities and will keep doing everything I can to stand up for Virginia’s schools.

Senator Kaine delivers remarks to a group of UVA students.

Senator Kaine poses with a group of UVA students.

1317711

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 13/07/2025

this is exactly right. the goal of youngkin and his board of visitors is to rewind the clock back to when UVA was a school for unexceptional children of the state’s conservative elites. even expanding UVA to serve all of the state’s talented students, regardless of background, is too much.

323230538

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Sally Hudson @sallylhudson.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

I’m grateful to Charlottesville’s Delegate @katrinacallsen.com for embracing the urgency of now and prioritizing Board reform in the upcoming legislative session.

0204

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Sally Hudson @sallylhudson.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Virginia — take notice. Other states are gutting higher ed governance. Our next Governor can either do the same or usher in serious reforms to strengthen schools for the long haul.

33515

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Adrienne Wood @adriennewood.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

The UVA Cavalier Daily (our student newspaper) gives me so much hope for the future of independent journalism. They are so fearless and thorough with their coverage. Here's their story about the faculty senate meeting about the BOV. www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

cavalierdaily.com

U.Va. Faculty Senate overwhelmingly adopts a no confidence vote in Board of Visitors

"The Faculty Senate expresses no confidence in the Board of Visitors for not protecting the University and its president from outside interference," the resolution read.

2173

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

AAUP @aaup.org · 01/07/2025

We join with our VA AAUP Conference & UVa Faculty Senate in condemning the DOJ threats to withhold federal research funding in order to oust UVa President Jim Ryan for not bowing to political interference. We join with them in demanding an independent & public investigation into Ryan's forced exit.

On behalf of the Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors
(VA-AAUP), I write today to strongly condemn the federal Department of Justice (DOJ for their politically motivated campaign that has just forced UVa President James Ryan to resign.
VA-AAUP also calls for an investigation on what role, if any, members of UVa's Board of Visitors may have played in assisting the Department of Justice's vendetta against President Ryan.
The actions of the DOJ are clear violations of the independence and integrity of the University of Virginia as a free and open institution of research and learning. Even worse, this campaign represents nothing less than an extra-legal bid to impose federal control and President Trump's political ideology on American higher education itself.
Much like a free press, the health of American democracy depends upon the independence and integrity of its public and private universities. After all, the university is the place where scientific knowledge about the world is produced, circulated, and shared, and in order to produce valid and actionable knowledge, faculty and students must be free to follow the data where it leads without fear or favor. As scholars, in short, we must be free to pursue the truth, regardless of the opinions or ideologies of politicians, religious leaders, or other powerful social interests. This pursuit of truth becomes deeply corrupted when external actors or government officials try to impose their ideologies and values on the university or when they use their power and authority to bring campus leaders to heel.
Yet this is exactly what happened at the University of Virginia last week. The Trump administration has reportedly been unhappy with James Ryan's support for the bedrock values of academic freedom, shared governance, diversity, and equal access. According to press reports, Justice Department officials particularly disliked Ryan's focus on encouraging community service and felt that he had…

racism, sexism, and homophobia went unchallenged and the benefits of higher education were limited to a privileged few.
To accomplish this goal, the Trump administration elected to use the full power of the U.S. government to force President Ryan's resignation. And what was their leverage? Despite the fact that the investigation of UVa was incomplete, the DOJ nonetheless threatened to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grant funding, including grants that fund UVa's life-saving medical and cancer research. It worked. Fearing what would happen to the university and the citizens of Virginia without this research funding, Ryan chose to resign. In sum, this was an illegitimate process with an appalling outcome.
VA-AAUP also would like to remind UVa's Board of Visitors that one of their most important duties is to protect the University and its leaders from external political interference. By no means should they support this interference or, even worse, execute the politically motivated orders of federal bureaucrats. Yet, according to the New York Times, it appears that, rather than serving the needs of students or the people of the Commonwealth, some members of the Board may have acted as if they were ground troops in a political chain of command that stretched from the Trump White House to Governor Youngkin and then to the Governor's appointees on UVa's Board.
Indeed, we have witnessed this political chain of command at work across multiple public universities in the Commonwealth, as many Youngkin-appointed Boards of Visitors have abandoned their responsibility to be wise stewards of their campuses in favor of executing the political orders of the Governor and Attorney General. Over the past year, we have seen unprecedented levels of Board overreach in the form of attempts to control curriculum, rewrite anti-discrimination policies, repress campus political speech, and to expand their power over the faculty tenure process. And now we must ask: did UVa…

colleges and universities. In short, in Virginia's democratic system, a series of checks and balances exist to ensure that the Commonwealth's public universities enjoy independence from the political whims and machinations of local, state, and federal officials.
It is clear, however, that President Trump, Governor Youngkin, and many of Youngkin's board appointees want to bulldoze these checks and balances in order to exert ideological control over the Commonwealth's public colleges and universities.
We refuse to let them do so. We stand with the UVa Faculty Senate in condemning the actions of the U.S. Department of Justice, and we join with them in demanding an independent and public investigation into the circumstances and negotiations that led to Ryan's forced resignation.
On behalf of our members and all faculty across the Commonwealth, the Virginia Conference of the AAUP therefore strongly condemns the Trump administration's attack on the independence and integrity of the University of Virginia. We strongly condemn the Justice Department's decision to hold federal research funding hostage in order to oust UVa's president for political and ideological reasons. We reject the Justice Department's specious claims that President Ryan's administration was not in compliance with federal civil rights law. And we call on President Trump, the Justice Department, and Governor Youngkin to change course, to respect the independence and integrity of the University of Virginia, and to cease their larger effort to exert control over the governance and curriculum of American colleges and universities, both public and private.
We also call upon the Rector of UVa's Board and the Rectors of George Mason University and the Virginia Military Institute to follow the rule of law and refuse to seat any board member who was rejected by the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. As Virginia Senator Surovell has made clear, these appointments have been rejected following the rules of t…

313853

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

I’m so impressed with my UVA faculty colleagues, especially our Faculty Senate, for so quickly and loudly articulating how Trump, Youngkin, and the Board of Visitors are trying to destroy UVA and its values of free and open inquiry.

27712

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Steven L. Johnson @stevenljohnson.org · 12/07/2025

I also encourage you to read this commentary by James Mingle that appeared in today's Daily Progress, (posted online yesterday, before the faculty senate vote) archive.is/2EtJj

Commentary: UVa's board of visitors must be held to
account

July 11, 2025
JAMES J. MINGLE
As a former general counsel for the University of Virginia and other major universities, I have
worked closely with many presidents and board members.
One board chair I worked with used to open orientation sessions for new members with this
imperative: “The most important responsibility of the board is selecting the university’s
president.” And I would remind them of another essential governance responsibility:
“Protecting the university’s independence against undue governmental interference.”
All the university governing boards I have worked with — including prior University of Virginia
boards of visitors — zealously embraced these two fiduciary duties. If recent media reports
detailing how the UVa Board of Visitors forced president James Ryan’s resignation in
lockstep with a federal agency are accurate, it's clear this current UVa board did not.
By succumbing to demands from the U.S. Department of Justice to fire the university
president — as part of a discrimination investigation it did not contest — the board effectively
surrendered the university’s autonomy to the federal government.
If its acquiescence is confirmed, the UVa board’s action is a disturbing failure of governance
responsibility on several levels.
First, it is extraordinary for a university governing board to immerse itself in dealings with
governmental agencies investigating discrimination (or other) complaints. This is the
responsibility of the university’s legal office.

2125

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Steven L. Johnson @stevenljohnson.org · 12/07/2025

Yesterday the UVa Faculty Senate passed two resolutions. One is a vote of no confidence in the board, which is based on past actions. The other is about the upcoming process of appointing an interim President. You can find the links to both in the posts by @cyborgapologist.bsky.social

1227

Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈 @kimacquaviva.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Saying farewell to Maine today after a week of vacation/remote working. I love UVA but I’d love it even more if it were located in Maine! 😊

030

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Adrienne Wood @adriennewood.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Thank you to my colleagues for standing up for academic freedom!! Watching a room of academics copy edit the resolution in real time was genuinely thrilling.

051

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Adrienne Wood @adriennewood.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Also noteworthy that the members of the BOV who were at today's faculty meeting for ~15 min (via Zoom) said that they did not intend to take questions from the faculty senate (this was in response to a senate member asking a question). There was audible surprise in the room at this response. 5/n

111

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Joshua Earle, Ph.D. @cyborgapologist.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

This is huge. UVA Faculty Senate have voted No Confidence in the Board of Visitors for their silence in the Federal overreach into our governance. Follow Em's thread here for the blow-by-blow. The resolution should be published soon on the Faculty Senate website.

0317

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

NotQuietMode_M.D. @notquietmodemd.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Grateful for the show of ethical force by the UVA Faculty Senate. This should be a lesson for all in academia. Stand together and Resist. 👊🏻

0184

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Andrew Ferguson @epikt.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

things sticking with me from the faculty senate meeting: 1) rector sheridan visibly furious at being asked *any* question, seems very clear she would not have shown up for that by choice 1a) this seems related to her *clearly* functioning as a rep on behalf of UVA prior to being appointed rector

2142

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Em Gunter 顧安 🍉 @emgunter.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

The Faculty Senate has now adopted a resolution of No Confidence in the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia with a vote of 46-14.

19026

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Danielle Citron @daniellecitron.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Today is UVA President Jim Ryan’s last day. He is a prince of princes, a sage of sages, a mensch of mensches. Having never known my President at two schools before I joined UVA Law, I can say with confidence there is no leader like him. I’m grateful he will be back to the law school.

114922

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Prof. Aviles @nataliebaviles.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

The UVA Faculty Senate has voted to approve a resolution of No Confidence in the Board of Visitors

730170

Reposted by Kimberly Acquaviva (she/her) 🏳️‍🌈

Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 03/04/2025

I'm no good with patterns. Can someone help me out here?

12423552613060