Teresa Ann "Terry" Sullivan (born July 9, 1949) is an American sociologist and university administrator. She serves as the President of the University of Virginia, a position to which she was elected in 2010.
Early life
Teresa Sullivan was born on July 9, 1949. She received her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University's James Madison College, where she was asked to stay on as an intern in the office of the president by Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., then the president. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.
Career
She joined the faculty of the University of Texas as an instructor in sociology. At Texas, she held a variety of academic and administrative posts, including the chair of the sociology department, vice provost, and vice president and dean of graduate studies. She then served as the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan.
She has written or cowritten six books and over 80 scholarly articles in sociology. She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Presidency of the University of Virginia
Sullivan was unanimously elected on January 11, 2010, and became the University's first female president on August 1, 2010. However, on June 10, 2012, it was announced to the University that Sullivan would step down from her position on August 15, 2012, after serving only two years of a five-year contract. Leaders of the university’s governing board decided to remove Sullivan, "largely because of her unwillingness to consider dramatic program cuts in the face of dwindling resources and for her perceived reluctance to approach the school with the bottom-line mentality of a corporate chief executive". Others presented the dispute as being more about differing view of the academic culture and future direction of the university than immediate financial concerns; whether less popular traditional-classical academic studies should be cut, with funding refocused on more profitable and business-oriented courses and programs. Later news reports presented the resignation as an "ouster" organized by Helen Dragas, rector of the university's Board of Visitors; with strong suggestions of Dragas' conflicting views of the future of the university, and personal ambitions playing a role in her actions. Although a formal meeting and vote of the full board was not held at the time, Sullivan was presented with the news of her loss of majority support within the board, and given the 'opportunity' to resign.
The announcement of her resignation was communicated via an email by Dragas on behalf of the Board of Visitors. The message quoted from Sullivan's resignation letter and cited "philosophical differences" on how the University was to be run. Large-scale protest against the action, and support for Sullivan from students, faculty, alumni, as well as the national academic community, resulted, including a faculty senate demand for the removal of the Board of Visitors leaders - Rector Helen Dragas and Vice Rector Mark J. Kington - and demands from the student government for an explanation for the ouster. In the face of this pressure, including a statement from Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell that he would remove the entire board if they failed to resolve the issue at their June 26 meeting, the board unanimously voted to reinstate Sullivan as president.
Personal life
She is married to legal scholar Douglas Laycock.
References
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