In a surprise move that has left the University of Virginia community reeling, Governor Glenn Youngkin has removed Bert Ellis from the UVA Board of Visitors. The decision was announced in an official letter on March 26th, citing Ellis’s repeated violations of the “Commonwealth’s Code of Conduct for our Boards and Commissions and the Board of Visitors’ Statement of Visitor Responsibilities.”
Ellis, appointed by Youngkin in 2022, had become a highly controversial figure on Grounds. He was widely known for his outspoken stance against diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) programs. Just weeks ago, the Board of Visitors voted to dismantle many of UVA’s DEI initiatives, a move Ellis enthusiastically supported. In a recent interview, he said “every aspect of DEI is to be ripped out, shredded and terminated.”
While many students have long disapproved of Ellis—especially following a 2020 incident where he approached a student’s Lawn room with a razor blade to take down a protest sign—the timing of his removal has sparked confusion and concern. In a public statement after the firing, Ellis urged Youngkin to “reverse his decision,” arguing that he was needed to “hold the university President Jim Ryan accountable” and “end DEI for good.”
Youngkin, who has publicly supported efforts to eliminate DEI offices in Virginia, has not elaborated further on his reasons for the firing. However, sources cited by The Washington Post and The Daily Progress reported that Youngkin initially asked Ellis to resign during a meeting on Tuesday. When Ellis later refused to cooperate with a public resignation statement, Youngkin chose to officially fire him.
The Governor also announced plans to replace Ellis with Ken Cuccinelli, a UVA alum and former Virginia Attorney General. Cuccinelli previously launched a controversial investigation into UVA climate researchers—a move condemned by faculty and later blocked by the Virginia Supreme Court.
For students, the news is stirring mixed emotions. Some are relieved to see Ellis go, given his combative style and history of dismissive comments toward student leaders. In text messages revealed in 2022, Ellis called members of the Student Council and the Cavalier Daily “numbnuts” and promised a “battle royale for the soul of UVA.” He later apologized to the Board of Visitors, but not to students.
Still, the decision feels complicated. With Youngkin appointing someone like Cuccinelli as a replacement—who also has a record of hardline conservative positions—some students are wondering whether Ellis’s ousting marks a meaningful change or just a strategic shift.
“This is a developing story,” as several official reports put it—but on Grounds, what is also developing is a quiet anxiety. Ellis’s firing comes at a time of wider political tension: from Youngkin’s support of Trump-era education policies to his praise for dismantling DEI statewide. For some, Ellis may be gone—but the forces he represented feel far from finished.
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