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To the University of Virginia community,

I hope the new year is off to a strong and hopeful start for you and your loved ones. Whether you had the chance to rest and reflect over the holidays or you continued your essential work in service to others, I am grateful for all that you bring to our University of Virginia community. To those who worked throughout the season – particularly our clinicians and staff in UVA Health, along with other colleagues across Grounds – thank you.

The beginning of 2026 has brought me a deep sense of gratitude. I am profoundly thankful for – and continually inspired by – this extraordinary community, which has welcomed and supported me and my family for 11 years. I am humbled and honored by the opportunity to serve as the University’s 10th president.

I would like to thank interim President Paul Mahoney for selflessly stepping up to steward the University through a period of transition, as well as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis for serving as acting president last summer. I would also like to thank President Emeritus Jim Ryan for his extraordinary leadership. I admire Jim and was honored to be reappointed twice by him to serve as Dean of the Darden School of Business.

I step into this role aware that this is an important moment, and I am energized by the opportunities ahead. I am committed to listening, learning and working alongside this community as we shape Â鶹Æƽâ°æ future together.

This work is shaped by the people who make UVA what it is, working together toward a common mission. Â鶹Æƽâ°æ strength lies in its faculty who educate and push the boundaries of knowledge; its staff who keep our complex university running; its clinicians who heal and improve the lives of our neighbors; its students who inspire us and excel in academics, athletics and service; and its alumni who, as educated citizen-leaders, improve society and communities around the globe. Our strength also comes from engaging with our neighbors in Charlottesville, Wise and Northern Virginia, and with citizens and stakeholders across the Commonwealth and beyond.

As I begin my time in office, I want to emphasize three things.

• First, as I told the Board of Visitors in my remarks last month, I stand before you as a mission-driven leader, not a politically driven leader. My decisions will not be motivated by partisan divisions – which I have worked to bridge my entire career – but by my love for our University community, a love that I know we all share.
• Second, I am committed to listening to and learning from all of you. I look forward to spending time with students, faculty, staff, clinicians and partners in the weeks and months ahead. I will share more information about those opportunities soon. I believe in excellence. Excellence requires teamwork. The University belongs to all of you, and my role as president is to help you achieve your full potential as we work together to fulfill Â鶹Æƽâ°æ noble mission. That is an honor and a duty I do not take lightly.
• Third, we will work to strengthen UVA as the flagship university and an important economic engine of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Motivated by our mission of public service, I am eager for us to work with leaders across the Commonwealth to ensure that UVA remains a place where excellence is accessible, discoveries translate into real-world solutions for the citizens we serve, and we develop leaders committed to the public good.

Thank you for all that you bring to the community that we share. I am eager to begin our work together to carry forward Â鶹Æƽâ°æ  of education, research, patient care and public service.

Sincerely,

Scott C. Beardsley
President, University of Virginia