"The text messages show that board members reacted sharply last year when a Democrat-controlled board rejected multiple university board picks from Republican governor Glenn Youngkin. The governor lost a subsequent legal fight to seat the picks, and several boards remain hobbled. In August text messages to Jim Donovan, one of the rejected picks, UVA board rector Rachel Sheridan called the General Assembly’s refusal to approve Youngkin’s nominees “Very disappointing. Completely unprecedented and destructive.” Sheridan added, “I hope this backfires politically and reveals them to be the extremists they are.” Sheridan did not apologize or backtrack after the texts were released. In a statement to the Post and Inside Higher Ed, she wrote, “I respect the General Assembly’s authority on these matters but share the frustration of those four individuals that were summarily rejected without the benefit of consideration of their merit and the value these individuals have given and could have continued to give to the university community.” Her remarks highlight tensions between the board and the General Assembly, which have spiked since President Jim Ryan resigned under pressure in June and the university signed an agreement with the Department of Justice in October to close multiple investigations into alleged civil rights violations. In other text messages, Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson expressed frustration with the UVA Faculty Senate, which has demanded answers about whether Ryan was pushed out by the board and the DOJ agreement."