The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors unanimously selected Scott C. Beardsley, dean of the Darden School of Business, to be the university’s next president. The vote closes a months‑long, politically fraught search that began after president James E. Ryan resigned amid federal pressure over diversity initiatives. Beardsley, a former McKinsey senior partner and Darden dean since 2015, will begin Jan. 1. The decision came over objections from faculty, alumni and the incoming Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, who had asked the board to pause until her appointees could fill vacant seats. The board, appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, pushed forward—setting up a likely tense relationship between Beardsley and the new governor and legislature. Campus leaders and faculty advocates warned the selection could deepen mistrust on campus and complicate UVa’s governance as state political control shifts. Beardsley inherits unresolved disputes over civil‑rights enforcement, faculty governance and alumni confidence that shaped the months of public scrutiny.