The University of Virginia is moving forward with its presidential search amid an escalating political tussle between outgoing and incoming governors and public disputes inside the board of visitors. The search committee has advanced through its third of four phases despite a contested board composition and competing narratives about the prior president’s abrupt departure. Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger asked the board to pause the process until she can appoint new members in January; Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s slate currently fills the board but has five vacancies. The dispute has intensified after the university reached an agreement with the Justice Department earlier this year over the interpretation of federal admissions law and DEI policies. The next president will inherit a flagship campus that has been a focal point for the Trump administration’s enforcement actions on diversity, equity and inclusion, and the selection will signal how UVA navigates federal scrutiny and legal settlements. The board’s choice will matter for faculty governance, donor relations and litigation risk. Campus leaders should expect a politically charged vetting process, heightened public scrutiny of finalists’ stances on free-speech and DEI, and continued attention from federal regulators as the search nears completion.