“An honor of a lifetime”

Rachel Sheridan (Col class of ’94, Law class of ’98) packed a lot into her time at UVA. The Echols Scholar double-majored in foreign affairs and economics, ran cross-country and track—including on a relay team that qualified for the NCAA indoor championship—and graduated from the law school.

Sheridan was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 2023 and became its rector on July 1, 2025. She took the gavel during a turbulent summer during which former President Jim Ryan (Law class of ’92) resigned under pressure from the Department of Justice over an investigation focused on admissions practices.

It’s unclear what, if any, part the BOV played in Ryan’s resignation. Sheridan has said that on advice of counsel, board members cannot discuss what led to him stepping down.

A partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis, where she focuses on capital market transactions, Sheridan spoke to Virginia Magazine in September about her time at UVA, leading the BOV during the current climate, her response to criticism of the board and her hopes for the university moving forward. Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Why did you choose UVA?

“I got into Princeton and I really wanted to go. At the time, there was just no way we could afford it. I had been talking to the track coach at UVA. I came down with my dad.

“I really liked [Coach Fred Binggeli]. He had a partial scholarship and then I got a letter in the mail about being an Echols Scholar. I didn’t really know what that was. Once I looked at it, and compared, my dad made it pretty easy. He’s a pretty fiscally conservative guy. He thought it was a very good value proposition to go to UVA.”

What has it been like being thrust into a very public role as rector of the BOV, particularly during the current climate?

“It’s really been humbling. I am not a highly public person. I’m not on social media. … I don’t publicize my life. That part was not expected. I guess I should have been more expecting it. [My time as rector] just happened to coincide with extraordinary events at the university.

“It has been a bit of a baptism by fire in terms of the communications aspects and the politics of the situation. I’m grateful for the opportunity to try to lead through a difficult time, to do it with [Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson (Law class of ’07)], to do it with people in the administration, working with the faculty. I understand there are really strong views on all sides of the aisle and trying to navigate down the middle of that is what I’m trying to do. It’s been a challenge, but it’s also been an honor of a lifetime.”

What is your response to those critical of the board over the handling of the DOJ investigation and Jim Ryan’s resignation?

“You will not believe the emails I receive. I read all of them and I will say there are very loud voices at both ends of the spectrum. There’s also a very quiet group of people in the middle that are very supportive and thoughtful or engaged in constructive dialogue.

“This is what’s beautiful about UVA, it’s what’s beautiful about free speech—everyone can have their views and say them as loud as they want. What I would say is some version of what I said in the [B]oard [of Visitors] meeting, which is that first and foremost UVA is a great institution, period full stop. And we are all just involved at UVA to hopefully make it better than we found it. Regardless of the headwinds of the time, I do believe that we continue to work to put the university in the best possible place to succeed.”

What message would you like to convey to the UVA community?

“This moment that we’re in is clearly an inflection point for our nation and the commonwealth. … Our politics are partisan to a fault and many have lost their humanity in dealing with others. But UVA is not that place. And I am an eternal optimist. And I think that while the moment is bigger than any one person or school, UVA was built and cultivated for 200 years to meet and exceed this exact moment. And the path forward is exactly what Jefferson’s ideals were in founding the university, in displacing passion with reason in order to advance knowledge and the public good.

“I think we could be a model for the nation in civil discourse and I’m excited to find a new president that’s going to help us do that.”

What is the timeline for hiring a new president?

“We were originally told by multiple search firms, four to six months. We’re operating on that same timeline. I think we’re successfully meeting the milestones that the search firm has set forth for us. And then, just more qualitatively, the search will take as long as it takes to find a great president.”