Now that we have learned how a rich man navigated a career at McKinsey and subsequently moved to a new opportunity chapters 1&2 are methodology and setting context. As a word of warning, if you’re an academic who does rigorous research, keep your Xanax close by.

UVA’s Board of Visitors has done exactly the wrong thing at every turn by proceeding in the search for a new president. My thoughts here:

I’m very excited that @glaucomflecken.bsky.social finally did a video on my profession and completely nailed it. Wondering what I’m like at holiday gatherings when I’m not talking about parking and single-stair reform? Voila!

It's good to wake up to Bari Weiss being further exposed as an incompetent hack and grifter

the vice president is a klansman

Huh. Seems like there is a dwindling appetite for surveillance among Virginia cities

Next up: the Prologue, which tells Beardsley’s story from McKinsey consultant to a career in higher education. It’s a readable, mildly interesting journey.

this quote comes right after frodo says he wishes none of this happened in his time, & gandalf says all folks wish that. implication is university leadership is immense painful burden that can only be carried by "nontraditional" leaders (hobbits/consultants)...

As a public service, I am reading Scott Beardsley’s book on higher education. Just as Beardsley sacrificed a lucrative career at McKinsey to take a $700k a year job as Dean of Darden on his way to the very sketchy appointment as UVA president, I paid $12 for the kindle edition of “Higher Calling.”

Dwayne Yancey had two good columns about it this week cardinalnews.org/2025/12/18/j...

FWIW, JMU students are required to spend $2456 a year to subsidize the school’s athletic department. Almost $10k over the course of undergrad.

Along these lines: on Election Day I talked to someone very in the know about Virginia Democrat politics and they predicted Jones would lose and that Hashmi’s race would be close.

Lord I’ve seen what you’ve done for others

Walking around the Lynchburg mall, reading a policy paper on Inclusionary Zoning while my daughter browses, as one does uli.org/wp-content/u...

Pretty cool to hear your 14 year old say “my science teacher is awesome.”

Still looking for a holiday gift for the urbanist in your life? Check out our Gift Guide! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Brok: BoV Woke: New BoV Bespoke: governance by committee of academic and non-academic workers, students, and townies

Well that settles the question of whether Beardsley’s tenure as president will be short or long

Let’s go Staunton!

My full statement in response to the Youngkin-majority University of Virginia Board of Visitors naming a new university president in the final days of his administration:

Anyone who accepts the job under the present circumstances is demonstrating that they're morally & intellectually unfit to hold it.

Regard the transformational leadership, folks: mindless bandwagon jumping and parroting of empty slogans

I wonder if Beardsley’s time ends up being short due to the Jay Jones led Attorney General’s office determining that the contract is problematic due to the board not being legally constituted. The BOV then has to follow that advice, Beardsley resigns for a settlement and keeps the Darden dean gig.

Very on brand for this BOV to pick a McKinsey guy and a Darden guy to be the next president.

Maybe I’m doing something wrong but Nutella brings a surprising amount of chaos into our house

Tomorrow!

🤣🤣🤣

Because I don't think I've stated this directly: Anil's thoughts on AI are substantially my thoughts on AI, but described more clearly than they existed in my own head. LLMs are powerful tools, prepared in unethical ways, often advanced for harmful purposes by bad people at bad companies.

See below for my statement calling for the suspension of UVA’s search for a new president:

The bare minimum that Albemarle County can do to show it is serious about housing is to seriously follow its own Comprehensive Plan

Huge congratulations to @jenfleisher.bsky.social on getting sworn in today! Looking forward to working with my colleagues in the city on making our community an even better and more affordable place to live!!

Last night we went to the Walker Beginner Band concert. A stage full of novice musicians who had never played their instrument 4 months ago gave a 3 song concert. Incredible work by the students and their teachers - amazing all around!

Action alert: UVA's Board is holding an "emergency meeting" on Friday Dec 19 - the United Campus Workers invites students, Cville residents, UVA workers, union members, etc. to come out & tell the BoV: stop the search, investigate the Rector and Vice Rector, remain neutral on Collective Bargaining.

We bought this in Brooklyn over the weekend. I’m not really sure how to cook with it but intend to find out soon.

Kochis needs to understand that while he probably *does* have good intentions, when you're dealing with Palantir, that makes you the mark.

It’s worth noting that one of a Kochis’s pro-FLOCK talking points recently was that Spanberger said Cville’s relatively restrictive ALPR policies were a model for the state. Now council dumped it due to data safety concerns. I guess that’s a reveal as to how sharp Spanberger is on policing.

Fantastic!

New bus shelter loading

Happening tomorrow night! Support Zyahna’s Holiday Mutual Aid Drive while mingling, snacking, and singing.

I saw a TikTok (wink) about “Don’t Hear What I Didn’t Say” becoming a slogan for some people with autism who have communication challenges. But it is a phrase we could do well to expand to interpreting social media posting and interacting with people more broadly.

“The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson is probably the best book I’ve read. I just finished “Master of the Senate” and it’s in my top five. 10/10 recommend. Though not the central topic, the role of the Great Migration in growing Black political power in the U.S. looms large in MotS.

I’d say it’s generally a good rule of thumb to live your life in such a way that people aren’t glad when you and your grown children get off the Amtrak train.

At the train hall designed by the people who hate train halls

In 2023, exactly 2 homes were built in Albemarle County’s Jack Jouett district, in case you’re wondering why housing is so expensive around here. www.albemarle.org/home/showpub...

the robot trying to steal my job isn’t even good at it! it consumes like 1000 gallons of water to make a 6 minute podcast that’s aggressively wrong more than half time! i can make a much longer podcast using way less water. i don’t even shower on days that i’m writing.

I know they have bigger needs, but the NYC subway stations could benefit from liberal use of some pressure washers. Maybe a program where geriatric millennials take out their frustrations with the world in a constructive way. A win win.