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Ellis denied Gay Student Union co-sponsorship request as student, archives show
Who's "Ellis"? Bert Ellis
Mon Jul 25, 2022: Youngkin appoints four new members to the UVa Board of Visitors
News
Governor Youngkin appoints four new members to the Board of Visitors
Two alumni are among the four appointees
By Ava MacBlane and Lexi Baker
July 1, 2022
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the appointment of four new members to the Board of Visitors Thursday — College and Darden alumnus Bert Ellis, previous Board member Stephen Long, Abingdon Town Council member and Education alumna Amanda Pillion and College and Law alumnus Doug Wetmore. The four new members will take their seats for the first time during the Board’s retreat in August. ... Composed of 17 voting members appointed by the governor, the Board meets four times per year and is responsible for the long-term planning of the University. The new members replace previous Board members Dr. L.D. Britt, Frank Conner, Barbara Fried and C. Evans Poston.
Ellis is a business executive who holds leadership positions in three Atlanta based companies, Ellis Capital, Johnson Energy Storage and Ellis Communications. Additionally, Ellis is one of 15 University graduates who co-own White Spot, a restaurant located on the Corner. ... Ellis spoke to Youngkin’s role in appointing new Board members in a year-end update for the Jefferson Council at the end of 2021. ... “This is our only opportunity to change/reverse the path to ‘wokeness’ that has overtaken our entire University,” Ellis said.
Ellis also serves as the president of The Jefferson Council, a conservative group of University alumni and other stakeholders “dedicated to preserving the legacy of Thomas Jefferson.” Most recently, The Jefferson Council co-sponsored an event with former vice president Mike Pence, along with the student organization Young Americans for Freedom.
Following controversy over signage on Lawn room doors in fall 2020 that used expletives to critique the University’s history of enslavement and inaccessibility, Ellis traveled to the University to visit the Lawn room of the resident who posted the original sign. Per a message written by Ellis himself, he “prepared to use a small razor blade” to remove the explicit part of the sign, but two University ambassadors explained that this would be considered malicious damage and asked him to leave. ... Ellis has also previously noted his disapproval of the presence of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the University — which he has characterized as “completely out of hand” — and is a fervent supporter of the University's Honor system, having previously expressed that “without Honor, there is no U.Va..”
{snip}
Governor Youngkin appoints four new members to the Board of Visitors
Two alumni are among the four appointees
By Ava MacBlane and Lexi Baker
July 1, 2022
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the appointment of four new members to the Board of Visitors Thursday — College and Darden alumnus Bert Ellis, previous Board member Stephen Long, Abingdon Town Council member and Education alumna Amanda Pillion and College and Law alumnus Doug Wetmore. The four new members will take their seats for the first time during the Board’s retreat in August. ... Composed of 17 voting members appointed by the governor, the Board meets four times per year and is responsible for the long-term planning of the University. The new members replace previous Board members Dr. L.D. Britt, Frank Conner, Barbara Fried and C. Evans Poston.
Ellis is a business executive who holds leadership positions in three Atlanta based companies, Ellis Capital, Johnson Energy Storage and Ellis Communications. Additionally, Ellis is one of 15 University graduates who co-own White Spot, a restaurant located on the Corner. ... Ellis spoke to Youngkin’s role in appointing new Board members in a year-end update for the Jefferson Council at the end of 2021. ... “This is our only opportunity to change/reverse the path to ‘wokeness’ that has overtaken our entire University,” Ellis said.
Ellis also serves as the president of The Jefferson Council, a conservative group of University alumni and other stakeholders “dedicated to preserving the legacy of Thomas Jefferson.” Most recently, The Jefferson Council co-sponsored an event with former vice president Mike Pence, along with the student organization Young Americans for Freedom.
Following controversy over signage on Lawn room doors in fall 2020 that used expletives to critique the University’s history of enslavement and inaccessibility, Ellis traveled to the University to visit the Lawn room of the resident who posted the original sign. Per a message written by Ellis himself, he “prepared to use a small razor blade” to remove the explicit part of the sign, but two University ambassadors explained that this would be considered malicious damage and asked him to leave. ... Ellis has also previously noted his disapproval of the presence of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the University — which he has characterized as “completely out of hand” — and is a fervent supporter of the University's Honor system, having previously expressed that “without Honor, there is no U.Va..”
{snip}
Fast forward to August.
Ellis denied Union cosponsorship of an event featuring a prominent gay rights activist months after Shockley controversy, archives show
cavalierdaily.com
Ellis denied Gay Student Union co-sponsorship request as student, archives show
The decision came just a month after Ellis and the Union had also been at the center of controversy for hosting a debate featuring William Shockley.
Ellis denied Gay Student Union co-sponsorship request as student, archives show
The decision came just a month after Ellis and the Union had also been at the center of controversy for hosting a debate featuring William Shockley.
Link to tweet
News
Ellis denied Gay Student Union co-sponsorship request as student, archives show
The decision came just a month after a controversial event featuring a prominent eugenics supporter
Founded in 1972 at the University, GSU was later renamed the Lesbian and Gay Student Union and today is known as the Queer Student Union.
Photo by Ava MacBlane | The Cavalier Daily
By Eva Surovell and Ava MacBlane
August 28, 2022
Board of Visitors appointee Bert Ellis denied a request by the Gay Student Union for the University Union to co-sponsor an event headlined by pioneering gay rights activist Frank Kameny in 1975, coverage from The Cavalier Daily’s archives show.
The decision came just a month after Ellis and the Union had also been at the center of controversy for hosting a debate featuring William Shockley, a prominent eugenics supporter. Though the Black Student Alliance and Student Council told Ellis and the Union to cancel the debate — titled “The Correlation Between Race and Intelligence” — the event took place in February 1975 during the first week of Black History Month. ... Ellis did not respond to a request for comment.
No longer in existence today, the University Union was a group tasked with organizing concerts, speakers, debates and other social opportunities for students during the semester. As tri-chairman and spokesman, Ellis led the organization, alongside two additional tri-chairmen. ... In March 1975, GSU had requested the University Union co-sponsor an appearance by Kameny. Dismissed from the U.S. Army’s Army Map Service on account of his sexuality, Kameny appealed his firing, co-founded the D.C. branch of the gay rights organization the Mattachine Society and dedicated the rest of his life to activism.
{snip}
Per an article dated March 21, 1975, Union tri-chairman Michelle McPherson had agreed that the Union would sponsor the event, but was overruled by Ellis just two days later. ... “When I saw it, I immediately canned it,” Ellis said in an interview for the article. “I did not want the University Union associated with the GSU.” ... Ellis added he made the decision in the absence of the other tri-chairmen. ... “In view of the student population here, it is not the type of activity the University Union should sponsor,” Ellis continued. “[Homosexuality] is not an issue viewed highly in the University … It would not help the University Union’s position and prestige.”
{snip}
Ellis denied Gay Student Union co-sponsorship request as student, archives show
The decision came just a month after a controversial event featuring a prominent eugenics supporter
Founded in 1972 at the University, GSU was later renamed the Lesbian and Gay Student Union and today is known as the Queer Student Union.
Photo by Ava MacBlane | The Cavalier Daily
By Eva Surovell and Ava MacBlane
August 28, 2022
Board of Visitors appointee Bert Ellis denied a request by the Gay Student Union for the University Union to co-sponsor an event headlined by pioneering gay rights activist Frank Kameny in 1975, coverage from The Cavalier Daily’s archives show.
The decision came just a month after Ellis and the Union had also been at the center of controversy for hosting a debate featuring William Shockley, a prominent eugenics supporter. Though the Black Student Alliance and Student Council told Ellis and the Union to cancel the debate — titled “The Correlation Between Race and Intelligence” — the event took place in February 1975 during the first week of Black History Month. ... Ellis did not respond to a request for comment.
No longer in existence today, the University Union was a group tasked with organizing concerts, speakers, debates and other social opportunities for students during the semester. As tri-chairman and spokesman, Ellis led the organization, alongside two additional tri-chairmen. ... In March 1975, GSU had requested the University Union co-sponsor an appearance by Kameny. Dismissed from the U.S. Army’s Army Map Service on account of his sexuality, Kameny appealed his firing, co-founded the D.C. branch of the gay rights organization the Mattachine Society and dedicated the rest of his life to activism.
{snip}
Per an article dated March 21, 1975, Union tri-chairman Michelle McPherson had agreed that the Union would sponsor the event, but was overruled by Ellis just two days later. ... “When I saw it, I immediately canned it,” Ellis said in an interview for the article. “I did not want the University Union associated with the GSU.” ... Ellis added he made the decision in the absence of the other tri-chairmen. ... “In view of the student population here, it is not the type of activity the University Union should sponsor,” Ellis continued. “[Homosexuality] is not an issue viewed highly in the University … It would not help the University Union’s position and prestige.”
{snip}