Texts show Youngkin appointee disparaged University of Virginia staff

Bert Ellis vowed to fight a “battle royale for the soul of the school” in a series of newly revealed text messages.
A businessman appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors called UVA administrators “schmucks” last year and vowed to fight a “battle royale for the soul of the school” in a series of newly revealed text messages.

In other messages, Bert Ellis — an Atlanta-based investor and UVA alumnus — expressed frustration over the placement of student signs mourning a mass shooting that left three students dead.

Prior to his appointment, Ellis wrote in 2021 that Youngkin’s ability to shape UVA’s board would be “our only opportunity to change/reverse the path to Wokeness that has overtaken our entire University.”