Virginia Tech Rector Refuses to Resign After Spanberger’s Dismissal

Virginia Tech governing board member John Rocovich has refused to resign after Gov. Abigail Spanberger removed him last week after 16 years.

Rocovich stated in a four-page letter addressed to the Secretary of the Commonwealth that he will not resign before his term ends on June 30, 2027. There was no sign of him at the board’s committee meetings on Monday in Blacksburg.

Spanberger’s decision is the latest effort by her administration to shake up governing boards at Virginia’s colleges and universities, amid concerns within the higher education community about the politicization of public university governing bodies. She recently appointed four new members to Tech’s governing board.

Governor fires Virginia Tech Rector Rocovich, appoints Dominion Energy’s Edward Baine as replacement

Spanberger removed Rocovich, citing “misconduct” in a letter sent last Wednesday, but the letter did not specify the details of Rocovich’s alleged violations, only stating that the findings provided “sufficient cause” for his removal. Rocovich pushed back on that claim.

“I was appointed to serve a term, I have served that term faithfully, and I intend to fulfill my obligations to the students, faculty, and people of Virginia who depend upon the proper governance of this great university,” Rocovich wrote. “Governor Spanberger’s letter failed to state my specific cause, as the law requires. I am confident she will find no such grounds.”

Board member Will Holtzman, who was appointed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin and will complete his term next year, said he was “disappointed” with the governor’s decision.

“I think all of us were disappointed because I think it’s a unanimous feeling of our group that he has done a phenomenal job, and I didn’t understand at all why she removed him, and I don’t think there was any cause for it,” Holzman said.

Lawmakers have also urged the governor to explicitly state her reasons for the termination.

Senate Republican Caucus Chair Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, said Rocovich deserves “fairness,” and emphasized that transparency is “not optional” concerning the governor’s decision to boot Rocovich from the board.

“What makes this decision especially disappointing is that Governor Spanberger campaigned on a promise to depoliticize higher education governance and to reduce executive involvement in the affairs of Virginia’s universities,” Obenshain said in a statement on Friday. “Removing the sitting rector of Virginia Tech without publicly stating a lawful basis appears inconsistent with those commitments.”

Edward Baine, executive vice president of utility operations and president of Dominion Energy Virginia, who was appointed to replace Rocovich, attended the first committee meeting on Monday.

He did not comment on his appointment on Monday morning, but asked Provost Julie Ross about the university’s efforts to address enrollment, which the board expressed interest in growing.

Rocovich’s dismissal followed the board’s vote to grant an exception allowing him to serve a third one-year term as rector during the search for Virginia Tech’s next president, following Tim Sands’s departure in April, Cardinal News reported last month.

The board minutes noted that Rocovich was elected rector because no other nominees were available and he was willing to serve.

A native of Roanoke and a Virginia Tech graduate, Rocovich founded a law firm and specializes in taxation as well as trusts and estates law. He served on the board of visitors from 1997 to 2005, was appointed for a term from 2010 to 2014, and was rector from 2002 to 2004.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Rocovich has donated to several Republican campaigns and candidates, including former Republican gubernatorial nominee and Spanberger rival Winsome Earle-Sears.

In his letter, Rocovich criticized the termination and the governor, expressing his “disappointment” with her use of a “subordinate“ to deliver the message, which he said was the opposite of the respect he showed Spanberger by calling her directly to discuss the board.

“Virginia Tech deserves better than to be made a political football,” Rocovich wrote. “I have given too much of my life to this institution to stand by silently while its independence is threatened—regardless of which party holds the governor’s office.”

The governor and attorney general’s offices did not immediately respond for comment on whether they will enforce the termination.

The board’s committee meetings continued on Monday. The board will have a full meeting on Tuesday. The body will vote on a new rector and vice rector to replace Rocovich and Sandy Davis, who died on March 17.

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.