Hank Silverberg, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – The ouster of University of Virginia president Teresa Sullivan continues to create controversy on campus and across the state after a contentious 11 hour meeting Monday night to choose an interim president.

The Board of Visitors is now facing sharp criticism for doing much of their decision-making behind closed doors.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, who is out of the country on a trade mission to Europe, says it is not his place to intervene in the board’s decisions, but he does say mistakes were made.

“In retrospect, there are some things they should have done differently that would have helped to avoid some of the heartache in that UVa community.”

But the governor, who has two sons attending the school, says it is not his place to intervene.

“These are all things were are uniquely within the province of the board,” he says. “Not the governor, and not the general assembly and not the faculty for that matter.”

The Board of Visitors appointed school of commerce Dean Carl Zeithaml to be the interim president and will set up a search committee for a permanent replacement for Sullivan.

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