Spanberger reappoints VSU rector, replaces two first-term Youngkin picks

Gov. Abigail Spanberger reappointed the rector of the Virginia State University Board of Visitors to a second term and replaced two members appointed by her Republican predecessor.

In a statement June 5, the governor’s office announced a second four-year term for current board rector Victor Branch of Chesterfield County, and Tom Cosgrove of Henrico County. One of her appointments was to fill a spot for someone rotating off the board, and two of them were new faces replacing two Glenn Youngkin appointees just finishing their first terms.

The announcement was the latest round of appointees to Virginia colleges and universities by the Democratic governor. Since taking office in January, Spanberger has done major reboots of several college boards, including a day-one overhaul of 27 new appointees to the University of Virginia, George Mason University and Virginia Military Institute.

Spanberger’s day?one replacement of UVA, GMU and VMI board members was widely viewed as a politically charged reset, enabled by prior partisan battles between the Democratic-controlled Virginia General Assembly and Youngkin. While the appointments suggested continuity of Virginia‘s long tradition of appointing connected political figures to college boards, Spanberger’s office and her allies framed the moves as a reassertion of institutional independence and ideological influence from Youngkin.

Last March, Spanberger replaced the entire board of visitors for Richard Bland College with her own appointees, less than a year after the board was established.

In the most recent round last week, Spanberger made a total of 56 appointments, nine of which were new terms for Youngkin appointees.

Who else did Spanberger choose?

Branch, president of the Richmond region of Bank of America, was appointed to the VSU board by Youngkin in 2022. He has been the board’s rector for about a year, replacing Valerie Brown.

Brown, who was appointed in 2018 by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, was not eligible to serve another term on the board.

The other reappointee was Cosgrove, manager of external affairs for Newport News Shipbuilding. Like Branch, Cosgrove was named to the VSU board by Youngkin.

But two Youngkin appointees – Harold Green Jr. and Leonard Haynes III – were eligible for reappointment and not chosen.

Spanberger’s new VSU board appointees are:

• Baron Braswell of Fredericksburg, financial services advisor for Mass Mutual Insurance.

• Bill Murray of Henrico County, senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications for Dominion Energy.

• Clarice Jones Torian of Prince William County, a retired educator and the wife of Del. Luke Torian, chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

The new board members will take their seats July 1.

Reporting by Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index