A year or two ago, UVA’s Board of Visitors tried to get rid of Sullivan but there was a very vocal reaction from students/recent alums, and she was reinstated. I don’t know how/if she’d survive a second firing if one were attempted.
With respect to the attempt by the Board of Visitors to fire UVA President Sullivan, the then GOP Governor McDonnell ran from the controversy instead of affirmatively backing the board’s decision. Without political support or cover, the board backed down to the media firestorm and pressure from the faculty. McDonnell at the time was being touted as a potential Republican presidential candidate. Taking the appropriate assertive role in a controversy involving the premier state university would have pitted him against the Washington Post, New York Times, and women’s groups. He chose political expediency over the welfare of the university and the state.
Sullivan turns 65 in March or April. It would be an appropriate time for her to retire. Hopefully Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe, is being prodded by a number of the major alumni donors to the school and Democrat campaigns. Unlike McDonnell I suspect McAuliffe is capable of handling the delicate private conversations with Sullivan about her future plans. Somehow Democrat politicians are more capable of using both the scalpel and the dagger to remove irritants than GOP politicians.