The Center for Politics at the University of Virginia (UVA) announced last week that former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) has accepted an appointment to serve as a Professor of Practice with the Center for Politics. The appointment will run through the 2023 fall semester with an option to renew after that.
“I am delighted to be joining the UVA Center for Politics as a Professor of Practice. Preserving our constitutional republic is the most important work of our time, and our nation’s young people will play a crucial role in this effort. I look forward to working with students and colleagues at the Center to advance the important work they and others at the University of Virginia are doing to improve the health of democracy here and around the world,” said Cheney. “There are many threats facing our system of government and I hope my work with the Center for Politics and the broader community at the University of Virginia will contribute to finding lasting solutions that not only preserve but strengthen our democracy.”
“The Board of Visitors, which endorsed a Statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry in 2021, and the University of Virginia are committed to offering our students an array of diverse viewpoints, and Liz Cheney — a strong conservative who never hesitates to put honesty ahead of all other considerations — is a model of leadership not just for the students at the University of Virginia but for all people concerned for the wellbeing of this country,” said Whitt Clement, Rector of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors.
Cheney, who lost the Republican primary by a landslide, became a pariah in the party after taking a strong stance against former President Donald Trump. She served as the Vice Chair of the Select Committee investigating the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill that became nothing more than a Democrat-led witch hunt against Trump.
With this move, UVA is now giving a leading Trump critic a platform to continue to espouse her brand of anti-Trumpism and the threat that the former president poses for democracy (in her mind). Cheney is on-record as being willing to do “whatever it takes” to prevent Trump from becoming the Republican presidential nominee in 2024 and has stated she will leave the GOP if that should occur.
