University of Virginia's First Vice Provost for Enrollment

Stephen Farmer’s appointment as vice provost of enrollment began January 1, 2021. Prior to his appointment, he was vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A graduate of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and a former senior assistant dean of admission, Farmer has returned to Grounds to oversee enrollment and student support strategies to provide an enhanced and cohesive enrollment experience for students during their time at UVA.

What are your thoughts about the importance of first-generation scholarships as a way to promote diversity at UVA?
Scholarships and need-conscious student aid strengthen both excellence and diversity. The two are fundamentally connected—two sides of the same coin—because great students from different walks of life make each other better. In this way, scholarships for students who’ll be the first in their families to graduate from college don’t just benefit their scholars; they enrich the experience of every student at UVA.

How does philanthropic support help you achieve your vision for the University of Virginia?
I’ll just say first that I see this support as a sign of how deeply people love this place and its people. I think you fall in love with a place because of its people. So, philanthropy helps me by reminding me, first of all, that students thrive in the moment—and stay connected later in life—when they trust and respect and care about one another; and second, when they feel the same from their professors and others who help them find their way.

I think students need this sense of community more than ever, given all that’s happened in their lives and in the world. They need to live alongside great- and good-hearted classmates who see the best in one another and want the best for one another. They need professors who inspire them to think deeply and critically and who care about them as people. They need counselors, coaches, mentors, and advisers who can help them be their best. Many need financial support—but again, those who don’t need that kind of assistance benefit from being around those who do.

None of this can happen—none of it—without the generosity of people who love this place.

What do the University’s supporters of scholarships and diversity tell you about their passion for increasing students’ opportunities?
The friends I’ve talked with so far have had different reasons for supporting our students. Some are themselves first-generation and want to help students from similar backgrounds. Others are inspired by the sacrifices and the hard work of parents who came from modest means. And still others just believe that the doors of opportunity should swing open as widely as possible, especially at a public university that focuses on developing citizen leaders, and one that’s both great and good.

One common theme I’ve heard is that supporting scholarships and diversity is a profoundly personal matter for these good people. Another is that the experience of supporting these causes is deeply rewarding, even joyful. I don’t think our friends are giving because they’re expecting rewards or joy, but it seems clear to me that these gifts are being returned to them.

Where is your favorite place on Grounds and is it the same as when you were a student here?
It’s easy to pick my least favorite place when I was a student: any of the un-air-conditioned carrels in Alderman Library. To be fair, the carrels would probably say that I was their least favorite student.

My favorite place was probably the Old Cabell Hall auditorium. Once I stopped being a student and started working in the Office of Admission, my favorite place became the garden behind Pavilion II, because that’s where my wife Susan and I almost proposed to each other about a hundred times.

Right now, I’m so happy to be back that almost every place is my favorite.

Despite COVID restrictions, have you had a chance to talk to students and alumni about their experiences? If so, what have you heard that has been helpful to you in your new role?
I’ve been lucky to have the chance to talk with students and alumni despite the pandemic; I wish I could’ve met more face-to-face instead of on Zoom, but better days are coming, and I’m grateful for the time I’ve had. What I’ve heard from students is that they feel grateful for their classmates—their brilliance, their kindness, their willingness to lead and serve. Interestingly, I think I’ve heard the same thing from alumni.

That’s helpful to me for two reasons. First, it tells me that there’s something good and true about this place that connects us within and across the generations. And second, it tells me that this something is the community that we’ve created, and continue to create, as we strive for excellence together.

As we search for the next generation of citizen leaders, and as we do our best to care for them and help them find their way, these are good things for us to remember.