Board member Marvin Gilliam asked that she keep him updated “on your conversations with others and what consensus or conflict may be emerging.”

She replied: “Things are going well so far — some surprise but no real disagreement over the core issues.”

What Dragas heard after the crisis was far more impassioned.

The mother of a first-year student praised the ouster, saying that it was unlikely Sullivan “truly understood the South, the revered traditions of U.Va. nor how to discern what to keep stable and what to change in moving the institution forward.”

But the criticism grew sharp and unforgiving. Many asked Dragas to resign.

Dragas’s attempt to oust Sullivan and her campaign to make it stick ultimately failed. The board unanimously reinstated Sullivan on June 26. Dragas also stayed. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) reappointed her on June 29 to another four-year term.

In her Wednesday response, Dragas said, “Some people strongly and sincerely disagreed with the Board’s decision and I respect their view.”