The president of the University of Virginia has resigned after facing pressure from the Justice Department over his institution’s alleged failure to DEI values, according to reports.
James Ryan submitted his resignation on Friday and posted an open letter on social media explaining the decision, saying he had made it “with a very heavy heart” and that, while he is “inclined to fight for what I believe in,” he could not “make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job.”
His departure from the school he has served since 2018 will be effective “no later than August 15,” The New York Times has since reported.
The NYT first reported that the administration was trying to force Ryan out of his role on Thursday, a saga that began earlier this year when members of the UVA board alleged that it was not in compliance with Trump’s January executive order banning organizations that receive federal funding from engaging in DEI hiring practices.
The UVA’s Board of Visitors voted unanimously to shut down its DEI offices in March but Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, went on to write to Ryan on April 28 notifying him about the complaints regarding his leadership.
That was followed by another letter on June 17 that warned the administrator: “Time is running short, and the department’s patience is wearing thin.”
Ryan’s resignation letter last week made clear that he felt he faced an ultimatum: step down or cost the university millions of dollars in vital support.
“While there are very important principles at play here, I would at a very practical level be fighting to keep my job for one more year while knowingly and willingly sacrificing others in this community,” he wrote.
Dhillon, who happens to be an alumna of the UVA School of Law, responded to his ousting by saying: “The United States Department of Justice has a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal discrimination in publicly-funded universities. We have made this clear in many ways to the nation’s most prominent institutions of higher education, including the University of Virginia.
“When university leaders lack commitment to ending illegal discrimination in hiring, admissions, and student benefits – they expose the institutions they lead to legal and financial peril. We welcome leadership changes in higher education that signal institutional commitment to our nation’s venerable federal civil rights laws.”
A spokesperson for the university said: “UVA is committed to complying with all federal laws and has been cooperating with the Department of Justice in the ongoing inquiries. The federal government’s support of the university is essential to continue the core mission of research, education and clinical care.”
Two of the state’s Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, have since leapt to Ryan’s defense, declaring in a joint statement: “It is outrageous that officials in the Trump Department of Justice demanded the Commonwealth’s globally recognized university remove President Ryan – a strong leader who has served UVA honorably and moved the university forward – over ridiculous ‘culture war’ traps.
“Decisions about UVA’s leadership belong solely to its Board of Visitors, in keeping with Virginia’s well-established and respected system of higher education governance. This is a mistake that hurts Virginia’s future.”
Warner also spoke up for Ryan on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday morning, telling anchor Margaret Brennan: “This is the most outrageous action, I think, this crowd has taken on education.
“Jim Ryan had done a very good job; just completed a major capital campaign. For him to be threatened, and, literally, there was indication that they received the letter that if he didn’t resign on a day last week, by five o’clock, all these cuts would take place.”
The Trump administration has shown an appetite for taking on America’s elite Ivy League universities as centers of entitlement and liberal values, attacking both Harvard and Columbia in a very public manner, although its battle with UVA was conducted much more discreetly, a process enabled by internal conservative opposition to Ryan’s tenure.
Several members of UVA’s board were appointed by the state’s Republican governor Glenn Youngkin while the institution also has an outspoken right-leaning alumni organization known as the Jefferson Council, whose co-founder, Jim Bacon, has accused Ryan of “indoctrinating” students by championing social justice and diversity.
Ross Mugler, acting CEO and board chair of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, warned: “The situation at the University of Virginia represents a serious escalation in the political pressure campaign against higher education – and a clear signal that this fight is not confined to elite private institutions like Harvard or Columbia.
“What we’re seeing is a widening effort to reshape governance, leadership and institutional autonomy across the entire sector – including public universities that serve as civic anchors and engines of opportunity in their states.”
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