The University of Virginia president resigned from his position under pressure from the US Department of Justice. This promoted his departure in the scrutiny of school diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.
In an email sent to the university community on Friday and distributed to social media, university president James Ryan said he has resigned to protect the institution from facing government rage.
“I cannot make a one-sided decision to fight the federal government to save my work,” he wrote.
“Doing so would not only do it to hundreds of employees who lose their jobs, researchers who lose their funds, hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or withhold visas, but would also look selfish and self-centered.”
Ryan’s resignation was accepted by the board, two sources told The New York Times, but it first broke the story. It remains unclear exactly when he will leave his post.
His departure is the latest indication of continued tensions between President Donald Trump and the management of the academic community.
During his second term, President Trump has increasingly sought to attack diversity initiatives, promote the crackdown on Palestinian student protesters, and revamp higher education in sought reviews of employment and registration practices.
Ryan’s departure marks a new frontier with a campaign targeting Ivy League schools. Critics also say it shows a change in government rationale from ramp-prolonged anti-Semitism allegations on campus, and towards more aggressive policing of diversity initiatives.
Just a day ago, the Department of Justice announced it would look into another public school at the University of California for its use of diversity standards.
Ryan, who has been heading the University of Virginia since 2018, faced criticism for not paying attention to federal orders to eliminate DEI policies.
An anonymous source told The Associated Press that his removal was promoted by the Justice Department as a way to help resolve investigations targeting schools.
Ted Mitchell, chairman of the US Council of Education, called Ryan’s oustermination an example of the Trump administration, using “thuggery discourse instead of rational discourse.”
“This is a dark day for the University of Virginia, a dark day for higher education, and I promise the same thing,” Mitchell said. “It’s clear that the administration is not in place and we use all the tools we can create or invent to demonstrate our will rather than higher education.”
Virginia’s democratic senators respond
In a joint statement, Democrats, a Virginia senator, said the Trump administration was “outrageous for demanding Ryan resignation against the trap of the “culture war.”
“This is a mistake that will hurt Virginia’s future,” said Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kane.
After campaigning on a promise to end “love” in education, Trump signed an executive order in January to end federal funds that support educational institutions with DEI programming.
He accused the school of inculcating “radical anti-American ideological children” without their parents’ permission.
The Department of Education has since launched a survey of dozens of universities, claiming that diversity initiatives discriminate against white and Asian American students.
The responses from the school are scattered. Some people have closed their DEI offices, ended their diversity scholarships and no longer require a diversity statement as part of the employment process. Still, others are firmly committed to diversity policies.
The University of Virginia was a flashpoint after conservative critics accused the DEI initiative of simply renaming it. The school’s governing body voted to close the DEI office in March, ending its diversity policy in admissions, employment, financial aid and other areas.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin celebrated the action and declared “Day is taking place at the University of Virginia.”
But America First Legal, a conservative group founded by Trump aide Stephen Miller, said Day only took a different form at school. In a May letter to the Department of Justice, the group said the university had “chosen to rename, repackage and redeploy the same illegal infrastructure under the dictionary of e-music representations.”
The group set a direct target on Ryan, noting that he joined hundreds of other university presidents in signing an official statement denounced “overreach and political interference” in the Trump administration.
On Friday, the group said it would use all the tools available to root what is called a discriminatory system.
“The developments this week are clear. Public universities accepting federal funds do not have a license to violate the constitution,” said Megan Redshaw, the group’s lawyer, in a statement. “They cannot impose ideological loyalty tests, enforce race- or gender-based preferences, or rebel against legal enforcement.”
Previously, the White House has been mostly focused on Harvard University and other elite institutions that Trump considers as a liberal fortress.
Harvard lost more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants in the fight against the government. This also threatened the school attempted to block hosts of international students and revoke their tax-free status.
Harvard University and its $53 billion donations are uniquely positioned to survive government financial pressures.
However, public universities are much more dependent on taxpayer money and could become more vulnerable. The University of Virginia’s $1 billion donation is one of the biggest for public universities, but the majority are far less.
