President Donald Trump successfully extracted the resignation of the University of Virginia’s president after the Department of Justice said he refused to shut down the college’s DEI programs.
In his resignation letter sent out Friday, James E. Ryan told students and administrators that he ‘is inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University. But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job.’
This marks the first time the Trump administration has been able to force out a university president in its war against higher education institutions, particularly Harvard and Columbia.
Trump has already taken away upwards of $3 billion in federal funding from Harvard over its refusal to enact major reforms to its curriculum and policies around admitting foreign students, among other things.
Staring down similar threats from the federal government, it appears Ryan buckled under the pressure and retired early, as he was already planning on stepping down in the next academic year.
To not resign ‘would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld,’ Ryan said.
The reaction to his resignation was swift, with faculty leadership holding a meeting to oppose the decision.
Hundreds of students and faculty also gathered for an impromptu protest on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville.
They marched to Carr’s Hill, the college president’s residence, and shouted slogans while holding signs, The New York Times reported.
Ryan emerged from his home a few minutes after the crowd began chanting ‘We want Jim,’ and ‘Death to tyrants,’ a rough translation of the state motto, sic semper tyrannis.
‘I appreciate you being here. I appreciate your support,’ Ryan said. ‘And regardless of my role, I will continue to do whatever I can to support this place and continue to make it the best place it can be. And I would ask that you all do the same.’
The New York Times first reported on Thursday that the Trump administration had privately demanded Ryan’s ouster as one condition to settle a Department of Justice investigation into the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
On Thursday, Ryan sent a letter to the university board that he would be stepping down ‘with deep sadness,’ according to a source briefed on the letter.
His departure date is not set, but it’s expected to be no later than August 15.
Harmeet K. Dhillon has overseen the DOJ investigation as part of her role as assistant attorney general for civil rights. She welcomed Ryan’s departure.
‘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,’ Dillon said in a statement.
The DOJ has been looking into the University of Virginia for at least a month.
However, investigators sent a letter to university administrators on June 17 saying they were aware of multiple complaints of race-based discrimination.
The government also concluded in that letter that the university’s alleged use of race-based admissions was a widespread practice ‘throughout every component and facet of the institution.’
‘Time is running short, and the department’s patience is wearing thin,’ the letter said.
Some members of the university board were actually in favor of Ryan stepping aside, The Times reported, fearing that Trump would strip hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds.
The university received at least $355 million in federal research grants in 2023, according to data compiled by The Times.
Board members also expressed concerns that the school had not properly dismantled DEI initiatives under Ryan.
They feared that this inaction was in violation of a 2023 Supreme Court decision that banned affirmative action and Trump’s executive order demanding DEI programs be gotten rid of.