University of Virginia president, pressured over DEI, resigns rather
than 'fight federal government'
[June 28, 2025]
By ERIC TUCKER and COLLIN BINKLEY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the University of Virginia, facing
heavy pressure from conservative critics and the Trump administration
over the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices, announced
Friday that he was resigning rather than “fight the federal government.”
The departure of James Ryan, who had led the school since 2018,
represents a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration’s effort to
reshape higher education. Doing it at a public university marks a new
frontier in a campaign that has almost exclusively targeted Ivy League
schools. It also widens the rationale behind the government’s aggressive
tactics, focusing on DEI rather than alleged tolerance of antisemitism.
Ryan had faced conservative criticism that he failed to heed federal
orders to eliminate DEI policies, and his removal was pushed for by the
Justice Department as it investigated the school, according to a person
who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on
condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
Ryan referenced the Trump administration pressure in a statement to the
university community Friday in which he said he had submitted his
resignation with a “very heavy heart.”
“To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe
in, and I believe deeply in this University,” he said. “But I cannot
make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to
save my job.”
Ryan had already decided that next year would be his last, he said, and
remaining in his position until then would be “knowingly and willingly
sacrificing this community.”
The New York Times first reported on the resignation and the Justice
Department’s insistence on it.
In a CNN appearance Friday, the Justice Department's assistant attorney
general for civil rights denied that Ryan's removal was an explicit
demand but said the agency “significantly lacked confidence” in his
leadership. “I don’t have any confidence that he was going to be willing
and able to preside over the dismantling of DEI,” Harmeet Dhillon said.
Ryan’s removal is another example of the Trump administration using
“thuggery instead of rational discourse,” said Ted Mitchell, president
of the American Council on Education, which represents university
presidents.
“This is a dark day for the University of Virginia, a dark day for
higher education, and it promises more of the same,” Mitchell said.
“It’s clear the administration is not done and will use every tool that
it can make or invent to exert its will over higher education.”
Virginia's Democratic senators react
In a joint statement, Virginia’s Democratic senators said it was
outrageous that the Trump administration would demand Ryan’s resignation
over “‘culture war’ traps.” “This is a mistake that hurts Virginia’s
future,” Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine said.
After campaigning on a promise to end “wokeness” in education, Trump
signed a January action ordering the elimination of DEI programs
nationwide. The Education Department has opened investigations into
dozens of colleges, arguing that diversity initiatives discriminate
against white and Asian American students.
The response from schools has been scattered. Some have closed DEI
offices, ended diversity scholarships and no longer require diversity
statements as part of the hiring process. Some others have rebranded DEI
work under other names, while some have held firm on diversity policies.
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University of Virginia president, James Ryan speaks during a press
conference at the school, Dec 13, 2021, in Charlottesville, Va. (AP
Photo/Steve Helber, File)
The University of Virginia became a flashpoint after conservative
critics accused it of simply renaming its DEI initiatives. The
school’s governing body voted to shutter the DEI office in March and
end diversity policies in admissions, hiring, financial aid and
other areas. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin celebrated the action,
declaring that “DEI is done at the University of Virginia.”
Among those drawing attention to the Charlottesville campus was
America First Legal, a conservative group founded by Trump aide
Stephen Miller. In a May letter to the Justice Department, the group
said the university failed to dismantle DEI programs and chose to
“rename, repackage, and redeploy the same unlawful infrastructure
under a lexicon of euphemisms.”
The group directly took aim at Ryan, noting that he joined hundreds
of other college presidents in signing a public statement condemning
the “overreach and political interference” of the Trump
administration.
On Friday, the group said it will continue to use every available
tool to root out what it has called discriminatory systems.
“This week's developments make clear: public universities that
accept federal funds do not have a license to violate the
Constitution,” Megan Redshaw, an attorney at the group, said in a
statement. “They do not get to impose ideological loyalty tests,
enforce race and sex-based preferences, or defy lawful executive
authority."
Ryan has been leading the school since 2018
Ryan was hired to lead the University of Virginia in 2018 and
previously served as the dean of Harvard University’s Graduate
School of Education. Earlier in his career he spent more than a
decade as a law professor at the University of Virginia. A biography
on Harvard’s website credits Ryan with increasing the “size,
strength and diversity” of the faculty, adding that building a
diverse community was a priority.
Robert D. Hardie, leader of the University of Virginia's governing
board, said he accepted Ryan's resignation with “profound sadness,”
adding that the university “has forever been changed for the better
as a result of Jim’s exceptional leadership.”
Until now, the White House had directed most of its attention at
Harvard University and other elite institutions that Trump sees as
bastions of liberalism. Harvard has lost more than $2.6 billion in
federal research grants amid its battle with the government, which
has also attempted to block the school from hosting foreign students
and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status.
Harvard and its $53 billion endowment are uniquely positioned to
weather the government’s financial pressure. Public universities,
however, are far more dependent on taxpayer money and could be more
vulnerable. The University of Virginia’s $10 billion endowment is
among the largest for public universities, while the vast majority
have far less.
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