The president of the University of Virginia resigned on Friday under pressure from the Trump administration over the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In a letter to the head of UVA’s board of visitors, which governs the university, James Ryan said that “with deep sadness” he had decided to quit, the New York Times reported.
“Given the circumstances and today’s conversations,” Ryan wrote that he could leave effective immediately but “no later than Aug. 15, 2025.”
Ryan and UVA have been under fire from the U.S. Department of Justice over an investigation into whether its diversity programs violate civil rights law. Officials in the Justice Department had reportedly threatened to strip the school of federal funding, as they have done at Harvard University. (JNS sought comment from UVA.)
The resignation follows nationwide efforts by the Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies to pursue colleges and universities they allege have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.
The Trump administration alleges that dozens of universities are in violation of the act, either for permitting a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students or for continuing to illegally implement affirmative action policies in violation of a pair of landmark 2023 Supreme Court cases outlawing the practice.
