University of Virginia president resigns amid pressure from Trump admin over DEI initiatives

The President of the University of Virginia resigned on Friday after having faced intense pressure from the Trump administration on the initiatives of diversity, equity and inclusion of the institution.

James E. Ryan, who had managed the school since 2018, said that he had already decided that next year would be his last and decided not to “fight the federal government in order to save my own job” until then.

In short, I am inclined to fight for what I think, and I deeply believe in this university, “Ryan wrote to the UVA community on Friday.” But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job. This would not only be a quixotic, but seem 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 selected visas. “”

“This is particularly true because I had decided that next year would be the last, for reasons entirely distinct from this episode, including the fact that we have concluded our capital campaign and have implemented almost all the main initiatives of our strategic plan,” he continued.

Trump University Pressure

Robert D. Hardie, head of the Board of Directors of the University of Virginia, said in a statement that he had accepted Ryan’s resignation with “a deep sadness”, adding that he had been an “extraordinary president”, led the institution to “unprecedented heights” and that the university “was forever changed for the best due to Jim’s exceptional leadership”.

This occurs after the Trump administration has demanded in private that the University withdraws Ryan to help resolve an investigation by the Ministry of Justice on the institution’s practices, according to the New York Times.

The Ministry of Justice argued that Ryan had failed to dismantle the school’s dei programs and have distorted the measures taken to eliminate them, in the midst of administration efforts to eliminate Dei in higher education, the newspaper reported.

The measures of the federal government targeting higher education include the realization of billions of elite universities such as Harvard, which has been the subject of surveys of various agencies on issues such as DEI initiatives, admission practices and presumed anti -Semitism on campus.

But it was the first time that the administration in a hurry university To withdraw its president.

“This signaling of the simulated virtue of Dei has no place in our country, and the Trump administration works tirelessly to erase this dividing, backward and unjust practice of our company,” said White House spokesman Harrison Fields, in Fox News Digital.

“Any president of the university who willingly breaks federal laws on civil rights will be filled with all the strength of the federal government, and it would belong to each School of America to prioritize the civil rights of each student and put an end to Dei once and for all,” he continued.

James Ryan, who had managed the school since 2018, said he had already decided that next year would be his last. (AP)

Ryan had concentrated on increasing diversity at the university, calling on more first generation students and encouraging community service. These efforts had rocked the feathers of former conservatives and republican members of the board of directors who argued that it was “too awake” and wanted to impose its beliefs on students.

Before his post as president of the university, Ryan was dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he received his recognition for his commitment to the Dei programs.

In a joint statement, the Virginia Democratic senators said it was “scandalous” that the administration required Ryan’s resignation to the “traps” of the cultural war “.

“The decisions concerning the management of the UVA belong only to its board of directors, in accordance with the well established and respected system of the governance of higher education in Virginia,” said Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. “This is a mistake that harms Virginia’s future.”

The conservative groups castigated Ryan for what they consider insufficient stages towards compliance with the administration’s plans to eliminate Dei. America First Legal, a non -profit organization launched by Trump’s advisor, Stephen Miller, accused the University of Virginia last month of the Dei brand change programs to bypass Trump’s decrees aimed at ending diversity initiatives.

Harvard Kennedy School announces layoffs after Trump reduced billions of funding funds

The Trump administration had asked in private that the University withdraws Ryan to help resolve an investigation by the Ministry of Justice on the institution’s practices. (Ting Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“The change of mark of discrimination does not make it legal, and changing a label does not change the substance,” said Megan Redshaw, lawyer for America First Legal, in a statement at the time. “UVA use by the disinfected language and recycled employment securities is a deliberate attempt to bypass the law.”

The group directly targeted Ryan, noting that he had joined hundreds of other college presidents in the signing of a public declaration condemning the “excessive and political engineers” of the administration.

Friday, the group promised to continue using all the tools available to destroy Dei.

“This week’s developments clearly indicate: public universities that accept federal funds have no license to violate the Constitution,” Redshaw said in a statement to the Associated Press. “They cannot impose ideological loyalty tests, apply breed and sex preferences, or challenge legal executive authority.”