College of Virginia President James Ryan introduced his resignation, amid strain from the Trump administration to finish the varsity’s variety, fairness, and inclusion practices.
In a letter addressed to the pinnacle of the college board on Thursday, Ryan stated his resignation could be efficient no later than Aug. 15, The New York Times reported.
In one other letter, addressed to the college neighborhood on Friday, Ryan shared his causes for stepping down.
“I’m writing, with a really heavy coronary heart, to let you understand that I’ve submitted my resignation as President of the College of Virginia,” Ryan stated.
“To make an extended story brief, I’m inclined to combat for what I imagine in, and I imagine deeply on this College. However I can not make a unilateral determination to combat the federal government so as to save my very own job.
“To take action wouldn’t solely be quixotic however seem egocentric and self-centered to the tons of of workers who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the tons of of scholars who might lose monetary help or have their visas withheld,” he wrote.
— Jim Ryan (@presjimryan) June 27, 2025
Ryan added that he had already deliberate on stepping down in 2026 for “solely separate” causes.
In an April 28 letter addressed to Ryan, the Division of Justice urged Ryan to take motion.
The DOJ had received complaints that the varsity was not complying with President Donald Trump’s government orders dismantling discriminatory DEI practices.
“Time is operating brief, and the division’s persistence is sporting skinny,” learn one other DOJ letter dated June 17, signed by Harmeet Ok. Dhillon, the pinnacle of the Justice Division’s civil rights division.
The DOJ later introduced it was launching an investigation of the varsity.
In keeping with one other New York Instances report revealed Thursday, the DOJ had additionally demanded that Ryan step down to assist resolve the college’s DEI problem.
BREAKING: College of Virginia president resigns after Trump admin pressured him over pro-DEI insurance policies.
It’s notably a public college, which is completely different because the marketing campaign’s virtually solely focused Ivy League colleges up till now, in accordance with AP.
James Ryan had led the… pic.twitter.com/6DdYBwoWru
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) June 27, 2025
Ryan had served as president of the varsity since 2018, in accordance with the UVA website.
Beforehand, the Trump administration had virtually solely focused Ivy League colleges like Harvard and Columbia.
UVA, a public college, marks a shift within the administration’s struggle on DEI, the Associated Press reported.
This text appeared initially on The Western Journal.
