University of Virginia president resigns amid pressure from the Trump administration

By Betsy Klein, Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — University of Virginia president James Ryan announced his resignation Friday amid pressure from the US Department of Justice to dismantle the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Ryan – who had been serving as the university’s ninth president since 2018 – said he is resigning “with a very heavy heart” in a letter to the university community, adding it was an “excruciatingly difficult decision.” He cited the university’s battle with the Trump administration and the fear of losing federal funding that would have far-reaching impacts.

“To make a long story short, I am 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,” he said. “To do so 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.”

It was not immediately clear when the resignation would take effect.

Ryan’s departure comes as the Trump administration has taken aggressive aim at federal funding for higher education institutions – a battle over campus oversight, academic freedom and political ideology – and issued sweeping executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government, at universities, private companies, and other areas.

The New York Times was first to report Ryan’s resignation and the significant pressure he was facing from the Department of Justice, as well as conservative groups.

The Justice Department has been reviewing the university’s compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bans any institution receiving federal funds from discriminating based on race, color and national origin.

The DOJ told CNN Friday it welcomes “leadership changes in higher education that signal institutional commitment to our nation’s venerable federal civil rights laws.”

UVA was sent letters three months ago asking them to confirm they were compliant with a ban on affirmative action, but university officials repeatedly asked for extensions and have not yet provided the confirmation, Harmeet Dhillon, DOJ assistant attorney general for civil rights, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Friday.

Dhillon had expressed a lack of confidence in Ryan being able to dismantle DEI to university leaders, she told CNN.

“Jim Ryan has built his entire career on what was the academic vogue which is DEI. Now it isn’t,” she said. “So I think it is time for new leadership that’s willing to comply with federal law.”

In March, the university’s Board of Visitors unanimously voted to scrap its Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships, according to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office.

But the university’s actions didn’t go far enough for the Justice Department and some conservative groups. Dhillon said the university began “using a series of euphemisms to simply rebrand and repackage the exact same discriminatory programs that are illegal under federal law.”

CNN has reached out to the University of Virginia and White House for comment.

University of Virginia Rector Robert Hardie said it was with “profound sadness” that he accepted Ryan’s resignation Friday on behalf of the university board. Hardie called Ryan an “extraordinary president” whose “exceptional leadership” has shaped the university for the better.

“He has led our institution to unprecedented heights, always doing so with grace and humility,” Hardie said in a statement. “I know I speak for our students, alumni, faculty, and staff when I express my heartfelt gratitude for Jim’s tireless service to our University, especially for the ways he has guided the institution steadily and with great purpose, even in the face of major challenges like a global pandemic.”

The lead-up to Ryan’s resignation

America First Legal, a Trump-aligned group started by the president’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, alleged UVA was in violation of federal law in a May 21 letter to the Department of Justice.

“The University is operating programs based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, and other impermissible, immutable characteristics under the pretext of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’) in open defiance of federal civil rights law, controlling Supreme Court precedent, and Executive Orders issued by President Donald Trump,” Megan Redshaw, America First Legal’s counsel, said in the letter.

On Friday, Redshaw praised Ryan’s resignation in a statement, saying the outcome “sends a clear message – universities cannot circumvent the law to pursue discriminatory agendas.”

If the university doesn’t comply with the DOJ’s demands, “there’s a lot of money on the line,” Dhillon told CNN.

“The United States Department of Justice has a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal discrimination in publicly-funded universities. We have made this clear in many ways to the nation’s most prominent institutions of higher education, including the University of Virginia,” she said in a statement.

The University of Virginia is one of countless institutions across the US being targeted by the administration over DEI programs.

President Donald Trump has been making good on a key campaign promise in his second term as he eliminated programs to boost opportunities for marginalized communities. The Trump administration contends that DEI “creates and then amplifies prejudicial hostility and exacerbates interpersonal conflict.”

After Trump issued a series of expansive executive orders banning DEI programs, the Department of Education in February threatened the federal funding of any academic institution engaging in DEI initiatives, which prompted many to scrub DEI mentions from websites, shutter programs and some to lose scholarship funding.

Proponents of DEI have criticized the moves, saying many DEI initiatives are beneficial. Studies have shown college students exposed to more diversity have greater levels of cultural awareness and political participation.

Like Trump, Gov. Youngkin has worked to dismantle DEI in the commonwealth, issuing an executive order eliminating DEI programs at the Virginia Department of Education.

“I thank President Ryan for his service and his hard work on behalf of the University of Virginia,” the governor said in a statement Friday. “The Board of Visitors has my complete confidence as they swiftly appoint a strong interim steward, and undertake the national search for a transformational leader that can take Mr. Jefferson’s university into the next decade and beyond.”

Backlash from politicians and university community

The push for Ryan to resign drew backlash from both political leaders and the university community.

On Friday, protesters gathered at the campus, waving flags and voicing their disapproval of the administration. When Ryan walked up to the protest area, the protesters applauded him and chanted “We love Jim.”

“I really appreciate this,” Ryan told protesters, who responded that they appreciate and love him. “You all are the people who make this place great and good and it has been a total honor to be a part of this place. I love the University of Virginia deeply and it’s because of all of you.”

Ryan promised the crowd he will “continue to do whatever I can to support this place and continue to make it the best place it can be.”

Protester Paul Given told CNN that many speakers at the demonstration Friday emphasized this move is “an overstep” by the DOJ.

US Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine, both Democrats representing Virginia, also criticized the Justice Department for pressuring Ryan to step down and said the state’s prosperity depends on “the strength and integrity of our higher education system.”

“It is outrageous that officials in the Trump Department of Justice demanded the Commonwealth’s globally recognized university remove President Ryan—a strong leader who has served UVA honorably and moved the university forward—over ridiculous ‘culture war’ traps,” the senators said in a joint statement Friday.

The senators added that any decisions about university leadership belong only to its Board of Visitors, in keeping with Virginia’s system of higher education governance.

“This is a mistake that hurts Virginia’s future,” the senators said.

This story has been updated with additional information

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CNN’s Julianna Bragg and Emma Tucker contributed to this report.