CHARLOTTESVILLE 鈥 Democratic lawmakers responded with shock and outrage Friday afternoon to the resignation of Jim Ryan, president of the University of Virginia, following months of pressure from the administration of President Donald Trump. The Department of Justice鈥檚 ability to force a college president鈥檚 resignation represents a troubling level of interference, they said.
鈥淚鈥檓 extremely disturbed,鈥 said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. 鈥淭his is a level of federal overreach and micromanagement of Virginia higher education.鈥
Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said that Trump鈥檚 micromanaging of the operations of Virginia colleges would not be tolerated by the Virginia Senate.
鈥淛im Ryan has been an incredible leader of UVa,鈥 Surovell added.
But members of the Justice Department felt Ryan had too slowly responded to a Trump directive to eliminate DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion, from college campuses. The department demanded Ryan鈥檚 resignation in order to settle a civil rights investigation, The New York Times reported.
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Some conservatives have expressed concern over the direction the university has taken since Ryan was hired in 2018. The right-wing Jefferson Council called for his resignation in May, saying the president ignored a scandal that resulted in the resignation of the CEO of UVa Health System and mishandled the investigation of the 2022 shooting that resulted in the deaths of three football players at the school. The group also accused Ryan of instituting a political agenda under the guise of DEI that undermined the free exchange of ideas.
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan speaks to a crowd in the Rotunda.
The Jefferson Council called Ryan鈥檚 tenure 鈥渁n unprecedented series of tragedies, scandals and government investigations鈥 that damaged the university鈥檚 reputation.
In a statement, Gov. Glenn Youngkin thanked Ryan for his work and expressed confidence in the UVa board鈥檚 ability to appoint an interim president and start a national search for a permanent replacement.
Virginia鈥檚 Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger, an alumna of UVa, said the Trump administration鈥檚 push for Ryan鈥檚 resignation is 鈥渁 clear infringement upon academic freedom and should concern every Virginian and American.鈥
The campaign for Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP nominee for governor, has yet to respond to requests for comment.
Some schools have opted to follow Trump鈥檚 directive to stamp out DEI 鈥 Virginia Commonwealth University shuttered its DEI office and removed employees with DEI-focused jobs. Universities that objected, including Harvard University, risk losing federal funding to perform research. Kaine said he believed the federal government had frozen about $400 million in funding to UVa.
Had Ryan stayed in his position, hundreds of employees would have lost their jobs, researchers would have lost their funding and students could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld, Ryan said in a letter to the community Friday.
Though federal officials accused Ryan of not disassembling DEI offices fast enough, Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said he believed UVa had fully complied with the law and Trump鈥檚 executive order. A 2023 ruling by the Supreme Court forced colleges to abandon affirmative action and to no longer include a student鈥檚 race as a factor for admission. UVa had taken steps to address racial bias, Tobias said.
鈥淭homas Jefferson would be appalled,鈥 said Siva Vaidhyanathan, a professor of media studies at UVa, referencing the university鈥檚 founder. 鈥淭he Trump administration and Republicans running states all over the country are waging a campaign to control what happens in the classroom and what happens in research. To do that, they鈥檙e sending shockwaves of fear through university communities.鈥
John Reid, Virginia鈥檚 Republican nominee for lieutenant governor and a longtime critic of Ryan, said Friday: 鈥淕ood riddance to him and DEI.鈥 But Reid鈥檚 Democratic opponent, Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, called Ryan鈥檚 resignation 鈥渁 deeply troubling escalation in the partisan campaign against higher education.鈥
UVa鈥檚 board of visitors oversees the president and will be charged with finding Ryan鈥檚 replacement. It is unclear when Ryan鈥檚 resignation will take effect and what the board will do to fill his position. Each year, the governor appoints the board鈥檚 members, and a majority of the board was appointed by Youngkin.
Kaine said that UVa鈥檚 board likely did not support Ryan. If they had, the president may have been more willing to stay and face headwinds of the federal government. Kaine criticized the officials within the state that allowed Ryan鈥檚 resignation to occur.
UVa鈥檚 head academic official, or provost, who is sometimes considered a university鈥檚 No. 2 official, is not filled by a permanent employee. Ian Baucom, who had been UVa鈥檚 provost, left in March to become president of Middlebury College in Vermont.
Ryan is not the first UVa president to leave under pressure. In 2012, the head of the university鈥檚 board amid financial pressures facing higher education. But UVa鈥檚 community rallied around her, and 16 days later, the board reinstated her.
