UVA’s James Ryan resigns amid Trump administration demands to axe diversity programmes
In a bombshell departure that has shaken the world of higher education, University of Virginia President James Ryan has resigned under mounting pressure from the Trump administration, which accused him of defying federal orders to dismantle the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
“I am inclined to fight for what I believe in,” Ryan said in a statement. “But I cannot fight the federal government just to save my job.”
Ryan, who has led UVA since 2018, said the decision came with a “very heavy heart.” He had already planned to step down next year, but admitted that staying now would amount to “knowingly and willingly sacrificing this community.”
The resignation is the most dramatic fallout yet in Trump’s war on “wokeness” in education. Until now, the president’s administration had focused on elite private universities like Harvard, but UVA’s case signals a bold new step: taking control of a flagship public university — and sending a warning to others.
According to insiders, the Justice Department lost faith in Ryan’s ability to enforce the White House’s January executive order to eliminate all DEI programs. In a CNN interview, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon didn’t mince words: “We significantly lacked confidence in his leadership.”
The Justice Department’s pressure campaign found its moment when conservative watchdog America First Legal, founded by Trump adviser Stephen Miller, accused UVA of “repackaging and renaming” DEI efforts instead of scrapping them. The group demanded Ryan be held accountable.
By Friday, Ryan was out.
The resignation sparked outrage from education leaders. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, called it “a dark day for higher education,” accusing the Trump administration of replacing dialogue with “thuggery.”
Virginia’s Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, also slammed the move, calling it “a mistake that hurts Virginia’s future.”
But Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, a longtime critic of DEI, cheered the change. In March, UVA’s governing board — backed by Youngkin — voted to shut down its DEI office and end diversity-based policies in admissions, hiring, and aid. “DEI is done at the University of Virginia,” the governor declared.
Ryan had been a visible opponent of Trump’s educational agenda. He joined hundreds of university presidents in signing a statement opposing political interference in academia — a stance that may have sealed his fate.
Despite stepping down, Ryan’s supporters say he leaves behind a powerful legacy. A former dean at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and a law professor at UVA, Ryan oversaw a surge in faculty diversity and academic excellence during his tenure.
The political firestorm engulfing UVA mirrors the ongoing clampdown on universities nationwide. Since Trump’s return to office, the administration has launched DEI probes at dozens of schools, slashed Harvard’s federal research grants by $2.6 billion, and even threatened to revoke Ivy League tax breaks.
But public universities, dependent on federal dollars, may be even more vulnerable. UVA’s endowment stands at $10 billion, a strong cushion — but nowhere near Harvard’s $53 billion war chest.
As the second Trump term intensifies its grip on academia, critics fear Ryan’s departure is just the start. Said one legal observer: “No university is safe from this campaign of ideological cleansing.”
Whether other institutions resist or fall in line remains to be seen. For now, Ryan exits with quiet dignity — and an unspoken warning to those who would follow in his footsteps.
