UPDATE: University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration
After a much publicized feud with Harvard University, The New York Times reported on June 26, 2025, that Trump has no turned his attention to the University of Virginia.
UPDATE: University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration
The Trump administration doubled down on it's war against higher education and DEI taking aim at (and now succeeding with UVA). Thomas Jefferson would not be pleased
Original post:
After a much publicized feud with Harvard University, The New York Times reported on June 26, 2025, that Trump has no turned his attention to the University just over Afton Mountain, pressuring the University of Virginia's President, James E. Ryan, to resign. (Gift Link)
What's happening at UVA
According to the article, the Trump administration has escalated its campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in higher education by privately demanding that the University of Virginia remove President James E. Ryan to resolve a Justice Department investigation into the school's DEI practices.
Justice Department officials have told UVA that hundreds of millions in federal funding are at risk due to what they claim is the university's violation of civil rights law through its diversity programs. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gregory Brown, a UVA graduate who previously sued the school as a private lawyer, has repeatedly told university officials over the past month that Ryan must be removed for investigation resolution talks to begin.
This pressure campaign stems from Trump's executive order targeting DEI practices across federal agencies, educational institutions, and private companies. The administration has already stripped billions from elite universities, with Harvard facing investigations from at least six federal agencies. However, this marks the first time the administration has demanded a university president's removal.
To his credit, Ryan, hired in 2018 as UVA's ninth president, has focused on increasing diversity, supporting first-generation students, and promoting community service—an approach he says will make the university "both great and good." His leadership style has drawn criticism from conservative alumni and Republican board members who view him as "too woke."
Of course his appointment came in the wake of the 2017 racist rally in Charlottesville to took the life of Heather Heyer.
This is just part of a broader pattern that reflects the Trump administration's broader assault on higher education, driven partly by advisor Stephen Miller. Conservative group America First Legal, founded by Miller, has accused UVA of merely rebranding its DEI programs rather than eliminating them, calling for DOJ accountability measures.
The administration has also used similar tactics elsewhere, forcing Harvard Law Review editors to withdraw a reprimand against a student who violated privacy policies by downloading internal documents. That student, Daniel Wasserman, now works in the White House for Miller.
Non in cautus futuri.
