UVA president resigns
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University of Virginia President James E. Ryan announced his resignation Friday, a swift response to calls from the Trump administration to step down amid the Justice Department’s probe into the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
“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,” Ryan said in an email sent to UVA community members, which was shared with POLITICO.
The New York Times reported Thursday night that the Trump administration had been communicating privately with university officials to encourage Ryan’s departure, threatening the loss of millions of dollars of federal funding allocated to the university.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/27/university-of-virginia-president-trump-00429669
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This continues the sickening politicization of public higher education. This couldn't have happened without a MAGA governor appointing foot soldiers to the board who would not back a centrist president, even one who they cheered when he cleared the campus of encampments last year.
I'm pushing publicly for the next governor (Spanberger, I hope) to begin the process of depoliticizing higher education by reducing the governor's role in selecting the boards and moving toward the system of self-replication that private institutions use. But that can't happen until she clear out the MAGA toads currently in place. Then try to pass a Constitutional amendment limiting the power of the government to control institutions that they do not currently fund. Right now, UVA gets maybe 11% of its revenues from the public and 89% from tuition and private resources. Yet the governor controls all. W&M is right behind at 14%. We should have more of a say in how we are governed since we are substantially private already in our funding sources.
