{"id":2453375,"date":"2025-06-28T17:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T21:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/university-president-quits-as-doj-pressure-mounts-amid-dei-investigation\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T17:43:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T21:43:25","slug":"university-president-quits-as-doj-pressure-mounts-amid-dei-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/university-president-quits-as-doj-pressure-mounts-amid-dei-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"University President Quits as DOJ Pressure Mounts Amid DEI Investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Funiversity-president-quits-as-doj-pressure-mounts-amid-dei-investigation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2453375&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>James Ryan, the President of the University of Virginia, announced his resignation effective by August 15 due to pressure from the Trump administration regarding the university&#8217;s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. In his resignation letter, he expressed a heavy heart but emphasized that he could not fight the federal government to retain his position without considering the broader implications for employees, researchers, and students who might <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/over-1k-migrants-released-daily-into-mcallen-texas\/\" title=\"Over 1K migrants released daily into McAllen, Texas\">face job loss<\/a> or funding issues. Ryan had already planned to step down in 2026 for unrelated reasons. The Department of Justice had previously urged him to comply with directives to dismantle certain DEI practices, linking his resignation to the ongoing investigation into the university&#8217;s compliance with federal mandates. His departure marks a importent change in the administration&#8217;s approach toward public universities in its campaign against DEI initiatives.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>University of Virginia President James Ryan announced his resignation, amid pressure from the Trump administration to end the school&rsquo;s diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter addressed to the head of the university board on Thursday, Ryan said his resignation would be effective no later than Aug. 15, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/27\/us\/politics\/uva-president-resigns-jim-ryan-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>In another letter, addressed to the university community on Friday, Ryan d his reasons for stepping down.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am writing, with a very heavy heart, to let you know that I have submitted my resignation as President of the University of Virginia,&rdquo; Ryan said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To make a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >long story short<\/a>, 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/federal-grand-jury-delivers-major-blow-adult-illegal-alien-pretended-teen-attended-high-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">federal government<\/a> in order to save my own job.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"zxx\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/038ISgPP3Z\">pic.twitter.com\/038ISgPP3Z<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jim Ryan (@presjimryan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/presjimryan\/status\/1938726983346856228?\">June 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ryan added that he had already planned on stepping down in 2026 for &ldquo;entirely separate&rdquo; reasons.<\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/6679ae6d3fe149762c96d86c\/t\/681162587771614f8860cd3a\/1745969753308\/DOJ+April+28+UVA.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 28 letter<\/a> addressed to Ryan, the Department of Justice urged Ryan to take action.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/doj-opens-civil-rights-investigation-us-university-dei-framework\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">had received complaints<\/a> that the school was not complying with President Donald Trump&rsquo;s executive orders dismantling discriminatory DEI practices.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Time is running short, and the department&rsquo;s patience is wearing thin,&rdquo; read another DOJ letter dated June 17, signed by Harmeet K. Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-choice-to-lead-dojs-civil-rights-division-melanin-endows-blacks-with-greater-mental-physical-and-spiritual-abilities-video\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Choice to Lead DOJ\u2019s Civil Rights Division: \u201cMelanin Endows Blacks with Greater Mental, Physical and Spiritual Abilities\u201d (VIDEO)\">civil rights division<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ later announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/doj-opens-civil-rights-investigation-us-university-dei-framework\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it was launching an investigation<\/a> of the school.<\/p>\n<p>According to another New York Times report published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/26\/us\/politics\/university-of-virginia-president-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thursday<\/a>, the DOJ had also demanded that Ryan step down to help resolve the university&rsquo;s DEI issue.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREAKING: University of Virginia president resigns after Trump admin pressured him over pro-DEI policies.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s notably a public university, which is different as the campaign&rsquo;s almost exclusively targeted Ivy League schools up until now, according to AP.<\/p>\n<p>James Ryan had led the&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6DdYBwoWru\">pic.twitter.com\/6DdYBwoWru<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ResisttheMS\/status\/1938685408512180488?\">June 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ryan had served as president of the school since 2018, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/president.virginia.edu\/about-president\/curriculum-vitae\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UVA website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, the Trump administration had almost exclusively targeted Ivy League schools like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/harvard-amends-lawsuit-claims-trump-admin-vendetta-university\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harvard<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/marco-rubio-delivers-bad-news-columbia-agitators-took-campus-building\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Columbia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>UVA, a public university, marks a shift in the administration&rsquo;s war on DEI, the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/university-of-virginia-dei-james-ryan-6f8cfc43738944ca8164ab20814c5695\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>University of Virginia President James Ryan has announced his resignation due to pressure from the Trump administration to discontinue the school&#8217;s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In a letter to the university board on Thursday, he stated that his resignation would take effect by August 15 at the latest, as reported by The New York Times. In a subsequent letter to the university community on Friday, Ryan explained his decision: &#8220;It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of my resignation as President of the University of Virginia. While I am committed to fighting for what I believe in and have deep faith in this institution, I cannot unilaterally oppose the federal government just to retain my position.&#8221; He expressed concern for those who would be affected by such a fight-employees losing jobs, researchers losing funding, and students facing financial aid or visa issues. Ryan also mentioned he had intended to step down in 2026 for unrelated reasons. The Department of Justice had previously urged him in an April 28 letter to comply with directives regarding DEI practices and indicated growing impatience over compliance issues related to Trump&#8217;s executive orders dismantling discriminatory DEI policies. Following this pressure and an investigation announcement from DOJ officials demanding his resignation for resolution purposes regarding DEI matters at UVA, Ryan&#8217;s departure marks a significant shift as it involves a public university rather than just Ivy League institutions previously targeted by the administration&#8217;s campaign against DEI practices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2453376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Picture-2025-06-28T142252.420.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[49187,45347,43229,58113],"class_list":["post-2453375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dei-policies","tag-doj-investigation","tag-leadership-change","tag-university-president"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Picture-2025-06-28T142252.420.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2453375"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2453379,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453375\/revisions\/2453379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2453376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2453375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2453375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2453375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}