After pressure from DOJ over its IED policies, University of Virginia president resigns

Amid pressure from the Trump Administration, the president of the University of Virginia has resigned. He is James Ryan, who had led the institution since 2018. The decision came a couple of months after the Justice Department launched a federal investigation against the university over its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.

While Ryan had planned to continue for at least another year in his position, he contacted the university's board of visitors to inform them that his resignation will be effective no later than August. As reported from The New York Times, the White House is said to have privately asked the university to fire its president.

According to the letter written by the still-president of the University of Virginia, he made the decision with "deep sadness" and "given the circumstances" at hand.

"For the leader of one of the nation’s most prominent public universities to take such an extraordinary step demonstrates President Trump’s success in harnessing the investigative powers of the federal government to accomplish his administration’s policy goals," noted from the cited media outlet.

The DOJ's pressure had to do with Ryan's alleged reluctance to limit diversity policies and standards within the educational institution. "The department informed the college of multiple complaints of race-based treatment on campus, and of the government’s conclusion that the use of race in admissions and other student benefits were 'widespread practices throughout every component and facet of the institution'," they added from the NYT.

As for Ryan's background, he is a lawyer who previously served as dean of Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. He also worked for former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.