University of Virginia president resigns amid pressure from Trump administration, New York Times reports

The president of the University of Virginia, James Ryan, has informed the board that oversees the school that he will resign his position, the New York Times reported on Friday (June 27, 2025), citing three people briefed on the matter.

Mr. Ryan was facing pressure from the Trump administration to step aside in order to resolve a Justice Department investigation in to UVA’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the newspaper said.

The Times reported on Thursday (June 26, 2025) that the department had demanded Mr. Ryan’s resignation as a condition to settle a civil rights investigation into the school’s diversity practices.

The University of Virginia did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

In a warning issued last week, the department said the government had concluded that the use of race in admissions and other student benefits were “widespread practices throughout every component and facet of the institution,” according to the Times.

Mr. Ryan’s resignation has been accepted by the board, two of the Times’ sources said, although it’s unclear exactly when he will leave his post.

The Trump administration has undertaken a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion and targeted colleges and universities that it has claimed are pushing antisemitic, anti-American, Marxist and “radical left” ideologies.

Universities have said that Mr. Trump’s attacks are threats to freedom of speech, freedom of academics and the schools’ very existence.