Former University of Virginia president Jim Ryan has broken his silence concerning his abrupt resignation, accusing the Board of Visitors of dishonesty and complicity in his ouster, which came amid federal government scrutiny over the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
In a 12-page letter to the UVA Faculty Senate on Friday, Ryan wrote that he was “stunned and angry” over the board’s lack of honesty as it faced pressure from the federal government to force him out due to an alleged failure to dismantle DEI initiatives. Ryan also wrote that recent letters by UVA rector Rachel Sheridan and Governor Glenn Youngkin do not “present an accurate accounting of my resignation,” which prompted him to release his own statement.
Ryan accused Youngkin of playing a significant part in attracting scrutiny from the Department of Justice, first by handing down a resolution to the board drafted by his office that “was quite sweeping and filled with inflammatory rhetoric criticizing DEI.” Ryan wrote that the board passed a modified, “fairly mild” version of the resolution, which required UVA to dissolve its DEI office and “move all permissible programs to another institutional home.”
But after its passage, Youngkin declared on Fox News that “DEI is dead” at UVA. That statement, Ryan wrote, created confusion and overstated the reach of the resolution. As UVA began efforts to implement the resolution, Ryan wrote that Sheridan told him not to publicly announce any DEI changes, which he alleged created the perception of inaction and attracted the DOJ’s attention.
Ryan wrote that UVA soon received an inquiry about why it was slow to dismantle DEI.
“The letter asked us to explain why we hadn’t complied with the Board’s resolution, though it exaggerated the scope and nature of that resolution, suggesting—as had Governor Youngkin on television—that we were supposed to eliminate the entirety of DEI,” Ryan wrote. “It was unclear, and still is, why the United States Department of Justice would have the interest or authority to enforce a resolution of the Board of a state university as opposed to enforcing federal law.”
Ryan also questioned whether the board was truthful about the DOJ seeking his resignation or if it was a scheme concocted by members who wanted to remove him as their relationship soured.
In closing his letter, Ryan argued that he was committed to following the law and revising policies and practices that were flawed or “if there were persuasive, principled reasons to change course.” But he would not sacrifice UVA’s core values or his principles in doing so—especially if those changes were due to “prevailing political winds” or “the political ambitions of some,” he wrote. He added that both the board members and governor’s office had accused him of being stubborn, which was perhaps true and may have been the real reason for his exit.
“But stubborn and principled often look the same, especially to those who are unprincipled,” Ryan wrote.
Inside Higher Ed has uploaded Ryan’s full letter below.
Ryan’s letter follows a message Sheridan sent to the UVA Faculty Senate on Thursday. In that letter, Sheridan downplayed the pressure from the federal government to force Ryan out. While she acknowledged that the Department of Justice “lacked confidence in President Ryan to make the changes that the Trump Administration believed were necessary to ensure compliance,” she disputed the notion that his resignation was part of the agreement that the university recently reached with the federal government to pause investigations into DEI practices.
While Sheridan did not elaborate on specific threats from the Department of Justice, as Ryan alleged, she wrote that Trump administration officials “made clear that if the University did not chart a different course, the DOJ could and would expand its investigations into additional issues, subject other personnel to scrutiny, and pursue the cutoff of federal funding.”
The full text of that letter is available below.
Also on Thursday, Youngkin sent a letter related to Ryan’s departure to Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, who has called for UVA to halt its ongoing presidential search until her board picks are in place. The Republican governor pushed back on his Democratic successor’s claims that Ryan was ousted as a result of federal overreach and accused her of interfering in the search. Youngkin also accused Ryan of “not being committed to following federal law.”
That letter has been uploaded in full below.
Board Under Fire
Ryan’s letter prompted a flurry of criticism of the board from faculty, lawmakers and others.
The UVA Faculty Senate passed a resolution Friday calling for greater transparency, a pause in the presidential search until the board “is at full complement with members confirmed by the general assembly,” and the immediate resignation of Sheridan and Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson.
Faculty members accused the board of making UVA a target.
“The rector, the vice rector, and others on the board conspired to oust Jim Ryan, and they made the decision to leverage pressure from the Department of Justice in order to enact that ouster,” Matthew Hedstrom, a religious studies professor, said in Friday’s Faculty Senate meeting.
Democratic state lawmakers also blasted the board in the aftermath of Ryan’s letter.
“Former UVA President Jim Ryan’s letter details a shocking abuse of power by the UVA Board of Visitors and collaboration between a Governor & [attorney general] who betrayed the state and schools they swore to protect so they could curry favor with MAGA extremists—this is far from over,” Virginia state senator Scott Surovell, the Democratic majority leader, wrote on X.
Surovell is among a group of Democratic lawmakers who have recently amplified pressure on UVA over Ryan’s resignation and the subsequent agreement it reached with the DOJ. Democrats, who have blocked multiple Youngkin board appointments this year—many of them GOP donors and conservative political figures—have accused UVA of a lack of transparency around Ryan’s exit and of giving in to “extortionate tactics” in striking a deal with the DOJ.
Ross Mugler, interim president and CEO of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, released a statement in which he argued, “What happened at UVA shows how deeply damaging it is when governing boards become extensions of political actors rather than independent fiduciaries.” Mugler also warned of potential harms to academic freedom, community trust and the long-term health of the university due to external political pressures.
“President Ryan’s detailed account of the pressures leading to his resignation reveals an alarming example of political and ideological interference in university governance,” he wrote.
Neither UVA nor Youngkin’s office responded to requests for comment from Inside Higher Ed.
