University of Virginia alumni group pleased with school president’s resignation

A University of Virginia alumni group is pleased with the resignation of the school’s president, Jim Ryan, stating that the leader perpetuated diversity, equity and inclusion-related initiatives in the institution.

The Jefferson Council said that it “views President Ryan’s resignation as a necessary and welcome step toward restoring intellectual diversity, depoliticizing the University, and a commitment to equal treatment for all.”

The Jefferson Council is a nonprofit made up of University of Virginia (UVA) alumni, donors, students and faculty “committed to preserving Thomas Jefferson’s legacy of freedom and excellence,” according to its website.

The council stated in its news release that President Ryan “stepped down under intense scrutiny from the Board of Visitors, the Governor, and the Department of Justice over his leadership failures.”

Jefferson Council President Joel Gardner clarified to The Center Square, however, that the narrative being touted that “Ryan's resignation can be attributed to unwarranted federal intervention into state and academic affairs” is “unjustified.”

“Well before the DOJ became involved, the bipartisan UVA Board of Visitors on March 7, 2025 had voted UNANIMOUSLY to disassemble UVA's DEI apparatus,” which the governor supported, Gardner said.

“The DOJ did not send a letter to the administration until April 28 requesting that it certify that the Board's directives were fully satisfied across every school, division and program in compliance with Federal anti-discrimination law,” Gardner said.

“Jim Ryan never certified this despite numerous extensions of time to reply to the Board and DOJ,” Gardner said.

The Jefferson Council outlined on its website, “DEI at UVA,” the different ways the ideology persists across the school, from rebranded DEI committees to DEI graduations and more.

Indeed, the Jefferson Council’s release states that the group “consistently raised concerns about President Ryan’s leadership,” and that “its investigative work exposed how his policies perpetuated illegal discrimination and eroded intellectual diversity.”

Jefferson Council President Joel Gardner additionally told The Center Square that Ryan “had politicized UVA in an unprecedented fashion by institutionalizing a political/social agenda in the guise of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”

“He also did nothing material to create real intellectual diversity throughout the University community, which has been extraordinarily tilted toward a leftwing bias,” Gardner said.

“Furthermore, he institutionalized a culture of double standards by which different individuals and groups were treated differently based on which identity groups they belonged to,” Gardner said.

Gardner told The Center Square the Jefferson Council is hoping the now vacant UVA offices of president and provost “will be filled by leaders who will not push any political/social agendas left or right, will actively seek to achieve material intellectual diversity throughout the Grounds (our terminology for campus) and will create a true level playing field for the free and civil exchange of ideas.”

The Board of Visitors is in charge of filling these roles, according to Gardner.

Neither the Board of Visitors nor the Department of Justice have responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement obtained by The Center Square: “I thank President Ryan for his service and his hard work on behalf of the University of Virginia.”

“The Board of Visitors has my complete confidence as they swiftly appoint a strong interim steward, and undertake the national search for a transformational leader that can take Mr. Jefferson’s university into the next decade and beyond,” Youngkin said.

In a statement announcing his resignation, Ryan stated, “I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job.”

Ryan said he was already planning on resigning next year and so “fighting to keep my job for one more year” would be “knowingly and willingly sacrificing others in this community.”

“I could not in good conscience cause real and direct harm to my colleagues and our students in order to preserve my own position,” Ryan said.

UVA referred The Center Square to several news releases that concerned Ryan’s departure from the school.