University of Virginia President Resigns Over DEI After Pressure From Justice Department

After mounting pressure from the Trump administration and the Department of Justice, James Ryan resigned from his post as president of the University of Virginia Friday, according to The New York Times. 

The Justice Department launched an investigation earlier this year after receiving complaints from conservative law firm America First Legal that the university’s administration was disregarding President Donald Trump’s executive order to end illegal discrimination being done in the name of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

UVA’s board of visitors dissolved its Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Partnerships in a resolution on March 8, following Trump’s Jan. 21 order. In the resolution, the university’s board allowed for transferring “permissible” programs to a “new organizational home.”

“UVA has not dismantled its DEI framework—it has merely rebranded it to evade legal scrutiny. What the law prohibits, UVA simply renamed,” attorney for America First Legal Megan Redshaw said in a statement. “We are grateful the DOJ [Department of Justice] has taken our findings seriously and is taking action to hold UVA accountable. No institution that receives taxpayer funds is above the law.”

The Jefferson Council, a UVA alumni group, contacted America First Legal with its concern that UVA was simply rebranding its DEI office rather than eliminating it. After investigating the university’s DEI practices, America First Legal sent a letter to the Justice Department with 48 exhibits it said showed how the school failed to comply with Trump’s orders.

“UVA has rebranded its DEI programs using euphemisms like ‘Inclusive Excellence,’ ‘Advocacy and Opportunity,’ ‘Community Engagement,’ ‘Strategic Wellness and Opportunity,’ ‘Inclusion and Belonging,’ and ‘Viewpoint Diversity,’ while continuing to apply race-, sex-, and other identity-based preferences,” Redshaw said.

The Federalist correspondent Breccan Thies told The Daily Signal that UVA has also rebranded job titles of former DEI staff.

“Rachel Spraker, who used to be called the ‘assistant VP for diversity and inclusion,’ … is now the ‘assistant VP for equity and inclusive excellence,’” Thies said.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Justice Department and UVA alumna Harmeet Dhillon opened the probe at the end of May. 

“UVA is not in compliance—it is in open defiance of DOJ’s clear directive and long-standing federal law,” Redshaw said. “The university is running the same discriminatory programs under different names, hoping no one will notice. Rebranding discrimination does not make it legal, and changing a label doesn’t change the substance. UVA’s use of sanitized language and recycled job titles is a deliberate attempt to sidestep the law.”

The Daily Signal contacted UVA’s board of visitors and The Jefferson Council but has not received comment as of publication time.

The post University of Virginia President Resigns Over DEI After Pressure From Justice Department appeared first on The Daily Signal.