Univ. of Virginia president resigns amid Trump administration inquiry into diversity initiatives

The president of the University of Virginia is resigning following pressure from the Trump administration to step aside amid a Justice Department investigation into the school’s diversity practices.

The president of the University of Virginia is resigning following pressure from the Trump administration to step aside amid a Justice Department investigation into the school’s diversity practices.

James E. Ryan convened a meeting with his senior leadership Friday and announced that he would be stepping down, according to a source who attended the UVA Board of Visitors meeting.

The Justice Department had demanded Ryan step down to resolve an investigation over the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to The New York Times, which was first to report the news of his resignation.

In a letter to the university community on Friday, Ryan said, "I am writing, with a very heavy heart, to let you know that I have submitted my resignation as President of the University of Virginia."

"To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University," Ryan wrote. "But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job. To do so would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld."