Today, the President of the University of Virginia resigned, at the request of the Board of Visitors.
James E. Ryan had been trying to address some historical inequities at UVA. UVA in Charlottesville, VA was founded by Thomas Jefferson. Between 1819 and 1865, much of the campus construction and maintenance was done with slave labor.
The University routinely "rented" slaves from slaveowners in the area, paying the owners for the labor. The UVA campus was built and maintained by African-Americans for 150 years, however because UVA was segregated, Black students weren't allowed to attend UVA until the late 1950s.
Then in 2017, Charlottesville was the site of a White Supremacist Rally and a counter-protest, during which one of the White Supremacists drove a car into a crowd, killing a counter-protester and injuring several others.
President Ryan's efforts to increase diversity at UVA and reconcile some of the history and mistreatment of Black people at UVA pissed off several powerful UVA alumni. Some of those alumni got into positions of power in Pam Bondi's Department of Justice. Those DOJ employees started an investigation into "DEI practices" at UVA. DOJ made President Ryan's resignation a condition of dropping the investigation.
In other words, Trump's DOJ forced the University of Virginia to fire the President of the University because they didn't like his efforts to increase recruitment and retention of Black students and faculty.
If you don't think we're in the midst of an autocratic takeover, talk to someone from Iran, Turkey, Hungary, Philippines, El Salvador, et al. The autocrats always go after universities, students and university administrators. Florida has been doing this since DeSantis became governor. Wisconsin tried to do this during Scott Walker's time as governor. Texas has been trying to do this since Rick Perry was governor. Claims about "DEI" and "anti-Semistism" is just a cover up an agenda to purge ideas and movements that MAGA finds uncomfortable. It also makes examples of anyone who tries to stand up to the autocrat.
The Justice Department had demanded that Jim Ryan step down to resolve an investigation into the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
www.nbcnews.com
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.
