Washington (AP) – President of the University of Virginia, faces great pressure from conservative critics and Trump administration over school The procedures of diversity, equity and inclusionHe announced on Friday that he resigned rather than “fighting the federal government”.
The departure of James Ryan, who led the school since 2018, presents a dramatic escalation in the effort of Trump’s administration transform a university education. Doing it at a public university indicates a new boundary in the campaign that almost exclusively focused Schools Ivy League. This also expands the justification of the aggressive tactics of the government and focuses on Dei rather than the alleged tolerance of anti -Semitism.
Ryan faced conservative criticism that he had not followed his federal orders to remove Dei policyAnd its removal was promoted by the Ministry of Justice when investigating school, according to a person who was not entitled to discuss this matter on behalf of and spoke on condition of anonymity Associated Press.
Ryan referred to the pressure of Trump’s administration in the university community statement on Friday, saying he had submitted a resignation with a “very heavy heart”.
“To shorten the long story, I tend to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply at this university,” he said. “But I can’t deal with a unilateral decision to fight the federal government to save my work.”
Ryan has already decided that his last year will be his last, he said, and he would remain in his position until then “consciously and voluntarily sacrificed this community”.
The New York Times first informed about the resignation and insistence of the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice refused to comment on Friday.
Ryan’s removal is another example of Trump’s administration using “Thuggers instead of rational discourse,” said Ted Mitchell, president of the US Education Council, which represents university presidents.
“It’s a dark day for the University of Virginia, a dark day for higher education and promises more the same,” Mitchell said. “It is clear that the administration is not performed and uses every tool that can create or invent to develop its will over higher education.”
Democratic senators Virginia react
In a joint statement, democratic senators in Virginia said it was outrageous that Trump’s administration would demand Ryan’s resignation over the trap of the “cultural wars”. “This is a mistake that hurts the future of Virginia,” Sens said. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine.
After the campaign on the promise ends “Wokeness” In Trump’s education signed a January event that ordered Elimination of dei programs and “radical indoctrination” across schools and universities in the country. The Department of Education has begun investigations dozens of universitiesThey say that the initiatives of diversity discriminate against white and Asian American students.
The school reaction was dispersed. Some have closed offices deiIt has terminated the diversity scholarship and no longer requires a diversity statement within the hiring process. Some others rebranding Dei’s work under other names, while some adhered to firmly in the diversity politicians.
The University of Virginia became a point of flare after conservative critics were accused of simply renaming their initiative Dei. The school management body voted to close the Dei office in March and end the diversity policy in the admission, hiring, financial assistance and other areas. Republican governor Glenn Youngkin celebrated this event and said “Dei is done at the University of Virginia”.
Among those who pointed to the Charlottesville campus were America First Legal, a conservative group founded by Trump Aide Stephen Miller. In the May letter to the Ministry of Justice, the group said the university could not dismantle the DEI programs and decided to “rename, repack and move the same unlawful infrastructure under the lexicon of euphemisms”.
The group directly focused on Ryan and noted that he joined hundreds of other university presidents in signing a public statement condemning the “overlap and political interference” of Trump’s administration.
On Friday, the group said it would continue to use every available tool to take root of what it calls discriminatory systems.
“This week’s development explains: public universities that adopt federal funds do not have a license to violate the constitution,” said Megan Redshaw, a lawyer in the group, in his statement. “They will not be able to store ideological loyalty tests, race recovery and sex -based preferences, or resist legal executive authority.”
Ryan has been leading school since 2018
Ryan was hired to lead the University of Virginia in 2018 and previously worked as a Dean at the University of Harvard at the postgraduate school of education. He previously spent more than ten years in his career as a professor of rights to the University of Virginia. Ryan’s CV on Harvard’s website attributes an increase in the “size, strength and diversity” and added that building a diverse community was a priority.
Until now, the White House has focused most of its attention at the University of Harvard and other elite institutions that Trump considers to be bastions of liberalism. Harvard lost more than $ 2.6 billion in the federal Research grants In the middle of her battle with the government, which also tried to block school in hosting foreign students And threatened to cancel the status exempt from tax.
Harvard and its $ 53 billion foundation are uniquely located to weathe the financial pressure of the government. However, public universities are much more dependent on taxpayers’ money and could be more vulnerable. The $ 10 billion Endowment Foundation is one of the largest for public universities, while the vast majority has much less.
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(Tagstotranslate) University of Virginia (T) policy dei
