Despite resigning on Friday due to pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Justice (DOJ), the President of the University of Virginia (UVA) will stay at the university in a different role.
On Wednesday, June 3, members of the Board of Visitors and UVA President James Ryan agreed that his last day would be Friday, July 11.
Ryan will reportedly begin a sabbatical before returning to the university as a full professor in the School of Law and the School of Education and Human Development.
“We are deeply grateful for Jim’s tireless leadership and for all we have accomplished to advance this great University during his tenure,” the board said in a statement.
Jennifer “J.J.” Wagner Davis, UVA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, will become acting president once Ryan leaves, and until they name an interim president, per the announcement from the university.
Robert Hardie of the university’s Board of Visitors wrote a detailed statement on Monday, June 30, regarding Ryan’s departure and the future of the university’s presidency, sympathizing with the university’s sorrow and emphasizing “one of Jim’s last acts in office put the needs of the University ahead of his own.”
The New York Times shared the news in the morning on Friday, June 27, reporting that Ryan had informed the university’s Board of Visitors that he planned to resign in August. However, the previous day, the publication reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had called on Ryan to resign in what Democratic Senators are calling a “coordinated effort by the Trump administration” to “weaponize the boards.”
In a statement Ryan made hours after the news of his resignation on Friday, June 27, he said he will not put UVA in jeopardy by “fight[ing] the federal government in order to save [his] own job.”
According to Hardie, Davis will work closely with Interim EVP and Provost Brie Gertler and Interim EVP and CEO of Health Affairs Mitch Rosner.
“Ms. Davis will remain in that role until we name an interim president who will continue to lead the University as we conduct a nationwide search for a permanent replacement,” Hardie said.
“The Board, individually and collectively, affirms our confidence in this great University and our understanding of the responsibility we have to ensure UVA remains a leader in academic excellence, free speech, and responsible governance. We are committed to UVA’s most enduring values – service, excellence, and honor.”
Robert Hardie, Rector, and Rachel Sheridan, Rector-Elect of UVA’s Board of Visitors
UVA said it will conduct a nationwide search for UVA’s next leader, with input and comment from stakeholders in the university.
For Hardie’s full message to the university’s community, click here.
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