Jim Ryan, the University of Virginia’s ninth president who has served in that capacity since 2018, has resigned.
Ryan shared the news in a Friday letter to the University community.
“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,” he wrote. “To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University. But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job.”
Ryan revealed he had planned to step down at the end of the next academic year for reasons unrelated to what led to today’s announcement. Rather, he noted that his goals had been largely accomplished, including raising more than $6 billion in the Honor the Future capital campaign and implementing “nearly all of the major initiatives in our strategic plan.”
Ryan speaks to a crowd in the Rotunda in November. He wrote on Friday that deciding to step down was an “excruciatingly difficult decision.” (University Communications photo)
Ryan’s decision to hasten his departure comes at a time of increased federal scrutiny on colleges and universities, including UVA. Ryan acknowledged in his farewell letter that the University would have risked losing substantial funding if he had remained as president.
“While there are very important principles at play here, I would at a very practical level be fighting to keep my job for one more year while knowingly and willingly sacrificing others in this community,” he wrote. “If this were not so distinctly tied to me personally, I may have pursued a different path. But I could not in good conscience cause any real and direct harm to my colleagues and our students in order to preserve my own position.” He wrote that remaining in his position and risking federal funding cuts “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.”
Ryan, a first-generation college student, earned an undergraduate degree at Yale University and a law degree from UVA. He served as dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education before accepting the presidency at UVA.
In his tenure at UVA, Ryan worked to open the University to more first-generation students and expanded financial-aid opportunities to more Virginia families. Under Ryan’s leadership, UVA built the School of Data Science, opened the UVA Northern Virginia campus and secured substantial gifts for the Karsh Institute of Democracy and a new performing arts center. The growing Emmet-Ivy Corridor has taken shape during his presidency.
“Earlier today, and with profound sadness, I accepted Jim Ryan’s resignation on behalf of the Board and its members,” Robert Hardie, the Board of Visitors’ rector, wrote in a statement. “Jim Ryan has been an extraordinary president to this great University. He has led our institution to unprecedented heights, always doing so with grace and humility.
“I know I speak for our students, alumni, faculty, and staff when I express my heartfelt gratitude for Jim’s tireless service to our University,” Hardie continued, “especially for the ways he has guided the institution steadily and with great purpose, even in the face of major challenges like a pandemic. UVA has forever been changed for the better as a result of Jim’s exceptional leadership.”
