On his final day as the University of Virginia’s ninth president, Jim Ryan released a video Friday expressing appreciation to the staff, faculty and leadership across Grounds and at the hospital; students and their families; alumni; his colleagues in Madison Hall; and the University’s neighbors in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
“You have helped make this community feel like a family, and you have worked hard to make this University both great and good,” Ryan said. “It was the honor of my life to work beside and learn from you.”
[Jim Ryan speaking]
Hi everyone, Jim Ryan here.
Today is my last day in office as the president, and I did not want to leave without offering all of you my deepest thanks.
This is obviously a challenging moment for higher education and for the University of Virginia. I will have more to say about that another time. But for now, and for today, I’d just like to say thank you.
To our staff, you make this University work. It is that simple, and that essential. You are the engine of this place, and without you, we would grind to a halt.
To our faculty, you are the lifeblood of this University. I am in awe of your work and your work ethic. You are devoted to our students, and you are devoted to following the truth, wherever it might lead, both in your research and your teaching.
To my colleagues in Madison Hall, and in leadership positions across the University, I may be biased, but I believe you are objectively the best team in higher education, period. The University is incredibly fortunate to have you at the helm.
To our doctors, nurses and team members at UVA Health, you help hundreds of thousands of patients each year. Day in and day out, you provide outstanding care that is matched only by your compassion.
To our coaches, you are some of the best teachers on Grounds. Thank you for developing students who are fierce competitors and outstanding humans.
To our alumni, you are our unfair advantage, given your incredible devotion to this place. You sustain and uplift this University. You are role models for our students, and collectively, you bring both joy and wisdom to our community.
To our parents, thank you for entrusting us with your children, and for loaning to us such remarkable people.
To our neighbors in Charlottesville and Albemarle, thank you for partnering with us to help make our shared community as strong as it can be. That work will continue, as I know my colleagues remain committed to it.
To our friends at the College of Wise, you are an inspiration and literally make the American Dream come true year in and year out.
And finally, to our students, you are at the heart of all of this. You are why we are here. You are certainly why I was here. Your curiosity and your courage, your dazzling talents and your compassion, and most of all, your decency and kindness – they have filled my heart every day. You reminded me why I was here and doing this work; you made me think; you made me laugh; and you made me a better president and a better person by your example. Most of all, you gave me hope. And you still do. Never forget that this University belongs to you as much as anyone, and that you belong at this University.
To all of you who contribute to this community, from students to staff to faculty to leaders, to nurses and doctors, coaches, alumni, parents and neighbors: you have my deepest thanks and admiration. You have helped make this community feel like a family, and you have worked hard to make this University both great and good. It was the honor of my life to work beside and learn from you.
We have faced some extraordinary challenges over the last seven years. We made it through and were able to thrive because we provided strength to and drew strength from each other. If you continue to support and rely on each other, there is no obstacle too large for this community to overcome and no goal too ambitious to reach.
That’s all for now. As you may have heard, I will take a sabbatical and then plan to return as a faculty member.
I hope you’ll leave the lights on for me.
Thank you.
Ryan announced his resignation in June. Ryan first moved to Charlottesville in the early 1990s to study law. He graduated from the UVA School of Law in 1992 and later joined the Law School faculty, serving 15 years. He left Charlottesville to become the dean of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education before returning to UVA in 2018 to become president.
In Charlottesville, Ryan helped raise more than $6 billion in the University’s Honor the Future capital campaign, which met its $5 billion goal more than a year early and collected another billion by the close of the campaign in June.
During Ryan’s tenure, UVA opened the School of Data Science, the UVA Northern Virginia campus and secured lead gifts for the Karsh Institute of Democracy. Under Ryan’s leadership, UVA expanded its financial aid offerings, began development of the Emmet-Ivy Corridor and was consistently ranked as one of the best public schools in the nation.
Ryan, an accomplished distance runner, also invited students to “Run with Jim” on his shorter jaunts around Grounds, an experience many students considered to be a “bucket list item” to complete before graduation. Recent runs have included more than 1,000 students.
Ryan also turned his annual Boston Marathon runs into fundraisers that brought in more than $100,000 for charities attached to UVA.
“As you may have heard, I will take a sabbatical and then plan to return as a faculty member” in the Law School and in the School of Education and Human Development, Ryan concluded. Then he ended with a twist on the phrase he delivers to all graduating classes, imploring them to return to Grounds where they will always be welcome. “I hope you’ll leave the lights on for me,” he said.
The University’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Jennifer “J.J.” Wagner Davis, is serving as acting president until an interim president is appointed.
