Latest news with #DEI
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
University of Virginia president resigns facing DOJ pressure: Report
University of Virginia's president has resigned amid a Department of Justice probe into the school's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to reports from The New York Times. James Ryan's resignation will be effective 'no later than August 15,' a person familiar with the matter told the Times. University board members had alleged the school was not in compliance with President Trump's January executive order barring DEI practices at institutions that receive federal funding. Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, wrote a letter to Ryan on April 28 saying the office had received complaints the university's administration had failed to follow Trump's directive. The Times reported that the DOJ wrote another letter on June 17 saying, 'Time is running short, and the department's patience is wearing thin.' The school and Justice Department did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter. Axios reported earlier Friday the Trump administration was trying to push out Ryan. A university spokesperson told the outlet, 'UVA is committed to complying with all federal laws and has been cooperating with the Department of Justice in the ongoing inquiries. The federal government's support of the University is essential to continue the core mission of research, education and clinical care.' Ryan served as the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education before joining the University of Virginia in August 2018. Virginia's Democratic senators blasted the Trump administration following news of his departure. 'It is outrageous that officials in the Trump Department of Justice demanded the Commonwealth's globally recognized university remove President Ryan — a strong leader who has served UVA honorably and moved the university forward — over ridiculous 'culture war' traps,' Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in a statement. 'Decisions about UVA's leadership belong solely to its Board of Visitors, in keeping with Virginia's well-established and respected system of higher education governance. This is a mistake that hurts Virginia's future.' The Trump administration has picked fights with various universities over diversity programs and their alleged failure to tackle antisemitism on campus. Columbia University caved to those demands in an attempt to maintain federal funding, while Harvard University has so far stood its ground. The Times reported this week that Harvard's leaders are debating how to reach a deal without being seen as capitulating to Trump. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump sent ‘explicit' threat to cut funds from University of Virginia, senator says
The University of Virginia (UVA) received 'explicit' notification from the Trump administration that the school would endure cuts to university jobs, research funding and student aid as well as visas if the institution's president, Jim Ryan, did not resign, according to a US senator. During an interview Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, Mark Warner, a Democratic senator for Virginia, defended Ryan – who had championed diversity policies that the president opposes – and predicted that Donald Trump will similarly target other universities. Warner said he understood that the former UVA president was told that if he 'tried to fight back, hundreds of employees would lose jobs, researchers would lose funding, and hundreds of students could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld'. 'There was indication that they received the letter that if he didn't resign on a day last week, by 5 o'clock, all these cuts would take place,' Warner added. He also said he believes this to be the 'most outrageous action' that the Trump administration has taken on education since it retook office in January. Related: University of Virginia president resigns under pressure from White House over DEI programs Ryan resigned from his position as UVA president on Friday. He was facing political pressure from Washington to step aside in order to resolve a justice department investigation into UVA's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, the New York Times reported on the same day. 'I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job,' Ryan said in his resignation message to the university community. He expressed an unwillingness to risk the employment of other staff, as well as cuts to funding and financial aid for students. Ryan had a reputation for trying to make the UVA campus more diverse and encouraging students to perform community service. He had served as the university's president since 2018. Warner criticized the administration for what he said was its overreach in education. He said federal education and justice department officials 'should get their nose out of [the] University of Virginia'. 'They are doing damage to our flagship university,' he remarked. 'And if they can do it here, they'll do it elsewhere.' He referred to Trump's ongoing battles with Harvard, the US's oldest university, including the president's signing a proclamation to restrict foreign student visas and continued threats to cut funding over its DEI policies. 'They all want to make them like Harvard,' Warner said. 'End of the day, this is going to hurt our universities, chase away that world-class talent. 'And, frankly, if we don't have some level of academic freedom, then what kind of country are we?'
The Hill
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Warner says DOJ letter to University of Virginia president was ‘explicit'
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said in a Sunday interview that University of Virginia President James Ryan, who submitted his resignation on Friday, was given an 'explicit' deadline to step aside, in a letter last week from the Trump administration. In an interview on CBS News's 'Face the Nation,' Warner condemned the Trump administration's pressure campaign against Ryan, who resigned on Friday to avoid funding cuts to the university. Trump's Department of Justice had been investigating allegations that the school was not in compliance with President Trump's January executive order barring DEI practices at institutions that receive federal funding. 'This is the most outrageous action, I think, this crowd has taken on education. We have great public universities in Virginia. We have a very strong governance system, where we have an independent board of visitors appointed by the Governor,' Warner said. 'Jim Ryan had done a very good job; just completed a major capital campaign.' 'For him to be threatened, and, literally, there was indication that they received the letter that if he didn't resign on a day last week, by five o'clock, all these cuts would take place,' Warner added. 'It was that explicit?' moderator Margaret Brennan asked. 'It was that explicit,' Warner said. The New York Times reported Thursday night that the Justice Department demanded Ryan resign as a condition of a settlement in its civil rights investigation into diversity practices at the university. Ryan posted a letter publicly on Friday, confirming his resignation, saying he was 'inclined to fight for what I believe in,' but could not 'make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job.' 'To do so 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 said in the letter.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump sent ‘explicit' threat to cut funds from University of Virginia, senator says
The University of Virginia (UVA) received 'explicit' notification from the Trump administration that the school would endure cuts to university jobs, research funding and student aid as well as visas if the institution's president, Jim Ryan, did not resign, according to a US senator. During an interview Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, Mark Warner, a Democratic senator for Virginia, defended Ryan – who had championed diversity policies that the president opposes – and predicted that Donald Trump will similarly target other universities. Warner said he understood that the former UVA president was told that if he 'tried to fight back, hundreds of employees would lose jobs, researchers would lose funding, and hundreds of students could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld'. 'There was indication that they received the letter that if he didn't resign on a day last week, by 5 o'clock, all these cuts would take place,' Warner added. He also said he believes this to be the 'most outrageous action' that the Trump administration has taken on education since it retook office in January. Ryan resigned from his position as UVA president on Friday. He was facing political pressure from Washington to step aside in order to resolve a justice department investigation into UVA's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, the New York Times reported on the same day. 'I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job,' Ryan said in his resignation message to the university community. He expressed an unwillingness to risk the employment of other staff, as well as cuts to funding and financial aid for students. Ryan had a reputation for trying to make the UVA campus more diverse and encouraging students to perform community service. He had served as the university's president since 2018. Warner criticized the administration for what he said was its overreach in education. He said federal education and justice department officials 'should get their nose out of [the] University of Virginia'. 'They are doing damage to our flagship university,' he remarked. 'And if they can do it here, they'll do it elsewhere.' He referred to Trump's ongoing battles with Harvard, the US's oldest university, including the president's signing a proclamation to restrict foreign student visas and continued threats to cut funding over its DEI policies. 'They all want to make them like Harvard,' Warner said. 'End of the day, this is going to hurt our universities, chase away that world-class talent. 'And, frankly, if we don't have some level of academic freedom, then what kind of country are we?'
Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
New York City pride march arrives amid growing national backlash
Advertisement Stacy Lentz, an owner of the Stonewall Inn, where the 1969 riots took place, and the CEO of an affiliated nonprofit, said she thought LGBTQ+ people and their supporters needed 'to get back to the roots of Pride and what happened at Stonewall because our rights are under attack in a way we haven't been in decades.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I have had young folks ask me, 'What do you think it was like back then? How do you think people felt to be fighting for their rights?'' she said. 'I tell them we've never been closer to that time then we are right now. We all need to pick up the torch.' The New York march is the largest of its kind in the United States, with 75,000 participants and roughly 2 million spectators, according to organizers. It is also broadcast on network television, a testament to how much public support for LGBTQ+ people has grown over a generation. Advertisement But backlash against LGBTQ+ rights has increased since same-sex marriage became legal nationwide almost exactly 10 years ago. The fallout has mainly, though not solely, affected transgender people. 'The gay and lesbian movement succeeded beyond the expectations of the founders,' said David K. Johnson, a professor of history at the University of South Florida. 'But now trans people are the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ community, which is why I think sometimes using the term LGBTQ actually obscures more than it explains.' Over the past three years, Americans have become more supportive of laws that limit transgender rights, according to the Pew Research Center. A majority of adults now support laws that ban gender-affirming care for minors and require trans people to play on sports teams based on their sex at birth. A poll released by Gallup in May showed that 54% of Americans -- up from 51% four years ago -- said that it was morally wrong to change one's gender. The share of Americans who said that homosexuality was morally wrong had risen much further, from 25% in 2022 to 33% in 2025. 'As my grandma used to say, 'Now we are hustling backward,'' said Sean Ebony Coleman, the founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, an LGBTQ+ center in the Bronx. Transgender individuals and their allies have been hit hard by the anti-diversity fervor of the Trump administration, which spent heavily on campaign ads attacking trans people in the months leading up to last year's presidential election. Advertisement Soon after President Donald Trump took office, he issued a series of executive orders seeking to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs and limit the rights of transgender individuals. One order barred federal contractors or those that received federal grant money from making use of DEI policies. That set off a confusing scramble in the private sector, leading many corporations to cut back or cancel their donations to Pride events in New York and around the country. Another executive order banned openly transgender people from serving in the military, while another stated that the federal government would recognize only two unchangeable sexes -- male and female -- and banned the use of federal funds for the promotion of 'gender ideology,' a term whose legal definition is unclear. All the orders have been challenged in court, but they have severely harmed the nation's LGBTQ+ organizations, many of which rely on federal grants to provide social services to older adults, young people or those struggling with issues such as substance abuse or homelessness. The administration has also canceled roughly $800 million worth of grants on topics related to LGBTQ+ people, a move that has devastated research programs focused on LGBTQ+ health. The amount of canceled funds was wildly out of proportion to the number of LGBTQ+ people in the United States. Roughly half of all the research funding canceled by the administration was dedicated to the health of LGBTQ+ individuals, who make up about 10% of the population. (BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM.) The ban on 'gender ideology' and DEI has also led to a number of symbolic affronts. In February, the National Park Service removed references to trans people from the webpages of the Stonewall National Monument. And last week, the U.S. Navy renamed a ship that had honored Harvey Milk, one of the country's first openly gay elected officials, who was assassinated in 1978. Advertisement The LGBTQ+ movement has also suffered a series of Supreme Court defeats in recent weeks. The court ruled that the Trump administration could begin enforcing a ban on transgender troops in the military. It upheld the rights of parents to withdraw their children from public schools when LGBTQ+ themes are discussed. It sided with a heterosexual woman who claimed her gay co-workers had discriminated against her. And it upheld a ban on gender-affirming care for young people. (END OPTIONAL TRIM.) The parade is also the occasion for ideological fights within the movement itself. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch criticized organizers over their decision to ban the Gay Officers Action League from fully participating in this year's parade. She said that the organizers had refused to allow officers to carry guns, which she said are an integral part of their dress uniform. It is the 'height of hypocrisy to request the security and protection of thousands of armed, uniformed police officers for the march on Sunday and then ban from that event the very officers that proudly represent your community,' Tisch wrote in a letter Saturday that was shared with The New York Times. 'In a year when LGBTQ+ rights are under siege in ways we had thought were behind us, this is the time to stand together, not to splinter.' She and members of the group plan to protest their exclusion at 11 a.m. Eastern near the parade route, according to a department news release. Police and corrections officers had been banned from marching as a group at Pride since 2021 in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests and widespread criticism of violence by law enforcement officers. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
