Alumni group calls on UVA to fire President Jim Ryan: ‘Politicized and feckless leadership’
Group takes out full-page ad in Richmond Times-Dispatch, launches online campaign
The College Fix
By McKenli Myers - Utah State University
May 20, 2025
A group of concerned University of Virginia alumni are calling for the termination of President Jim Ryan, arguing his six-year tenure has been beset with scandal and his leadership has overseen an academic and reputational decline at the venerable institution.
The Jefferson Council recently took out a full-page ad in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and published an online campaign called Reset UVA to lobby for change.
The ad cites what the council contends are “seven major leadership failures under President Jim Ryan.” They allege he “enabled the worst outbreak of antisemitism in UVA history,”
“allowed UVA’s historic Honor System to deteriorate,” and “instituted a political agenda under the guise of DEI,” among other concerns.
“Jim Ryan’s politicized and feckless leadership combined with his institutionalization of double standards has led to an unprecedented series of tragedies, scandals, and government investigations that have severely damaged UVA’s core values and reputation,” reads the headline of the Jefferson Council’s Reset UVA website.
Joel Gardner, president of the Jefferson Council, told The College Fix in a telephone interview that group members believe “in a depoliticized campus, where the governing body and the president are neutral on political and social agendas.”
“We believe in the principles of freedom of expression and speech. UVA and Jim Ryan have strayed from these principles and have pushed a social agenda in the guise of DEI,” he said.
The University of Virginia’s media relations team has not responded to repeated requests from The College Fix seeking comment.
In March, the university’s governing board voted unanimously to dissolve the DEI office and any other practices pertaining to race-based systems. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice sent a letter to UVA demanding it comply with the directive.
A spokesperson for Gov. Glenn Younkin told The College Fix: “The Board of Visitors will hold UVA’s administration accountable for ending DEI at the University, as the board has already unanimously voted to do.”
The campaign against Ryan comes as the University of Virginia also fields criticism from the Jefferson Council for rebranding its identity-based graduation ceremonies.
The university changed its “Lavender Graduation,” an LGBTQ+ graduation ceremony, as well as the “Multicultural Graduation,” to “Recognition Ceremonies” in an effort to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws.
But the Department of Education’s Dear Colleague Letter sent in mid-February clarified that such ceremonies violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act if they exclude or favor students based on race.
Several universities across the nation, including Harvard, have canceled their affinity-based ceremonies in response to the federal guidance.
The council launched a website called “DEI at UVA” to highlight what it contends are DEI infractions at the university.
“It’s just a change of name. What the school has done is rebrand, but they still function under DEI,” Gardner told The Fix, adding it is another example of the “social and political justice agenda that has crept into every little bit of the university.”
“Despite the language of inclusivity, the [renamed grad] events are clearly identity-based and contribute to the fragmentation of campus life along racial and sexual orientation lines—directly at odds with the principle of equal treatment in public education,” the council states on the website.
The council also argued that the “Donning of the Kente Ceremony,” which is sponsored by UVA’s Office of African-American Affairs, “is yet another instance of a de facto segregated graduation ceremony, thinly veiled as a cultural celebration.”
