The University of Virginia’s (UVA) faculty senate passed a no-confidence resolution Friday, blaming the school’s Board of Visitors for failing to protect the school from the Trump administration’s demands.
The faculty expressed disappointment that the board allowed external pressure to influence the university’s actions, which the board is supposed to prevent, according to the resolution. The resolution comes after the resignation of UVA’s president Jim Ryan, who the Trump administration allegedly pushed out due to his support of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“The Faculty Senate expresses no confidence in the Board of Visitors for not protecting the University and its president from outside interference, and for not consulting with the Faculty Senate in a time of crisis, actions that are inconsistent with its duties under the Code of Virginia and the Board’s Statement of Visitor Responsibilities,” the senate wrote.
The resolution was passed in a 46-6 vote with eight abstentions. The senate is now calling on the board to relay a “full accounting” of the series of events that unfolded amid Ryan’s resignation, including all actions taken by the board.
UVA, the Board of Visitors and the faculty senate did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
While the resolution is merely symbolic, the action could lead to other devastating consequences, including the resignation or removal of university leaders.
The senate accused the board of allowing “outside influences” to “improperly to shape the governance of the University and the power of the president of the University to control the administrative direction of the institution,” after the board allegedly received letters from the DOJ threatening to withhold funding from the university if Ryan did not step down. The faculty said it was not made aware of the DOJ’s demands or any of the negotiations that occurred between the Trump administration and the board.
Ryan announced his resignation from UVA on June 27 and officially stepped down on July 11. Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly demanded the move to resolve an investigation into UVA’s supposed illegal use of DEI after it was accused of rebranding its offices instead of dismantling them entirely.
Under the Biden administration, universities spent millions on race-exclusionary DEI programs, some of which blatantly exacerbated race relations on campus. The Trump administration has since made it clear that such programs violate civil rights, and schools caught hosting such initiatives will be punished.
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