In a recent Inside Higher Ed article, Thompson Coburn Higher Education partner Brandt Hill shared insights on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) accusation that former University of Virginia (UVA) President James Ryan defied federal antidiscrimination laws.
Through a series of seven letters, the DOJ escalated its case, hinting at the potential loss of crucial federal funding for UVA.
“There is not much pushback that administrators—President Ryan or others—can make, if they want to continue receiving these funds and performing the research that they do,” said Brandt. “This is all about collecting scalps that [the Trump administration] can then publicize. Each time Trump gets a win, that gives it a snowball effect and gives the impression that he can do it elsewhere.”
In the third letter, DOJ officials expanded the list of demands to include all DEI programming. “The department says it hasn’t reached any conclusions regarding the University of Virginia’s liability, but I don’t think the department ever really planned to make any final conclusions or planned to receive all the documents and carry out an exhaustive investigation,” said Brandt.
While the first five letters were addressed to both the university’s president and its board, the sixth letter was addressed only to the board. “I don’t think the Department of Justice wants to put that threat on the table in a formal letter, because I’m not even aware that there is any such kind of authority to force a president to resign,” Brandt said. “But the undertone here is that President Ryan needs to be ousted or else this is going to continue.”
Read the full article here.