One week In….
One Week In……
The short version is we still are missing many details, it still totally sucks, and the shock is wearing off.
The Cavalier Daily is doing great reporting. They acquired the letters from DOJ As predicted, the letters suggest that DOJ wanted proof that UVA had ended DEI and Affirmative action. They also alleged that the University had failed to protect Jews from antisemitism. It is truly a twilight zone experience. They say things like, “Racial discrimination is immoral and abhorrent.” But the entire platform of this DOJ seems grounded in discrimination and in erasing any progress on making places like UVa accessible. The timbre of the letters is weird. “Time is running short, and the Department's patience is wearing thin. The Department must insist that the University of Virginia, through its Rector and Visitors, take immediate corrective action to bring the entire institution within compliance of governing federal anti-discrimination laws. Dramatic, wholesale changes are required, now, to repair what appears to be a history of clear abuses and breaches of our nation's laws and our Constitution by the University of Virginia under its current administration.”
The attorney that appears to represent UVa in this is Farnaz F. Thompson of McGuire Woods. Youngkin appointed her to the George Mason BOV in 2024. She was also a contributor to Project 2025 and, while a lawyer for the Department of Education helped Betsy DeVos rewrite the Title IX Guidelines.
Somehow this authoritarian takeover of higher education has led to a full circle moment in the UVa song. During an unfortunate rest in the tune, the students and alumnae used to shout a homophobic slur. Then they switched it to “F*ck Tech.” As of Friday, they seem to say “F*ck Truump.” I was once caught between two dudes whose excessive swaying almost knocked me down, so I try not to partake of the singing on this one.
Today, July 2, the BOV scheduled a special meeting at 11:30 to discuss a faculty resignation. If you felt the internet breaking at 11:31 it was because the meeting was “Cancelled as it was no longer needed.” This was mysterious.
This evening an announcement quietly went out stating that JR’s resignation will take effect July 11. He will take a sabbatical for a year and return as a professor of Law and Education in the fall of 2026. He will earn 75% of his current salary. My interpretation, which is based on no facts, is that the BOV needed a way to accept his resignation even though they are technically not allowed to meet. This move means they do not have to officially accept his resignation as he is not going anywhere.
The AAUP, the United Campus Workers and the Faculty Senate seem all to be organizing. UCW hosted a town hall today with 300 people on zoom. Someone estimated 70 in the room.
The faculty senate is focusing on “insisting that representatives of the BOV meet with the Faculty Senate to describe to them how the resignation came about. What did the DOJ demand? Who on the BOV was involved in discussing with President Ryan how he might respond? How did he come to resign? They have asked that the BOV brief the Senate no later than July 14. “
Virginia state Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell reminded the BOV that if Abigail Spanberger wins the governor’s race, she can install a new board almost immediately. In theory a new governor could remove some or all members of the BOV. The board seems to have failed to have “failed to maintain the independence of the Board from outside influences harmful to the interests of the students and the faculty of the University.” VOTE VOTE VOTE
The Jefferson Council continues to do their thing. Yesterday they proudly tweeted “President Ryan’s resignation is proof: alumnae advocacy works. AFSA (The Alumnae Free Speech Alliance commends the Jefferson Council for exposing UVa’s failures on free speech, academic freedom, and transparency. Their success is a model for restoring integrity to higher ed. …”
The kids on yikyak are very tuned in and I trust that anonymous platform more than I trust the above-mentioned alums. They now want to go to law school here and take classes with Jim. They know JJ (the COO who will be the acting President) mostly because she sends the snow day messages. The reviews on her are somewhat mixed, and they are hoping for more snow days.
In related news:
The Trump administration paused $6 billion in K-12 programs. This will eliminate “woke” things like teacher training, after school programing, and ESOL. (English learning) In the South many public-school systems start in early to mid-August so this pretty much guts a lot of programs.
Indiana University cut more than 100 Academic programs. After a nasty state budget bill.
The University of Pennsylvania settled a dispute with the Department of Education by sending personal apology letters to swimmers who were defeated by a trans athlete, And they will adapt a “biology-based definition of male and female.”