University President Jim Ryan’s resignation means that the Board of Visitors are poised to select the next president of the University. A president selected by this Board — which has already demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the goals of the Trump administration — will be quick to capitulate to the demands of President Donald Trump. This prospect poses an existential threat to the intellectual life of our University. As a student, it worries me more than anything else, and it should worry you too.
Resisting the Trump administration is not easy — to date, only one major university has dared to do it. Ryan, in his email to students and faculty, correctly noted that any amount of reluctance to Trump’s growing power would have led to disastrous consequences for students and faculty. I am concerned, however, that Ryan’s resignation means that the University has lost its ability to fight back as an institution. Ryan’s pragmatic and noble decision, although respectable, means that the future of the University is plagued with uncertainty at best, and on a path towards radical reconstruction at worst.
The members of the Board, a majority of whom were nominated by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, appear ready to happily fall like dominos in Trump’s battle against higher education. For example, they unanimously voted to dissolve the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion following Trump’s Jan. 21 Executive Order. But it is not just more extreme actions like this which are threatened by their willingness to adhere to Trump’s whims. In fact, every facet of the Board is impacted. For example, during the most recent Board meeting, members heavily scrutinized the University’s budget, seeking to root out any funding towards DEI programs or initiatives. These efforts are bolstered by the vocal support of those at the Jefferson Council who originally called for Ryan’s resignation and who, for years, have advocated for the return to a more conservative approach. It is clear, therefore, that the Board will seize this opportunity to find a president who comports with the conservative agenda they were nominated to pursue.
It is difficult to predict the exact consequences of a president either personally tied to this conservative agenda or politically subservient to its supporters — a quick consideration of what the results could be is alarming. Ryan’s resignation and the installation of his replacement could jeopardize funding for key research and diversity initiatives, subject hundreds of international students to uncertainty and imperil free speech protections for those who dare to speak up. The search for truth is nourished by diversity of thought and the protection of free speech. It is these qualities that fall squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s encroachment across institutions of reason and argument. Such actions have historically been textbook moves of totalitarian regimes. In this way, Ryan’s resignation does not insulate us from the unyielding wrath of Trump.
Indeed, by coercing the resignation, Trump breaks down the biggest barrier between his administration and control of the University. A president of the University who is a willing accomplice to Trump’s usurpation of higher education is a president who hastens the demise of those special qualities which make higher education a worthwhile and enriching experience. We need a president who resists Trump’s effort to achieve total control of society, not one who will excitedly embrace it.
To ensure a University President is loyal to his or her students rather than the federal government, every one of us must play our role. The University community, students and faculty will prove central in any defense of the University’s autonomy. If we are to hope that our University will not succumb to Trump’s efforts, it is incumbent upon us to continuously call for the University as an institution to maintain its independence. The first step in that process is the crucial recognition that the future of the University is contingent on this moment. If we do not register our discontent with every Board member, University administrator and at the ballot box this November, where we will vote for the next Governor to appoint members to the Board, then we are sure to surrender our University to the whims of the Trump administration.
If the Board is able to select a president in the coming months, Trump’s extreme vision will likely become realized at the University. This will come at the expense of students, patients, scholars, the Commonwealth and the innumerable people that contribute to benefit from our University. That reality is untenable. I worry that it is also becoming unavoidable.
Reese Barrett is a fourth-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The opinions expressed in this guest column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the author alone.
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