The University of Virginia, as we have known it all our lives, is no more. Its status as an independent academic village, an oasis dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, ended Wednesday when officials effectively signed the school over to the Trump administration and its weaponized Department of Justice.
In knuckling under, UVA not only effectively surrendered state control of the school to the White House but undermined the united opposition of higher education across the United States to unacceptable demands being made by President Donald Trump. It’s a dark day for Mr. Jefferson’s university, for the commonwealth and for the nation.
In a letter dated Jan. 18, 1800, Thomas Jefferson first raised the idea of establishing “for the state a University on a plan so broad & liberal & modern, as to be worth patronising with the public support, and be a temptation to the youth of other states to come, and drink of the cup of knolege & fraternize with us.”
The University of Virginia, formally founded 18 years later, represents the physical embodiment of those ideals: an institution of higher education in Charlottesville that has been both a tremendous asset to the commonwealth and the envy of other states for more than 200 years. It is consistently ranked among the top public universities in the nation.
Now that university is weakened, its future direction uncertain and its reputation perhaps forever tarnished. Besieged by a federal administration determined to bring independent colleges and universities to heel and aided by weak-kneed leadership willing to do its bidding, UVA agreed to a deal that would lessen pressure from the Department of Justice — but at a cost.
At issue is a 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, in which the court ordered colleges and universities to limit the use of race in admissions. The Trump administration, in its relentless quest to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and banish LGBTQ+ Americans from public life — takes a more expansive view of that ruling and seeks to impose its interpretation on all of higher education.
The White House views UVA as an attractive target, and has for months threatened the university with intrusive investigations and harsh punishment, including the loss of federal funding, should the school fail to comply with its demands. In June, that pressure campaign resulted in the resignation of President Paul Ryan, who agreed to quit in a bid to preserve Washington’s financial support.
But that wasn’t good enough for the Trump administration. It included UVA among the schools pressured to sign a compact that would impose conditions such as agreeing “that academic freedom is not absolute” and pledging to potentially shut down “institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.” In exchange, schools that sign would receive an inside track for federal funding, a reward for obsequiousness.
To its credit, UVA declined that deal, but instead accepted one that obligates the university’s president to personally certify compliance with the administration’s opposition to admissions, hiring or programming that Trump deems “preferential treatment” based on race, sex, religion or “other protected characteristics,” according to Inside Higher Ed.
Unlike other schools bullied by the White House, UVA wasn’t obligated to pay a financial tribute to the president, but the deal has no protection against future Justice Department action. UVA may believe it can abide by this agreement, but Trump isn’t a trustworthy negotiator and it’s just as likely the school finds itself under threat again in due course.
Bowing to the White House’s legal interpretation, rather than the law itself, makes the school subject to Trump’s whims. And by signing, UVA broke a united front of public universities seeking to preserve academic freedom and independence and pushing back against the administration’s extraordinary demands.
The people of Virginia, through their tax dollars and their support, have helped build UVa. into one of the most attractive public universities in the nation. What a shame to see that thrown away with a stroke of a pen.
