James E. Ryan: “I am writing, with a very heavy heart, to let you know that I have submitted my resignation as President of the…”

The call for my resignation, right until the end, seemed so outlandish as not to be entirely believable.

They were basically willing to grant U.Va. blanket immunity — all of the inquiries and investigations would be suspended, no financial penalties would be imposed and agencies would be told not to cut off our research funding.

Forcing university presidents to resign, moreover, has not been part of the playbook of the Trump administration; as far as I know, I am the only university president in the country who has been forced to resign as part of a supposed deal…

But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job.