Academic Freedom – University of Virginia

August 5, 2025

Many of the colleges and universities in the United States have been under attack by the current federal administration, for a number of issues. Being too “Woke”, Anti-Semitic, and DEI programs, among others.

The University of Virginia is among a number of institutions of higher learning that have “caved” to the threats of the Trump Administration, rather than lose the government funding that they have been receiving for research, and other programs. A form of “blackmail.”

In the University of Virginia’s case, it was reported that the Trump Administration, through the Department of Justice, was threatening to withhold or block, $2.2 billion in federal grants to the University, as well as bar enrollment of international students, unless the President of the University resigned.

It has been reported that the current administration wanted the University’s DEI program, eliminated in its entirety.

Jim Ryan, President of the University, decided to resign, instead of fighting. He said, “I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my job.” He had been President since 2018, and led the University through the aftermath of the white supremacist rally, and the pandemic. He also led the recent fundraising campaign that raised over $6 billion for the University.

In support of this action, were a number of “conservative” non-profit organizations. They included the National Association of Scholars, Minding the Campus, and The Jefferson Council. These organizations were very vocal in supporting the government’s actions.

The National Association of Scholars has been one of the most vocal in supporting the administration’s actions against the University of Virginia.

In researching them, I found that the National Association of Scholars total revenue, for the year 2023, amounted to $2.96 million, and their profit amounted to $227, 751. Their total membership is approximately 4,000.

Their purpose is to advocate for academic freedom, intellectual diversity, and scholarly integrity in higher education. They are an advocate for reforming university and academic policies that they believe are ideologically biased or academically weak.

They state that their mission is to “ uphold the standards of a liberal arts education, and to defend the pursuit of truth in academia.” The effectiveness of this organization has been questionable with the educational community.

They are considered an extremely conservative organization, being critical of “Woke” culture, DEI, and critical race theory.

In their statement of July 9, 2025, they state, “they welcome the resignation of James Ryan from the University of Virginia. They go on to state,” the University of Virginia is better off for his resignation, which allows for the appointment of a new president who can be expected to put real effort into removing the illegal, immoral, and discriminatory bureaucratic apparatus of DEI, entrenched within the University of Virginia.”

That July 9thstatement received a lot of media attention. It appeared that they were speaking for the majority of university scholars, professors and employees. But were they?

There are two large, non-profit organizations, that have been more representative of both colleges and universities, and the professors at those universities.

The non-profit, American Association of University Professors, is an organization of university professors, and other academics. They are now affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers. Their mission is to “advance academic freedom and shared governance.”

They have approximately 45,000 members, that are divided into 500 local chapters. Their 2022 revenue was $10.3 million.

They put out a statement on July 1, 2025, that stated that the resignation of James Ryan, “was an insult on a higher education system accessible to all, and thus to democracy itself.” It went on to state, “an authoritarian administration intent on turning back the clock in implementation of a white racist agenda demanded his removal for disobeying their political and ideological commands.

This sets an extremely dangerous precedent as neither the White House, nor the Department of Justice, has the authority to fire university presidents.”

Their statement did not gather the media’s attention, and did not reach the general public.

Another organization is the American Council on Education. It has been around since 1918, and its 1,600 members are accredited, degree granting colleges, universities, and higher education related organizations.

Their stated purpose is to conduct public policy advocacy, research, and other higher education initiatives. They are the main coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities. In the past, they have filed over 700 “friend of the court” briefs. They play a major role in shaping higher education.

Their 2022 revenue amounted to $39.7 million.

They put out a statement objecting to the Department of Justice’s demand for Ryan to resign, viewing it as “an unprecedented federal overreach into higher education governance.”

Again, their statement received very little media attention.

Although each of these organizations expressed their objection to this situation, they were not vocal enough to be heard.

To put everything in context, the current administration considers Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) to be anti-patriotic. They believe that it gives certain members of the population, a leg up in everything. They couldn’t be more wrong.

In April of this year, I wrote a piece on DEI and published it on my website, www.jesssweely, as well as on Facebook and Linkedin.

The summary of that piece, is that “DEI isn’t discriminatory, but simply means that all will be evaluated fairly, in any employment opportunity, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or national origin.” Basically, “equal opportunity.” In essence, equity for all, and all will be included. Everything will be merit based.

What is wrong with that?

“Woke” is also another word that is being used against educational organizations. The administration is saying that a certain organization is too “Woke.” The word Woke is being used by the current administration to criticize anything progressive that they don’t like. Conservatives are using Woke to view liberals as cultural warriors, that pose an existential threat to the nation, and its traditions. It is being used to label liberals as too progressive, in matters of racial and social justice, in a way that they consider unreasonable or extreme.

Initially, Woke has had a long and serious history in Black culture. It meant “awareness of racial prejudice and discrimination.”

Today, there is no agreed upon definition of Woke. The current administration has given it meaning, by stating that if you are “Woke” ,you are bad.

The other word that the administration is using against colleges and universities, is “anti-Semitism.” The definition of this term is that “one is hostile, discriminates, or is prejudiced against Jews.” The current administration has taken the position, that those protesting the treatment of those in Gaza, are “anti-Semitic.”

I believe that is an extreme view, that is invalid. I believe the treatment of the Palestine people is inhumane. However, I don’t consider myself as being anti-Semitic. I have many Jewish friends, and I don’t consider them responsible for what is happening.

It is generally considered today that “anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as a hatred toward Jews.”

If we allow this “blackmail” of our higher education system to prevail, we will no longer have “academic freedom” , nor will there be an expression of opposite views. Morality, the difference between right and wrong, will no longer exist.

We will be descending toward an authoritarian form of government, and our democracy will be in jeopardy. Ethics will be nonexistent.

We have the ability to stop this, but do we have the fortitude to do so? Our democracy is being threatened. Members of both parties have the power to stop this unprecedented assault on our livelihood, but will they? How can we allow one person to hijack our entire democratic system of government?

A democracy is a “form of government, by the people for the people.” Have we forgotten that?

The future is in our hands. Will we take control? The mid-term elections could determine that.

Jess Sweely

Madison, Virginia