Paul Mahoney elected as UVA’s interim president following Jim Ryan’s resignation

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) — Paul G. Mahoney, professor and former dean of the University of Virginia (UVA) Law School from 2008 to 2016, has been elected as the university’s interim president following Jim Ryan’s resignation.

According to the university, Mahoney is a David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor and served as dean of the Law School from 2008 to 2016. He will reportedly assume the role of interim president on Monday, Aug. 11.

“I am honored and humbled to serve as the interim president of the University of Virginia and to support the extraordinary students, faculty, staff, alumni and parents who make this institution great,” Mahoney said. “I thank the board for the trust they have placed in me, and for arriving at this decision in a manner consistent with the University’s core values of shared governance, academic freedom and student self-governance. As a longtime member of this community, I care deeply about UVA’s education, research and patient-care mission and look forward to continuing that important work together.”

The UVA Board of Visitors announced Mahoney’s election as interim president following a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 4, after hosting seven listening session groups with faculty, students, alumni and more.

Five questions were posed in each listening session group to generate discussion and feedback among attendees, with each relating to priorities for the upcoming academic year, leadership qualities and characteristics, challenges and more.

Nominations were opened on July 15 and were collected online and via email until 5 p.m. on July 25, said Catherine Lindqvist, executive director of UVA’s Executive Search Group, during the special meeting. There were reportedly 599 nominations for 143 people.

A university spokesperson said Mahoney will have full authority of the presidency while the search for a permanent president is underway.

Mahoney’s election comes shortly after the resignation of Jim Ryan, which followed pressure from the Department of Justice under the Trump administration.

Multiple sources reportedly told a national news outlet that the DOJ wanted Ryan to resign because it would “help resolve a Justice Department inquiry into the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.”

In March, UVA dissolved its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office, though it said it still “highly values diversity,” earning praise from Governor Glenn Youngkin (R), after President Donald Trump’s Jan. 21 Executive Order that demanded all federal departments and agencies to end all DEI programs.