Democrats, Wilder defend Va.’s top-ranked higher education system amid Trump investigations

In a display of unity, former Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder joined several Democratic leaders in Richmond on Thursday to oppose what they say are partisan attacks on Virginia’s education system and universities.

The event came on the heels of a group of George Mason University professors’ vote of no confidence in the school’s governing board amid a federal civil rights investigation, and weeks after the University of Virginia’s president resigned following federal pressure to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the school. 

Democrats also announced they’re considering conducting an in-depth review of how the governor appoints members to governing boards including at Virginia’s colleges and universities, and reforming the process. The current process has come under intense scrutiny after Senate legislators rejected eight of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointees to college boards, and launched a lawsuit against the administration over the issue. 

“What we’re seeing today is not about policy differences. It’s about a pattern, a coordinated effort to silence, punish and erase,” said Wilder.

Wilder joined several House and Senate Democrats, who highlighted the academic successes of Virginia’s higher educational institutions, after President Donald Trump’s administration launched several investigations into Virginia’s universities, primarily the University of Virginia and George Mason University. 

CNBC ranked Virginia’s education system as the top system in the country for the second year in a row, despite the commonwealth dropping three spots to fourth overall as the best state to do business.

Within the past month, the Trump administration launched a fourth investigation at George Mason University, targeting the institution’s DEI initiatives, employees’ employment practices, and treatment of students. The list of investigations also included a separate query into alleged antisemitism on campus.

House Democratic Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, a graduate of George Mason, defended her alma mater and other institutions in the commonwealth.

“We believe in facts, we believe in freedom and we believe in the future of our students,” Herring said. “This generation of students deserves better than to be caught in the crosshairs of a partisan law affair. They deserve investment, not interference. They deserve opportunity, not obstruction, and they deserve degrees, not delusions.”

At UVA, former president Jim Ryan stepped down after the U.S. Department of Justice, under the direction of the Trump administration, put pressure on the institution following Title VI complaints and political scrutiny.

The U.S. Department of Justice also claimed that the institution failed to fully dismantle its DEI programs and merely rebranded its efforts.

In a statement from the governor’s office following the press briefing, Youngkin spokesman Peter Finocchio said that “there is no place for antisemitism” or “racial preferences driving admission or hiring decisions” in the commonwealth following the press briefing.

“We must follow the law as established by the Supreme Court and federal laws, including civil rights statutes,” Finocchio said. “Virginia’s world-class system of higher education will continue to be defined by our ability to graduate outstanding students who are fully prepared to succeed in the workforce.”

DEI: The lightning rod

DEI initiatives are a lynchpin in the divide between Democrats and Republicans, and though their divergence of views on DEI originate before the start of the first Trump administration, the conflict has escalated during the president’s second term.

DEI efforts date back to the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, when the Freedmen’s Bureau was established to assist formerly enslaved Black Americans and give them a fairer chance at educational, financial and social success in American society. More recent, high-profile examples of racial injustice and unequal opportunity for people of color — such as the murder of Black Minnesota man George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, and Supreme Court’s recission of affirmative action policies on college campuses in 2023 — resulted in public demand for corporate and institutional commitments to treating all Americans fairly. 

“Diversity, equity and inclusion are not threats. They are tools of fairness,” Wilder said. “They’re grounded in the constitutional values that shape this country and its commonwealth. What threatens us, what really threatens us, is unchecked power.”

However, Republicans argue that DEI initiatives present cultural, ideological and political problems. Chief among the concerns is the threat of placing a person’s identity over achievements when determining their qualifications, and “reverse discrimination,” which they say puts the majority at a disadvantage.

UVA’s governing board was the first in the commonwealth to dissolve its DEI initiatives, but it was not enough to avoid involvement from the Trump administration. 

Youngkin’s administration has also confronted DEI efforts by renaming the state Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion through an executive order — replacing “equity” with “opportunity,” contrary to state code — and eliminating DEI-driven education programs at the Virginia Department of Education through an executive order designed to remove “divisive concepts” in school curriculum.

Independence vs accountability

Through their actions this year, Senate Democrats have tried to enforce the principles governing board members must follow, including understanding fiduciary duties, commitment to independent institutional governance, and a pledge to avoid excessive partisan inclinations.

This manifested on June 9, when the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee rejected several of Youngkin’s appointments to governing boards. Youngkin’s administration has challenged these, claiming that appointments can still serve until the entire General Assembly reconvenes.

The contention set the state for a lawsuit and court hearing on Friday to decide whether leaders at Virginia Military Institute, the University of Virginia, and George Mason University broke the rules by allowing rejected appointees to remain on their governing boards.

The legislators are asking the court to bar the contested board members from continuing to serve and declare that any board member who permits them to remain is violating their legal duties. Among the rejected appointments were GOP stalwarts, including former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a former deputy secretary of Homeland Security with the first Trump administration, and former state commerce and trade secretary Caren Merrick.

On July 10, Senate Democratic leaders asked the Senate to sign a letter supporting Virginia’s higher education institutions and institutional independence. In response, Republicans refuted the letter’s intention.

“Today’s press conference was silent on the real issue: a formal federal Title VI investigation into George Mason’s handling of race-based complaints, including nearly forty reports tied to antisemitic harassment last fall,” said House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, in a statement to the Mercury. “This isn’t politics. It’s civil rights law asking: Were complaints processed, investigated, supported, or ignored? Fighting antisemitism isn’t a pretext. Oversight isn’t partisan. It’s accountability.”

In a July 11 statement, Senate Republican leaders also addressed the matter, expressing concern that Democrats are attempting to shield higher education institutions from any form of public accountability while simultaneously politicizing board appointments and weaponizing the courts against college leaders.

Republicans also emphasized that while academic freedom is a “core value,” state government oversight and accountability are not only appropriate but essential.

“We strongly support academic excellence and freedom of inquiry,” Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, said in a statement. “But there’s nothing improper about ensuring that our public universities reflect the values and priorities of the people of Virginia. That’s not interference—that’s representative government.”

“Our institutions deserve better than this performative double standard,” Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, said. “Virginia’s students and families are watching—and they know the difference between real leadership and political theater.”

The path forward

Democratic leaders acknowledged that while they cannot control the federal government’s actions, they do have some options for the challenges facing Virginia’s higher education landscape, including reconsidering legislation to support governing boards that could help address the gubernatorial appointment process.

One idea is for the legislature to reconsider a proposal from last year’s session that Youngkin vetoed. The proposal would have redefined the authority of governing boards within public universities regarding their legal affairs. The proposal would have allowed the boards to manage independent legal counsel. It also clarified that the state attorney general’s involvement in legal matters would be limited to instances where their services are specifically requested.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said since Youngkin took office the administration’s plan has been to reform institutions and remake governing boards to align them with conservative ideals, pointing to Attorney General Jason Miyares firing the attorneys at UVA and George Mason.

“There’s been a deliberate coordinated effort to get this done at the very beginning,” Surovell said.

Lawmakers are also considering amendments to the state code that specifies gubernatorial appointments cannot take effect until they are confirmed by the General Assembly, typically in January. 

Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said he is pondering proposing a study and forming a select joint committee to better understand the history of the governing boards.

“We have a responsibility, I think, as we move forward, to put in some guardrails,” Scott said. “I think to do that we need the public support (and) we need to let them know what’s happening now, so when we do make these changes, they’ll understand why we had to do it.”

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.