Education 2024: JAMES E. RYAN

Since becoming president in 2018, Ryan has spearheaded several growth initiatives at the state’s flagship university, including the School of Data Science, a new performing arts center and the Karsh Institute of Democracy — all projects funded by donors, including a record 2019 gift of $120 million from alumni couple Jaffray and Merrill Woodriff for the data science school.

In December 2023, U.Va. began construction of the $350 million Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, launched by a $100 million donation from the Mannings. The institute will develop targeted treatments for diseases that either have no cure or involve therapies that make life hard on patients.

In May, Ryan faced criticism for the university’s handling of a pro-Palestinian student protest on campus, after 27 students were arrested by police in riot gear who sprayed protesters with chemical irritants.

Ryan previously served as dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. A first-generation college student, who graduated summa cum laude from Yale University and was first in his U.Va. law class, he was a U.Va. law school faculty member for 15 years.