James E. Ryan, the former president of the University of Virginia, released a detailed 12-page account describing intense political pressure from university board members and federal actors that preceded his abrupt resignation. Ryan says he was presented with an ultimatum and that officials from the Department of Justice and state political operatives conveyed that keeping him in place risked the loss of federal research funds. He characterizes the episode as a coercive breach of institutional governance. Ryan’s letter names board members and describes meetings and leak-driven timelines that culminated in a four-hour window to accept terms or face funding consequences. The account has prompted responses from the Association of Governing Boards and renewed scrutiny of how external political forces are influencing public-university governance. Clarification: Ryan’s account is a personal narrative submitted to the Faculty Senate and does not itself trigger a legal remedy, but it illuminates a broader pattern of federal pressure on public research universities.