The University of Virginia’s president, James E. Ryan, has told the board overseeing the school that he will resign in the face of demands by the Trump administration that he step aside to help resolve a Justice Department inquiry into the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, according to three people briefed on the matter.

For the leader of one of the nation’s most prominent public universities to take such an extraordinary step demonstrates President Donald Trump’s success in harnessing the investigative powers of the federal government to accomplish his administration’s policy goals.

The New York Times reported Thursday the Justice Department had demanded Ryan’s resignation as a condition to settle a civil rights investigation into the school’s diversity practices.

In a letter sent Thursday to the head of the board overseeing the university, Ryan said he had planned to step down at the end of the next academic year but “given the circumstances and today’s conversations” he had decided, “with deep sadness,” to tender his resignation now, according to one of the people familiar with the matter who was briefed on the contents of the letter.

The school’s board has accepted Ryan’s resignation, according to two of the people briefed on the matter.

It was unclear when Ryan would leave his post. He said in his letter to the head of the board that his resignation could be effective immediately but no later than Aug. 15, according to the person briefed on the letter.

Ten days ago, the Justice Department issued a stern warning to the board overseeing the University of Virginia that the school needed to act quickly. The department informed the college of multiple complaints of race-based treatment on campus, and of the government’s conclusion that the use of race in admissions and other student benefits were “widespread practices throughout every component and facet of the institution.”