CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)- The University of Virginia named Paul Mahoney as its interim president following a Board of Visitors meeting Monday. 

Mahoney will take over from Jennifer “JJ” Davis, who was appointed acting president following the resignation of President Jim Ryan. Mahoney’s first day will be Aug. 11.

“We are confident that Paul’s longstanding connection to the University as a faculty member and dean of the Law School, as well as his extensive achievements as a lawyer, professor and public servant, make him the right leader to guide this institution as the search for a 10th UVA president gets underway,” new BOV rector Rachel Sheridan said in a statement released by the school.

Ryan resigned on the July 11 under pressure from the Trump Administration. The Department of Justice was investigating UVA and contended Ryan and the school were not responsive to a government inquiry designed to assure the university had dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that the White House opposes.

Davis will now return to her role as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer for the University.   

Mahoney was Dean of the School of Law from 2008 to 2016 and was appointed from his current post as a professor at the Law School.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

From this point on, a 28-person committee will now begin its search for the University’s tenth President. An outside search firm will be retained and the process is expected to take 4-6 months.