Education Department discovers George Mason breached Title VI through DEI practices

Oklahoma bans tax-funded DEI programs at universities

Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt talked on “Falkner Focus” about their initiative to prohibit tax-funded diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at colleges in Oklahoma.

In a separate incident, the Department of Education announced that George Mason University (GMU) has violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act due to the improper application of DEI practices. The Civil Rights Office initiated an investigation into GMU’s employment and promotion practices last month, after complaints were made by professors advocating for priority treatment of “underrepresented groups” to promote anti-racism.

The complaint specifically targeted GMU President Gregory Washington, accusing him of issuing directives that place diversity initiatives above professional qualifications. Deputy Civil Rights Director Craig expressed concern, noting that Washington had previously called for removing what he deemed “racist traces” from the university. There’s a feeling that Washington initiated a campaign promoting DEI policies that discriminate by race, which raises serious ethical questions.

The Department of Education emphasized that GMU has the chance to comply with federal civil rights laws by entering into an agreement with the Civil Rights Office. This could have significant implications, as the Trump administration’s Department of Education is clearly not open to allowing practices that violate civil rights laws to persist.

The Civil Rights Office has put forward a resolution proposal with six conditions that GMU must accept within the next ten days to resolve the issue. This requires the university to publicly commit to following Title VI in all hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions, including an apology from the president for promoting discriminatory practices.

Additionally, GMU will need to ensure that future hiring and promotion policies no longer consider race as a factor, and provide annual training for involved personnel to prevent discrimination. Compliance records must also be maintained for government review.

If GMU does not agree to these terms, it risks losing federal funding. The tensions arising from the Trump administration’s stance on these issues have already impacted several other universities, such as Harvard and UCLA, over allegations of discrimination and anti-Semitism.