The Ministry of Education announced that George Mason University (GMU) has allegedly violated civil rights laws by improperly using race and other immutable characteristics in its policies and practices, including those related to employment and promotions.
The Department of Civil Rights (OCR) initiated an investigation into GMU in July after receiving complaints from several professors. These complaints suggested that university leadership had adopted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in 2020, which favored members of “underrepresented groups” under the guise of “anti-racism.”
The Ministry of Education referenced a statement from GMU’s president, Gregory Washington, along with the university’s policies which seem to endorse racial preferences. According to the OCR, a high-ranking school official indicated that Washington had fostered an environment of surveillance regarding these DEI-related employment decisions.
“In 2020, President Gregory Washington called for the removal of what he termed ‘racist traces’ from GMU’s campus. Ironically, he initiated a widespread campaign to adopt illegal DEI policies that intentionally discriminate based on race,” the statement continued.
Despite this troubling chapter in its history, the university now has the chance to adhere to federal civil rights laws by entering into a resolution agreement with the Civil Rights Office. “For the last seven months, it has been clear that the current administration will not permit racially exclusive practices that violate the Civil Rights Act and Supreme Court precedents to corrupt our educational institutions,” it stated.
The OCR has given GMU 10 days to voluntarily address the allegations. Among its proposed resolution agreements, the department is also requesting that the president of GMU personally apologize to the school community regarding the DEI policies.
The Department of Education emphasized that Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin as a requirement for receiving federal funding.
