Northern Virginia business leaders rally behind GMU president

Four powerful business organizations in Northern Virginia have sent a letter to George Mason University‘s board of visitors voicing support for George Mason President Gregory Washington, who supporters say is the next university leader the Trump administration is seeking to oust amid four federal investigations launched in the past month.

Released Wednesday to the public, the letter is signed by the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Northern Virginia Chamber and the Loudoun County and Prince William chambers of commerce. The groups laud Washington, who took office in 2020, for leading and fostering “a preeminent educational institution that delivers the region’s workforce. Simply stated, Mason is advancing our regional future.”

In 2019, George Mason received $235 million to produce more than 7,500 master’s graduates in tech fields over the next 20 years as part of the state’s Tech Talent Investment Program. Over the past decade, the university has forged partnerships with Amazon.com, General Dynamics Information Technology, Northrop Grumman and other major corporations.

Following University of Virginia President Jim Ryan’s resignation under similar circumstances this month, the Trump administration has now seemingly turned its war on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, to focus on Washington and GMU.

The administration has launched four federal investigations at George Mason into alleged race and sex bias in hiring and promotion decisions in favor of women and people of color and alleged failure to protect Jewish students and staff from antisemitism. The U.S. Department of Justice‘s civil rights division has opened two probes, and the other two investigations are under the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights umbrella.

The letter from the four regional business organizations, dated July 22, is the first unified defense of Washington from the business community since the federal investigations were launched. It may carry more influence than missives from Democratic politicians or faculty members — and it is not as politically loaded as it doesn’t mention the federal investigations or the Trump administration’s stance on DEI.

The letter goes on to describe how under Washington, the university has expanded its capacity for research, added industry partnerships and “created more pathways to opportunity for students from all backgrounds. … As Mason’s national profile rises, so does Virginia’s ability to attract, develop and retain top talent.”

The organizations call on the university’s board of visitors — all appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and in some cases with ties to powerful conservative political groups — to “reaffirm its support for Mason as a critical regional asset and for Dr. Washington’s strategic vision for the university.”

NVTC President and CEO Jennifer Taylor called for other business organizations, chambers and associations in Virginia to stand with the signatories in support of Washington. “We support Dr. Washington because his vision aligns with the needs of our business community — and because collaboration between the private sector and higher education has never been more important,” she said in a statement.

The GMU Board of Visitors is led by Rector Charles “Cully” Stimson, a senior legal fellow and manager of the National Security Law Program at the Heritage Foundation. He and other board members have been publicly critical of Washington over DEI policies. However, Washington defended himself in a statement last week, saying that “George Mason does not engage in ‘illegal DEI,’ as the general accusation has been labeled.”

Critics, including Virginia’s two Democratic U.S. senators and state lawmakers, as well as faculty members, have called the federal investigations politically motivated and say the effort is intended to force out Washington, GMU’s first Black president.

Many have drawn parallels to the resignation of U.Va.’s Ryan, who was subjected to DOJ demands to prove that U.Va. was dismantling its diversity, equity and inclusion office and initiatives after its board voted to do so in March.

At the end of June, Ryan said that he would step down in July because he wished to protect federal funding for student financial aid and research at the university, which was threatened by the Trump administration if he remained president, according to reports.