GMU board says it wants to negotiate with DOE

George Mason University’s board of visitors said in a brief statement Friday that it wishes to negotiate a resolution to the U.S. Department of Education‘s finding that the Fairfax County university violated civil rights law.

On Aug. 22, the DOE announced that George Mason had violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by “illegally using race and other immutable characteristics in university practices and policies, including hiring and promotion,” citing President Gregory Washington’s policies that the federal department sees as biased toward people of color and discriminatory against white employees.

In order to settle the matter, the DOE demanded that Washington issue a statement to the university promising “that GMU will conduct all recruitment, hiring, promotion and tenure decisions in compliance with Title VI,” and that the statement must include a personal apology.

However, Washington’s attorney, Douglas F. Gansler, wrote in an 11-page letter to George Mason’s board that the five-week investigation launched in July was “very incomplete” and the report contained “gross mischaracterizations of statements made by Dr. Washington and outright omissions related to the two-plus-year DEI review process that the board of visitors and Dr. Washington engaged in.”

Gansler said that if Washington apologized, the university would be open to “further legal risk in concurrent and further investigations by other agencies,” including two open investigations launched in July by the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights division. The DOE also initiated a probe into allegations that the university failed to protect Jewish students and staff from antisemitic incidents. So far, only the July 10 DOE findings have been released.

According to the board’s statement on Aug. 29, the board has informed the DOE it would like to negotiate with the federal agency through its legal counsel — Mike Fragoso, a partner of Torridon Law, the firm started by former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr — and Washington’s attorney, Gansler.

“The board remains committed to ensuring that George Mason complies with all federal civil rights law and remains hopeful that a favorable resolution can be reached,” the statement concludes.

Meanwhile, Mason’s board of visitors is down to only six confirmed members following a state Senate committee vote last week to reject six new appointees by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. According to state law, a board must have eight members present to have a quorum.

The DOE did not respond immediately to a request for comment Tuesday.