U.S. Department of Education finds GMU violated civil rights law

George Mason University has been found in violation of federal civil rights law, the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday, laying blame on President Gregory Washington’s shoulders.

The Fairfax County public university, Virginia’s largest by enrollment, 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,” the DOE said in a news release, citing Washington’s policies that the federal department sees as biased toward people of color and discriminatory against white employees.

“In 2020, university President Gregory Washington called for expunging the so-called ‘racist vestiges’ from GMU‘s campus. Without a hint of self awareness, President Washington then waged a universitywide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race. You can’t make this up,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement. “Despite this unfortunate chapter in Mason’s history, the university now has the opportunity to come into compliance with federal civil rights laws by entering into a resolution agreement with the Office for Civil Rights.”

To resolve the matter — and maintain federal funding at George Mason — Washington is required to “personally issue a statement to all university students and employees that GMU will conduct all recruitment, hiring, promotion and tenure decisions in compliance with Title VI, and disseminate information to the campus community explaining how to submit a discrimination complaint,” and that the statement must include a personal apology by Washington.

The university also must review its policies and revise documents regarding hiring and promotions to comply with Title VI, as well as conduct annual training of employees involved in recruitment, hiring, promotion and tenure decisions, and maintain all records necessary to demonstrate compliance with an agreement.

The DOE has given George Mason 10 days to voluntarily resolve the violations.

It is not clear if the university is still under investigation for allegedly not protecting Jewish students and staff from antisemitism, the subject of a July 1 probe by the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights. The DOE’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for information. The Title VI probe was opened July 10, becoming the second federal investigation into Mason.

The Department of Justice’s civil rights division also is conducting two investigations into George Mason employment practices that the federal government claims may be discriminatory to benefit women and people of color.

Critics, including Virginia Democratic lawmakers and George Mason faculty members, say that the university and Washington himself are under attack by the Trump administration and have accused the federal government of overreach in an attempt to drive Washington out of the presidency.

The George Mason Board of Visitors issued a statement Friday addressing the Department of Education’s finding of violations: “The board is reviewing the specific resolution steps proposed by the Department of Education. We will continue to respond fully and cooperatively to all inquiries from the Department of Education, the Department of Justice and the U.S. House of Representatives and evaluate the evidence that comes to light. Our sole focus is our fiduciary duty to serve the best interests of the university and the people of the commonwealth of Virginia.”

Washington has not issued a public statement as of Friday morning about the DOE finding, and the university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition to the four federal investigations, Washington has been called to testify before a congressional committee controlled by Republicans. He survived a potential ouster at the Aug. 1 university board meeting where board members, all appointed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, discussed Washington’s job performance in closed session. Instead, Washington received a 1.5% raise.