The Trump administration has accused George Mason University (GMU) of violating federal civil rights law through its diversity and hiring initiatives.
After a six-week investigation, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) determined that the Northern Virginia institution violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits race-based discrimination in public education.
As part of a proposed resolution, the department is requiring GMU President Gregory Washington to issue a statement and “personal apology … for promoting unlawful discriminatory practices in hiring, promotion, and tenure processes.” The university would also be expected to revise noncompliant policies and provide annual training for staff involved in hiring and promotions.
The OCR announced Friday that university officials have 10 days to respond.
Craig Trainor, the Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said President Washington’s efforts to remove what he called “racist vestiges” from campus were followed by the implementation of “unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race.” Trainor described the last five years as “an unfortunate chapter” in GMU’s history.
The federal probe was launched July 10 after multiple professors complained the university gave “preferential treatment” to job applicants and faculty from underrepresented backgrounds.
While GMU’s student body is diverse — with white students making up the largest percentage (33.7%) in the 2024–25 academic year — more than half of its faculty and staff remain white, according to university data.
Washington, the first Black president of GMU, took office in July 2020 during nationwide protests over police brutality. Soon after, he established an anti-racism task force and ordered a policy review. The initiatives also addressed the legacy of the university’s namesake, George Mason, a slaveholder. In April 2022, the school dedicated a memorial to the people he enslaved.
Washington argued that in order to build a workforce that reflects the student body, GMU needed to reconsider how it defined the “best” candidates. “Our mission of educating and preparing the future leaders of America’s economy and society demands that we recruit people with the full breadth of lived experiences as well as professional backgrounds that our students encounter,” he wrote in 2021.
The Education Department cited that statement, along with the requirement that new faculty hires be approved by GMU’s Office of Access, Compliance, and Community (OACC), as evidence of unlawful practices. Previously known as the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the OACC was renamed earlier this year after the department ordered universities to end “race-based decision-making.”
One unnamed administrator also told investigators that Washington “created an atmosphere of surveillance” around hiring practices.
GMU Board Reviewing Agreement
The GMU Board of Visitors called the department’s findings “a serious matter” and said it is reviewing the proposed agreement.
“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,” the board said. “Our sole focus is our fiduciary duty to serve the best interests of the University and the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
The Title VI probe is one of five civil rights investigations the Trump administration opened against GMU this summer. Others involve alleged antisemitism, admissions policies, and a July 24 resolution passed by the GMU Faculty Senate in support of Washington.
The board’s next meeting is set for Sept. 25. While some students and faculty feared Washington might be removed, the board instead approved a 1.5% raise for him at its Aug. 1 meeting. Supporters noted, however, that it was the smallest pay increase of his presidency.
At the same session, the board unanimously prohibited race from being considered in “any aspects of student, academic, and campus life” and cut diversity programs, including the Access to Research and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) initiative. Many of the challenged policies, such as requiring diversity statements in hiring, had already been dropped earlier this year.
Faculty Push Back
The GMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) condemned the investigation, calling it a “gross misuse of federal enforcement authority.” The group argued that the Civil Rights Act was originally meant to dismantle segregation and expand opportunities, particularly for Black Americans.
“Efforts to fight discrimination and strengthen inclusivity are not violations of civil rights — they are the very fulfillment of our obligations under civil rights law and the principles of equal opportunity,” the executive committee said.
The chapter urged the Board of Visitors not to yield to political pressure and criticized the demand for a personal apology from Washington.
“We call on the University’s Board of Visitors, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the wider community to stand firm in defending George Mason’s values,” the AAUP said. “We urge the University to contest this baseless determination rather than submit to coercive remedies that would erode academic freedom, weaken shared governance, and undermine the integrity of our institution.”
