George Mason University denies engaging in illegal DEI practices after DOJ probe

FAIRFAX, Va. (DC News Now) — George Mason University (GMU) President Gregory Washington issued a statement on Friday in response to a recent investigation launched by the Department of Justice (DOJ) into the university’s employment practices.

DOJ officials said their investigation stems from “statements and policies made by the University’s president, which indicate that race and sex are motivating factors in faculty hiring and other employment decisions” in order to achieve diversity goals.

Washington said the university learned of the investigation when the DOJ’s news release was distributed on Thursday, July 17.

Regardless of not being able to make direct contact with the department to learn more about the complaint, “we will always work in good faith to cooperate fully … and are gathering requested information as required,” he wrote in a statement.

He denied the DOJ’s accusations that the university has been engaging in “illegal DEI” practices.

Washington said that, from his understanding, parts of the complaint are based on outdated digital posts, including a tweet from his social media account in June 2022 and a livestreamed town hall in November 2020.

Context

Washington said the context in which his statements were made is vital to understanding why they were appropriate and in compliance with state mandates.

Both the 2020 town hall and 2022 social media post occurred in the wake of “… several tragic events culminating in George Floyd’s murder,” he stated.

As part of addressing the reckoning happening across the nation at the time, the university was looking for ways of improving itself, while also examining its past actions.

“Not only were we working to improve, [but] being Virginia’s largest and most diverse public university meant government leaders and the public expected George Mason to play a meaningful part in creating structures and programming to address old biases and persistent inequalities in business operations,” he wrote.

As a result of the changes taking place across the country, then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam launched the ONE Virginia plan and enacted amendments to the Code of Virginia in March 2021. With these changes, Washington said GMU was expected to address barriers to equal employment opportunities and promote diversity and equity in hiring, among other things.

By 2025, after several changes to the Commonwealth’s leadership, GMU was instructed to dismantle programs and eliminate or reassign staff members — “which we have done,” Washington said.

“Just as we complied with leadership expectations to increase DEI programming, we have also worked in good faith to follow directives in the opposite direction,” his statement read. “Throughout the shifts, we have leaned on our institutional values, and stayed true to our core ethos to remain a constant beacon of welcoming and inclusivity to everyone who seeks us out. It’s a very difficult path to travel, but we have worked in earnest to maintain that path.”

Washington acknowledged that he has regularly “publicly and passionately” expressed his goals to erase bias against any and all groups, as well as maintain a welcoming environment at GMU.

He rejected the idea, however, that GMU has created new university policies or procedures that discriminate against or exclude anyone.

“We have weathered so much as one community, not least of which a pandemic and a recession. As always, we will come through this as the George Mason community always does: together,” Washington’s statement concluded.