The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Thursday announced it is investigating George Mason University for allegedly violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through its diversity, equity, and inclusion practices on hiring.
The department said in a statement that its investigation was spurred by a complaint filed by several GMU professors who alleged that the Fairfax, Virginia university has illegally used "race and other immutable characteristics" in its policies, including on hiring and promotion.
Such alleged conduct, the OCR said, "creates a racially hostile environment," which is prohibited by federal law, which does not allow discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the employment practices of schools that receive federal funds.
The complaint claims that GMU's leaders promoted and adopted DEI polices from 2020 through the present, giving preferential treatment to prospective and current faculty members from "underrepresented groups" to advance "anti-racism."
According to the complaint, GMU leadership has allegedly promoted and adopted "unlawful" DEI policies from 2020 through the present, which give preferential treatment to prospective and current faculty from "underrepresented groups" to advance "anti-racism."
Officials at GMU, in a statement to ABC affiliate WJLA in Arlington, Virginia, said that it learned about the investigation at the same time that the Department of Education announced the investigation to the media, "which is unprecedented in our experience."
The university added that it "again affirms its commitment to comply with all federal and state mandates" and consistently reviews policies and practices to ensure they comply with federal laws, agency directives, and executive orders.
The school also insisted that it does not discriminate "on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law."
But the OCR said that despite the university's leadership claims, its hiring practices from 2020 to the present, implemented under the guise of DEI guidelines, "not only allow but champion" racial preferencing in violation of Title VI.
"This kind of pernicious and widespread discrimination — packaged as 'anti-racism' — was allowed to flourish under the Biden Administration, but it will not be tolerated by this one," Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights for the OCR, commented.
"The Trump-McMahon Education Department's Office for Civil Rights will investigate this matter fully to ensure that individuals are judged based on their merit and accomplishment, not the color of their skin."
According to the complaint, GMU President Gregory Washington announced that the university's DEI office was renamed as the "Office of Access, Compliance, and Community" in March.
OCR last week opened a separate Title VI investigation at GMU on claims that it allegedly did not respond effectively to a "pervasively hostile environment" for Jewish students and faculty from October 2023 through the 2024-25 academic year.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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