This article was reprinted with permission from .听
When student Hanaan Kazia first heard about the federal civil rights probe into George Mason University, she wasn鈥檛 surprised. But the junior political science major and member of the school鈥檚 Political Science Honor Society says the implications still scare her.
鈥淚 think it is kind of frightening, because I know that one of the reasons that I went to Mason and one of the reasons why other people have attended Mason is because it is one of the most diverse public universities in Virginia,鈥� Kazia told The Mercury in an interview Tuesday.
鈥淎nd I think that the multitude of experiences that we have on campus 鈥� that the university鈥檚 previous DEI practices have made part of the culture here is something that鈥檚 really important to me and really important to a lot of other students.鈥�
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that聽聽an investigation into GMU over allegations that the school鈥檚 diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies violate聽聽of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in institutions receiving federal funds.
According to the agency, the probe stems from a complaint filed by multiple professors who accuse GMU of giving unlawful preference in hiring and promotion to faculty from 鈥渦nderrepresented groups鈥� in the name of anti-racism. OCR officials argue the university鈥檚 DEI practices, in place since 2020, constitute 鈥減ernicious and widespread discrimination鈥� that runs afoul of federal law.
鈥淒espite the leadership of George Mason University claiming that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, it appears that its hiring and promotion policies and practices from 2020 to the present 鈥� not only allow but champion illegal racial preferencing in violation of Title VI,鈥� said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor.
鈥淭his kind of pernicious and widespread discrimination 鈥� packaged as 鈥榓nti-racism鈥� 鈥� was allowed to flourish under the Biden Administration, but it will not be tolerated by this one.鈥�
OCR cited a number of practices in its opening letter, such as the presence of Equity Advisors in each department who take immutable characteristics into account in hiring; GMU President Gregory Washington鈥檚 stated commitment to tenure and promotion criteria that recognize 鈥渢he invisible and uncredited emotional labor鈥� of faculty of color; and diversity cluster hire initiatives meant to eliminate demographic gaps between students and faculty.
In a聽聽sent in March, Washington also announced the renaming of GMU鈥檚 DEI office to the Office of Access, Compliance, and Community, stating that there was nothing for the university to change because it has 鈥渁lways complied鈥� with existing civil rights laws.
鈥淭his is a more specific and intuitively accurate reflection of its charter. It is not an attempt to evade compliance through clever wordsmithing 鈥� it simply affirms our actual compliance through more precise naming,鈥� he wrote in the email.
A broader political context
The new federal probe comes amid an aggressive rollback of DEI initiatives across higher education nationally under pressure from Republican lawmakers and advocacy groups, sanctioned by the administration of President Donald Trump. In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin has made reducing DEI spending and restructuring public university governance central pillars of his education agenda.
But for Kazia, the charges feel like another escalation in what she sees as a broader political attack on the university鈥檚 identity.
鈥淗onestly, it feels kind of like an attack, especially on our student body,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檝e been under these attacks for a long time, at least a few years, especially because before the Trump administration, Governor Youngkin had an eye on us, and we have members of the Heritage Foundation on our board of visitors. So I think it just kind of feels like it鈥檚 hurting the university in the long run.鈥�
In a statement Friday, GMU said it received the letter announcing the investigation simultaneously with news outlets.
鈥淕eorge Mason University again affirms its commitment to comply with all federal and state mandates. The university consistently reviews its policies and practices to ensure compliance with federal laws, updated executive orders, and on-going agency directives,鈥� the statement read.
And: 鈥淕eorge Mason 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.鈥�
The latest investigation follows a separate Title VI probe launched聽聽into GMU鈥檚 response to antisemitism on campus.
That case involves allegations from students and faculty that the administration failed to adequately respond to a hostile environment for Jewish individuals after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023. The school refuted those claims, with Washington聽聽鈥渁ntisemitism has no place at George Mason University, and never has.鈥� Some observers argue the Trump administration is using those allegations to build a broader political case against Washington.
Diverging views on diversity and merit
Recent reporting by聽听补苍诲听聽has underscored how the Trump administration鈥檚 OCR has increasingly focused on public universities in politically competitive states like Virginia, using Title VI as a mechanism to challenge campus diversity programs.
Liam Keen, a 2024 graduate and former GMU student government leader, pushed back on that idea.
鈥淯sing Jewish identity as a cover for political attempts to restructure an institution is not true support, it鈥檚 instrumentalization,鈥� Keen said. 鈥淎nd ultimately, it does more harm than good.鈥�
Keen, who is white and has family ties to GMU, said diversity has always been a core institutional strength.
鈥淓ducational institutions are more than places to earn a degree. They鈥檙e spaces where we develop a deeper understanding of the world, of each other, and of ourselves,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat mission can only be achieved when we鈥檙e exposed to a variety of perspectives.鈥�
He added, 鈥淎t GMU, diversity isn鈥檛 a slogan, it鈥檚 a reflection of who we are, and it鈥檚 something students consistently say they want more of, not less.鈥�
The student population at GMU is majority-minority, with more than 50% of students identifying as people of color, but its faculty remains more than 65% white, according to internal reports.
Tim Gibson, a longtime GMU professor and president of the Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors, called the latest federal complaint baseless and politically motivated.
鈥淲hat these policies and these programs do, is they say that we鈥檙e going to do it as an institution, where we value the diversity of experience and diversity of perspective 鈥� because we think we鈥檙e stronger that way,鈥� he said in a phone interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about quotas, it鈥檚 not about hiring preferences.鈥�
Gibson argued the Trump administration is mounting an effort to ideologically police public education.
鈥淭hey are trying to exert more control over scientists and researchers, and in the classroom, to train the next generation of researchers and scientists,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to control the production of knowledge so that it only produces knowledge that agrees with their preexisting views. I think it鈥檚 as simple as that.鈥�
Gibson emphasized that the 鈥渁nti-DEI鈥� movement disregards Virginia鈥檚 long history of legally enforced racial exclusion in public education 鈥� a history DEI efforts are meant to address.
鈥淚 think the argument itself is deeply cynical and ahistoric,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 not forget that Virginia was a state that was segregated, within living memory, and that African Americans were excluded by law from attending many of our public universities.鈥�
He continued, 鈥淲hatever objections President Trump and others have had about universities, I believe are simply because the researchers and universities are publishing research knowledge that contradicts 鈥� not for political reasons, but because it鈥檚 true 鈥� all assumptions and myths about the world. And that is one of the functions of universities.鈥�
Parallel to UVA controversy
Longtime Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth said the GMU case shares similarities with the recent controversy at the University of Virginia, where President Jim Ryan聽聽following Title VI complaints and political scrutiny.
鈥淚n some ways, it鈥檚 similar to UVA, where you have a complaint coming from probably a minority in the university,鈥� Holsworth said. 鈥淣ow you have a Youngkin-appointed board of visitors that is silent 鈥� and you have a federal Department of Education that is really aggressively pursuing the complaints.鈥�
But Holsworth said GMU is an unusual target.
鈥淢ason is certainly not a paragon of intellectual wokeness. It has the Mercatus Center; it has the Antonin Scalia Law School. It probably has more conservative-based intellectual elements than any university in Virginia,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 kind of surprising, but this no longer seems to matter.鈥�
He added that the political pressure may be tied to Virginia鈥檚 upcoming elections, with control of the state鈥檚 executive branch and attorney general鈥檚 office on the line.
鈥淚f the attorney general was a Democrat right now, we鈥檇 be in a very different situation with both UVA and George Mason,鈥� Holsworth said, referring to the office鈥檚 responsibility to appoint counsel to all of the state universities. 鈥淪o not only is the governor鈥檚 election critically important, but this may be the most important attorney general election in a generation.鈥�
Voices of support and resistance
Former Gov. Doug Wilder, the nation鈥檚 first Black governor and a GMU supporter, framed the attack on GMU鈥檚 president in historical terms.
鈥淭he elementary school I attended had no cafeteria, no auditorium, and had outdoor toilets. It was named for George Mason,鈥� Wilder recalled. 鈥淚 learned that George Mason was an early American patriot who believed that education and commitment could lead to the fullest participation in the American dream. I wonder how he would feel today about the university which bears his name and its treatment of its first president of color.鈥�
Wilder also pointed to a pattern: 鈥�(Washington) is not the only person of color heading our colleges and universities being subjected to specious and questionable charges,鈥� he said, referencing Cedric Wins at Virginia Military Institute, who in February聽聽in a move that sparked widespread pushback.
Three Democratic GMU alumni now serving in Virginia鈥檚 state Senate also issued a joint statement of support of Washington and the university he leads.
鈥淔rom 2020 to 2025, GMU jumped from 45 to 30 in Wall Street Journal Public University Rankings, and from 72 to 51 in US News Public Institution rankings, all while maintaining affordability near our nation鈥檚 capital,鈥� said Sens. Jeremy McPike, Stella Pekarsky, and Saddam Azlan Salim. 鈥淚nstead, following the successful attack on UVA President Jim Ryan, opportunists have set their sights on another of Virginia鈥檚 prized universities.鈥�
鈥淭o claim that anti-racism is racially discriminatory makes a mockery of the laws the Department claims to be enforcing,鈥� they added. 鈥淲e call on the U.S. Department of Education to end this sham investigation.鈥�
For students like Kazia, the values at stake go far beyond policy documents or legal interpretations.
鈥淭hese attacks aren鈥檛 necessarily new, but they are ramping up in a way that is frightening, especially for the culture and the environment of our university,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to harm all of us in the long run.鈥�
GMU鈥檚 Gibson offered a final reflection on the broader context.
鈥淭hat is the history that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs since the civil rights movement have been trying to redress,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd these programs are about opening that door and then basically sending invitations to groups that have been historically excluded. That is really the point. It鈥檚 not about political favoritism, it鈥檚 about fulfilling a promise.鈥�
