U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Finds George Mason University Has Violated Title VI

Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its finding that George Mason University (GMU) violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). OCR notified GMU President Gregory Washington that, under his leadership and direction, the University violated Title VI by illegally using race and other immutable characteristics in university practices and policies, including hiring and promotion. 

OCR issued a proposed Resolution Agreement to GMU to resolve the civil rights laws violations detailed in the noncompliance finding. GMU has 10 days to voluntarily resolve these violations. 

“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 university-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race. You can’t make this up,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “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. In the last seven months, this much is clear: The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will not allow racially exclusionary practices—which violate the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Protection Clause, and Supreme Court precedent—to continue corrupting our nation’s educational institutions.” 

The Department’s proposed Resolution Agreement requires GMU to take the following actions to comply with Title VI: 

GMU’s President will 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; The statement will include a personal apology from GMU’s President to the University community for promoting unlawful discriminatory practices in hiring, promotion, and tenure processes; GMU will post the statement prominently on the University website and remove from its website any contrary statements; GMU will review its policies and revise any documents (e.g., instructions for hiring panels, scoring rubrics for resumes and interviews) currently used in the University recruitment, hiring, and promotion process to ensure compliance with Title VI, and remove any provisions that require or encourage the use of race to favor or disfavor any candidate; GMU will conduct an annual training of all individuals involved in and responsible for recruitment, hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions to impart that GMU will not give preferences based on race, color, or national origin in these processes; and GMU will maintain all records necessary to demonstrate compliance with the Agreement, making them available to the government upon request, and will assign an individual to coordinate GMU’s implementation of the Agreement with OCR. 

Background 

On July 10, 2025, OCR initiated a Title VI investigation into GMU. This was based on a complaint filed with OCR by multiple GMU professors alleging that GMU leadership has adopted unlawful DEI policies from 2020 to the present that give preferential treatment to prospective and current faculty from “underrepresented groups” to advance “anti-racism.” 

In addition to President Washington’s statements and policies that express support for racial preferencing, one high-level university administrator stated to OCR that the GMU President created an atmosphere of surveillance pertaining to the University’s hiring decisions in relation to DEI objectives. OCR found that several GMU policies and practices violate Title VI. For example, faculty hired through competitive appointments typically undergo a process of evaluation by a search committee; however, as recently as Fall 2024, GMU’s website stated that “the University may choose to waive the competitive search process when there is an opportunity to hire a candidate who strategically advances the institutional commitment to diversity and inclusion.” Additionally, the current version of the Faculty Handbook requires that, before extending a job offer to an applicant, a local academic unit’s administrator secure the concurrence of the unit’s faculty, the relevant Dean, the Provost, and the “Office of Access, Compliance, and Community,” which was previously named the “Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion before GMU renamed it in March 2025. 

Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in education programs and activities receiving federal funding. Institutions’ violation of Title VI can result in loss of federal funds.