The president of George Mason University said he will not comply with a demand by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to apologize for alleged discriminatory hiring practices.
The Department of Education accused the university’s first Black president, Gregory Washington, of implementing “unlawful DEI policies” at the institution.
Douglas Gansler, an attorney representing Washington, is accusing the Education Department of carrying out a shoddy investigation. He said in a letter to GMU’s board that the OCR investigators only spoke to two university deans before coming to the conclusion that discriminatory hiring practices were taking place at the school.
“OCR’s letter contains gross mischaracterizations of statements made by Dr. Washington and outright omission,” Gansler wrote in the letter.
He also accused the OCR investigators of selectively interpreting comments made by Washington, Inside Higher Ed reports.
“To be clear, per OCR’s own findings, no job applicant has been discriminated against by GMU, nor has OCR attempted to name someone who has been discriminated against by GMU in any context. Therefore, it is a legal fiction for OCR to even assert or claim that there has been a Title VI or Title IX violation here,” he wrote.
As part of its findings, the Department of Education has demanded changes at the college and called on the university president to apologize.
“In 2020, University President Gregory Washington called for expunging the so-called ‘racist vestiges’ from GMU’s campus,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement last week. “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.”
Gansler argued that GMU has been responsive and quick to implement changes brought by President Donald Trump’s executive orders, pointing out that at least 17 positions associated with diversity or inclusivity have been eliminated or restructured, and that several diversity-focused programs and initiatives have been shuttered since Trump took office.
“Well before the federal government turned its attention to GMU, the university, under Dr. Washington and the Board’s leadership, undertook a robust effort to stay ahead of the curve and make many of the changes now being demanded of universities,” Gansler wrote in the letter.
He said that if Washington were to apologize, it would undermine the school’s record of compliance.
“If the Board entertains OCR’s demand that Dr. Washington personally apologize for promoting unlawful discriminatory practices in hiring, promotion, and tenure processes, it will undermine GMU’s record of compliance,” he wrote. “An apology will amount to an admission that the university did something unlawful, opening GMU and the Board up to legal liability for conduct that did not occur under the Board’s watch.”
