Trump administration launches probe of DEI policy at George Mason University

The Department of Education said Thursday that it has opened an probe into George Mason University's hiring and promotion practices, the 2nd national probe of the Fairfax, Virginia, schoolhouse launched successful the past month.

The department's Office for Civil Rights is investigating a ailment filed by GMU professors who alleged that the university's unit decisions are skewed to favour immoderate radical groups implicit others.

The section said successful a connection that the alleged behaviour "creates a racially hostile environment" and could interruption Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

If the probe concludes that the assemblage did, successful fact, interruption module members' civilian rights, GMU could beryllium astatine hazard of losing its national funding.

George Mason is the 2nd large Virginia nationalist instauration to beryllium targeted by the Trump medication successful caller weeks.

Jim Ryan, the longtime president of the University of Virginia, stepped down successful June aft UVA was the people of a national probe into its DEI policies, and the Justice Department called for Ryan's resignation.

According to the George Mason complaint, respective professors alleged that the assemblage has fixed "preferential treatment" to radical from "underrepresented groups" starting successful 2020.

This was the aforesaid twelvemonth that assemblage president Gregory Washington began his tenure arsenic GMU's archetypal Black president.

"The Trump-McMahon Education Department's Office for Civil Rights volition analyse this substance afloat to guarantee that individuals are judged based connected their merit and accomplishment, not the colour of their skin," said Craig Trainor, the acting adjunct caput for civilian rights astatine the department, successful a statement.

The Department of Education highlighted 5 cardinal allegations outlined successful the complaint. They see a assertion that the schoolhouse has "Equity Advisors" focused connected equity successful recruitment, and that GMU has a Task Force connected Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence.

The ailment besides alleges that Washington provided guidance to module that a prospective campaigner who surpassed definite requirements for a presumption would beryllium hired based connected his oregon her "diversity... adjacent if that campaigner whitethorn not person amended credentials than the different candidate," according to the acquisition department.

George Mason says it lone received announcement of the probe Thursday, astatine the aforesaid clip that quality organizations did.

"George Mason University again affirms its committedness to comply with each national and authorities mandates," the schoolhouse said successful a statement. "The assemblage consistently reviews its policies and practices to guarantee compliance with national laws, updated enforcement orders, and on-going bureau directives."

In March, pursuing a directive from President Donald Trump to comply with national DEI policies, Washington announced the assemblage was renaming its DEI bureau the "Office of Access, Compliance, and Community."

"I americium pleased to corroborate that, aft an archetypal reappraisal of our policies and practices, George Mason meets all of these national mandates," Washington wrote astatine the time, adding that the reappraisal recovered "no evidence" of immoderate discriminatory practices.

Thursday's probe marks the 2nd this period for GMU, which was notified past week by the OCR that it was being investigated for allegedly failing to "respond efficaciously to a pervasively hostile environment" for Jewish assemblage members.

That probe mirrors akin ones launched into Harvard University and Columbia University, amid an intensifying Trump onslaught connected higher education.

In 2016, its instrumentality schoolhouse was named aft the precocious Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia aft politically blimpish donors gave tens of millions of dollars for the naming rights.

It has besides received millions of dollars successful donations from foundations affiliated with, and funded by, Charles H. Koch, the reclusive billionaire known for bankrolling blimpish deliberation tanks and libertarian causes.