Chairmen Jordan and Roy Demand Testimony from George Mason University President Regarding DEI and Civil Rights Issues
July 29, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government Chairman Chip Roy (R-TX) sent a letter to George Mason University President, Dr. Gregory Washington, demanding his testimony in a transcribed interview with the Committee and information about George Mason University's compliance with applicable civil rights law.
According to public reports and documents obtained by the Committee, it appears there is a pervasive culture of intolerance at George Mason that violates the spirit of the Civil Rights Act. During Dr. Washington's tenure, George Mason seems to have engaged in racial discrimination in the hiring and promotion of faculty and staff contrary to both federal statutes and executive order. While Dr. Washington's purported intent is to "remake George Mason into an exemplar of anti-racism," the available evidence seems to indicate that these policies have done just the opposite.
Following Executive Order 4,173, directing the federal government to enforce civil-rights laws to end illegal preferences and discrimination espoused by DEI programs, George Mason made mere cosmetic changes to its discriminatory DEI programs, while maintaining the "substance" of unlawful policies that promoted hiring and tenure preferences based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
DEI and Civil Rights Concerns with George Mason University Include:
According to public reports and documents obtained by the Committee, it appears there is a pervasive culture of intolerance at George Mason that violates the spirit of the Civil Rights Act. During Dr. Washington's tenure, George Mason seems to have engaged in racial discrimination in the hiring and promotion of faculty and staff contrary to both federal statutes and executive order. While Dr. Washington's purported intent is to "remake George Mason into an exemplar of anti-racism," the available evidence seems to indicate that these policies have done just the opposite.
Following Executive Order 4,173, directing the federal government to enforce civil-rights laws to end illegal preferences and discrimination espoused by DEI programs, George Mason made mere cosmetic changes to its discriminatory DEI programs, while maintaining the "substance" of unlawful policies that promoted hiring and tenure preferences based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
DEI and Civil Rights Concerns with George Mason University Include:
- George Mason allegedly provided guidance to campus hiring authorities instructing them to give preference to members of "underrepresented groups;"
- In July 2020, Dr. Washington announced a series of steps that George Mason was taking to "advance systemic and cultural anti‐racism." These steps included the development of criteria for promotion and tenure decisions that considered the "invisible and uncredited emotional labor that people of color expend to learn, teach, discover, and work on campus;"
- Under Dr. Washington's tenure, George Mason created a Task Force on "Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence," appointed "Equity Advisors" to oversee recruiting and employment decisions in every academic department, and required all course syllabi to contain an "anti-racism statement;"
- George Mason deleted information on its university website containing references to DEI policies. However, instead of eliminating its DEI office as required by the Executive Order, George Mason simply changed its name to the "Office of Access, Compliance, and Community."
The Civil Rights Act exists to protect all Americans from illegal discrimination in public places. The available evidence strongly suggests that George Mason University under Dr. Washington's leadership is engaged in conduct that unlawfully promotes such discrimination.
Read the full letter to Dr. Gregory Washington here.
###