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The Department of Justice is investigating whether George Mason University (GMU) is engaged in discriminatory employment practices. The department focuses on determining whether GMU violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.
“It is illegal and non-American to deny equal access to employment opportunities based on race and gender,” the attorney general of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “When employers screen qualified candidates from the employment process, they not only erode trust in our public institutions, but they violate the law and the Department of Justice will investigate accordingly.”
George Mason Statue on George Mason University’s campus, Fairfax, Virginia (Getty Images via Robert Noop/UCG/Universal Image Group)
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Dhillon wrote in a letter to a committee of GMU visitors President Charles “Curriedly” Stimson, that the DOJ has “reasons to believe it” was used as a “motivating factor for teacher employment decisions” under GMU President Gregory Washington.
Dillon said Washington sent an email to GMU’s faculty list Serv on July 23, 2020, and plans to create a “renewal and tenure” process that benefits “color and female faculty.” Additionally, Washington also said in an email that “sought to develop specific mechanisms of promotion and tenure that recognize the invisible, unreliable emotional labor that people of color spend to learn, teach, discover and work on campus.”
“We have allowed a full investigation to determine whether GMU engages in a pattern or practice of discrimination as mentioned above. We have not reached a conclusion about the subject of the investigation,” writes Dhillon.
Dr. Gregory Washington, the new president of George Mason University, is holding an introductory secretary press conference in Fairfax, Virginia (Washington Post by Bill O’Leary/Getty Images)
University of Virginia President resigns amid pressure from Trump’s administrators over DEI initiative
The GMU investigation comes weeks after University of Virginia President James Ryan resigned due to pressure from the Trump administration.
“To keep the long story short, I tend to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply at this university. But I can’t make a one-sided decision to fight the federal government to save my work, Ryan wrote in a statement.
George Mason University student Illia Sheikholeslami held the sign on April 4, 2025 during a “Hands Off Our Schools” rally in Washington, DC (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) in front of the U.S. Department of Education.
The Trump administration places diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies as a priority, especially in governments and educational institutions. As part of the DEI suppression, the Department of Education launched the “End Dei” portal in February 2025. This allows parents, students, teachers and even publicly funded reports on what appears to be DEIs.
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President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders aimed at ending the DEI. These include “termination and prioritization of radical and wasteful government DEI programmes” and “end of illegal discrimination and restoration of merit-based opportunities.”
Fox News Digital contacted Mike Fragoso of Torridon Law PLLC, which handles inquiries on behalf of George Mason University, but did not respond in time for publication.
Rachel Wolf is a news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
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