Photo: George Mason University
Gregory N. Washington, the first Black president of George Mason University (GMU), is refusing demands from the Trump administration to apologize over diversity practices, per the New York Times.
Washington, who took office in 2020, is facing allegations from Trump's Department of Education that he led a "university-wide campaign" to implement unlawful DEI policies that discriminated based on race. The Trump administration said Washington violated the Civil Rights Act by allegedly discriminating against white candidates through diversity-focused hiring practices.
Officials have demanded a public apology from Washington, which he has firmly refused.
“It’s to protect my reputation and the reputation of the campus,” Washington said.
“They are literally investigating me for what they call offenses I made back in 2020, 2021, and that’s problematic. It’s like changing the speed limit and charging you for speeding four years ago," he added.
The administration cited a 2021 quote from Washington shared on GMU's website at the time as evidence of alleged discrimination.
“If you have two candidates who are both ‘above the bar’ in terms of requirements for a position, but one adds to your diversity and the other does not, then why couldn’t that candidate be better, even if that candidate may not have better credentials than the other candidate?” the quote read.
Economics professor Bryan D. Caplan, a critic of DEI programs, said he experienced “thinly veiled pressure” to hire minority candidates during hiring committee work in 2020. However, communication professor Timothy A. Gibson, who leads the GMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), pointed out that demographic data shows no major change in faculty composition since 2015, with white professors still making up about 63 percent of the full-time faculty.
Washington’s attorney, former Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, called the government’s accusations “gross mischaracterizations,” noting that the Department of Education has not identified a single job applicant who was harmed.
The attack on Washington also comes amid the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle DEI in higher education. While other university presidents have faced political pressure, Washington is one of the few that have been personally targeted by name.
“Singling out a Black leader in this way is not only unprecedented but also deeply troubling,” the campus chapter of AAUP said. GMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
The outcome of the Education Department's investigation will likely determine the fate of DEI efforts at public universities across the country.
“If they can knock down someone like Greg Washington, that’s just one more domino that falls,” GMU professor emeritus James H. Finkelstein, who studies university presidencies, said.
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