Faculty support for George Mason President triggers federal investigation

According to an article by Vimal Patel, "Faculty Support of George Mason's President Draws Federal Investigation," in he New York Times, the Justice Department has opened a federal investigation into George Mason University's Faculty Senate after professors passed a resolution supporting their president and the school's diversity initiatives, according to reporting by The New York Times.

President Washington has been specifically targeted for promoting these policies. President Washington is, of course, Black.

The administration is using anti-semitism accusations as a cudgel once again. It has accused George Mason of having antisemitism problems. Furthermore, it claims university policies encouraging the hiring and advancement of women and faculty of color are discriminatory.

The controversy began when the Trump administration launched an investigation into George Mason University over allegations that the Virginia school's diversity programs were discriminatory. In response, faculty members quickly drafted and adopted a resolution defending university President Gregory Washington and affirming that "diversity is our strength."

Targeting academic freedom

Free speech advocates have condemned the move as an attack on academic freedom. Faculty resolutions rarely result in any concete action. As we recall, such a vote occurred at our alma mater in 2020.

The Justice Department's interest suggests the Trump administration is expanding its university targets. It's moved beyond the pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia and other institutaions. Now it sees its as an effort to combat "left-leaning" campus climates nationwide.

A pattern of leadership changes

The follow pressure on Virginia higher education leaders who have supported diversity efforts. Two other public college leaders in the state have lost their jobs this year. University of Virginia President James E. Ryan resigned in June under pressure from the Trump administration and conservative alumni.

Closer to home VMI declined to renew the contract of Cedric T. Wins, its first Black superintendent, after alumni attacked the school's "woke agenda."

Disputed language

Justice Department Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon criticized the faculty resolution for praising Washington's efforts "to ensure 'faculty and staff demographics . . . mirror student demographics'" at GMU, calling this "concerning" as it suggested "race- or sex-motivated hiring decisions."

Faculty Senate President Solon Simmons disputed this characterization, calling the inquiry "flabbergasting." He explained that the language was actually a direct quote from a strategic document adopted by the university's Board of Visitors, not original faculty language praising Washington.

Concerns about University governance

Faculty members worry the investigations will be used to justify removing Washington when the Board of Visitors—appointed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin—meets Friday to examine his performance.

Tim Gibson, a George Mason associate professor and American Association of University Professors leader, described concerns about "a new model of how universities are to be governed—it's much more top-down from the federal government."

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression called a federal investigation of a non-binding faculty opinion "highly unusual" and warned it represents "the latest in a pattern of shakedowns against colleges and universities that will certainly chill faculty speech."

No university is safe

Is any university safe from such efforts when they are so contrived? This is not only an assault on DEI efforts. It is an assault against higher education itself. The anti-intellectualism is as much as point as the racism and sexism.

Non in cautus futuri.