Statements

Statement from Board of Visitors regarding transmission of responses to federal government requests

Lynden Tennyson — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:43:47 +0000

Statement from Board of Visitors regarding transmission of responses to federal government requests Lynden Tennyson Fri, 07/25/2025 - 16:43

In keeping with our commitment to keep the public informed, today, we are beginning to transmit GMU’s detailed responses to the federal government’s requests.

The Board’s responsibility and singular focus is serving the best interests of the University and the Commonwealth. GMU must continue to excel as a world-class academic institution.

One aspect of excellence is full compliance with all federal anti-discrimination laws. We are cooperating fully with the Departments of Education and Justice.

Like other leading universities, we have, through the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, engaged outside legal counsel with experience and expertise in navigating these issues. These attorneys are in communication with the Board, University leadership and the U.S. Government to ensure complete, transparent and timely compliance with all requests.

The Board of Visitors

��

July 25, 2025

Statement from Board of Visitors regarding new federal investigations

Jeannine Harvey — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 19:30:07 +0000

Statement from Board of Visitors regarding new federal investigations Jeannine Harvey Tue, 07/22/2025 - 15:30

The University received notice yesterday from the Department of Justice regarding new Title VI investigations alleging racial discrimination in admissions, scholarships and student benefits and the University’s response to antisemitism on campus. This is in addition to the previously announced Title VII investigation relating to hiring and promotions and earlier notices from the Department of Education. The Attorney General of Virginia has appointed outside counsel to represent and assist us with responding to these inquiries. Our attorneys are communicating with the DOJ and are working with the University to respond fully to the Government’s requests. The Board of Visitors will ensure GMU complies with all federal anti-discrimination laws as it continues to excel, provide a world-class education, and serve the Commonwealth.

The Board of Visitors

��

July 22, 2025

Statement from Board of Visitors regarding federal investigations

Lynden Tennyson — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 18:36:59 +0000

Statement from Board of Visitors regarding federal investigations Lynden Tennyson Mon, 07/21/2025 - 14:36

�� is an institution of excellence that plays a special role in educating Virginians and students from across the country and around the world. The Board of Visitors has a fiduciary obligation both to �� as an institution and to the Commonwealth of Virginia to ensure that the University continues to thrive as the largest public university in Virginia. This includes making sure that GMU fully complies with federal anti-discrimination laws as it excels in its mission. The University and the Board will respond fully and promptly to the requests from the U.S. Government and intends to keep the public informed along the way.

The Board of Visitors

��

July 21, 2025

Statement on the passing of Edwin J. Feulner

Bronwyn Longchamp — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 19:13:18 +0000

Statement on the passing of Edwin J. Feulner Bronwyn Longchamp Sat, 07/19/2025 - 15:13

�� mourns the passing of Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, a distinguished public servant, thought leader, and former member of George Mason’s Board of Visitors.

Dr. Feulner, founder and longtime president of The Heritage Foundation, brought a legacy of principled leadership and dedication to public policy during his tenure on George Mason’s Board of Visitors from 1997 to 2001. His commitment to academic excellence, civic responsibility, and the pursuit of knowledge helped guide our university during a pivotal moment in its growth.

“Ed Feulner was a champion for freedom and liberty not only in our country, but for people across the globe,” said Charles “Cully” Stimson, Rector of the Board of Visitors. “He served on the Board of Visitors along with former Attorney General Ed Meese, and together they helped put our beloved university on a path to greatness. We all owe Ed Feulner a debt of gratitude for his service to this university, our Commonwealth, and our country.”

The university extends its deepest condolences to the Feulner family and honors Dr. Feulner’s enduring legacy of leadership and service.

Background on new investigation from Department of Justice

Lynden Tennyson — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 14:31:21 +0000

Background on new investigation from Department of Justice Lynden Tennyson Fri, 07/18/2025 - 10:31

Dear fellow Patriots:

As anticipated, the US Department of Justice has joined the US Department of Education to investigate allegations of discriminatory hiring practices at ��. I am writing to update you on what we understand to be unfolding.

�� learned of the new investigation when a news release was distributed yesterday. Because the Board of Visitors has opted to outsource the university’s engagement with federal agencies to the Torridon Law firm, university staff is not able to make direct contact with the DOJ in order to learn more about the complaint.

Regardless, we will as always work in good faith to cooperate fully with the investigation, and are gathering requested information as required. We remain confident that facts and evidence show that George Mason does not engage in “illegal DEI,” as the general accusation has been labeled.

Based on yesterday’s news release and accompanying letter sent to the law firm, it appears parts of the complaint are based on outdated digital posts, namely a tweet from my account from June 27, 2022, in which I praised a faculty member’s award for his work in diversity and inclusivity, and a livestreamed town hall from November 2020, in which a group of university leaders described how we hoped to answer the public’s demand for more inclusivity in university operations.

Historical context

I am compelled to offer historical reminders to students, faculty, and staff who were not on campus in 2020. Context is vital to fully understanding why these statements were appropriate at the time and in fact were complying with state mandates.

Both the 2020 video town hall and my 2022 tweet occurred in the wake of several tragic events culminating in George Floyd’s murder. As part of addressing this national reckoning, we were examining ourselves, looking for ways to become better. Not only were we working to improve, being Virginia’s largest and most diverse public university meant government leaders and the public expected George Mason to play a meaningful part in creating structures and programming to address old biases and persistent inequalities in business operations.

Engagement with local and state governments ensued, and this culminated in Gov. Ralph Northam announcing the launch of the ONE Virginia plan in March 2021 to advance “inclusive excellence across state agencies.” At the time, then-Director of the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management Emily Elliott said, “We charge all agency leaders to adopt the ONE Virginia Plan and subsequent Principles of Community to create an engaged workforce that leverages diversity as a strength … and practices that hold each agency accountable for expanded access, success, and overall inclusive excellence.” And George Mason did as expected by state government.

In March 2021 Virginia also enacted amendments to Virginia Code 2.2-602, which now requires George Mason and all state agencies to “establish and maintain a comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plan in coordination with” the Governor’s Office. Law requires the plan to “integrate the diversity, equity, and inclusion goals into the agency's mission, operations, programs, and infrastructure.” It goes on to require us to address “barriers to equal employment opportunities,” “foster pay equity,” “promote diversity and equity in hiring,” and “promote employee engagement and inclusivity.”

This is current law in Virginia.

Our practices and initiatives, including some being questioned by the DOJ, emanated from this framework. They were developed in collaboration with our Board of Visitors, and through shared governance with our students, faculty and staff. It has never been a “one man show” at Mason.

After the 2021 gubernatorial elections, newly-appointed members of the Board of Visitors who held critical views of DEI activities began directing staff to review and scale back DEI efforts by late 2023. However, in June of 2022, the new Governor had not yet rolled back those directives in the ONE Virginia plan. By 2025, after a year of study from two university committees whose membership included board members and staff, and followed by a subsequent restructuring, the board instructed us to dismantle programs and reassign or eliminate staff, which we have done.

Just as we complied with leadership expectations to increase DEI programming, we have also worked in good faith to follow directives in the opposite direction. Throughout the shifts, we have leaned on our institutional values, and stayed true to our core ethos to remain a constant beacon of welcoming and inclusivity to everyone who seeks us out. It’s a very difficult path to travel, but we have worked in earnest to maintain that path.

Free expression, but not exclusionary policies

It is true that on regular occasions I have publicly and passionately expressed my aspirations and goals to erase bias against any and all groups, and maintain an environment welcoming to all who seek it out. I remain as passionate about that today as I was when I arrived in July 2020.

It is inaccurate to conclude that we created new university policies or procedures that discriminated against or excluded anyone. To the contrary, our systems were enhanced to improve on our ability to consistently include everyone for consideration of every employment opportunity. That is our ethos and it is core to our identity as a national leader in inclusive excellence in higher education.

Being under such federal investigations is not familiar territory to George Mason, and I understand how this can be upsetting and distractive to so many who work or study here. As we work through this, it is my hope that we will be granted due process to explain in detail much of what I have highlighted above. I will always do my best to keep you as informed as possible on events as they occur.

We have weathered so much as one community, not least of which a pandemic and a recession. As always, we will come through this as the George Mason community always does: together.

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington

President

Update on University response to investigations

Lynden Tennyson — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 14:24:10 +0000

Update on University response to investigations Lynden Tennyson Wed, 07/16/2025 - 10:24

Dear fellow Patriots:

By now, you know that last week �� was given a second notice of investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), this time regarding alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relative to our faculty hiring.

As in all cases, we will cooperate fully with the OCR.

We are also thankful for the outpouring of support for George Mason from our greater community – from on campus, the Northern Virginia region, and around the nation.

On Friday, I was notified by the rector of our board of visitors that the board has retained the Torridon Law firm to represent the university on all matters related to both investigations. Torridon also now serves as the only authorized news media interface on all matters related to the OCR inquiries.

Though university staff is no longer coordinating the university response, I can assure you that George Mason has always operated with a commitment to equality under the law, ever since our inception. It is simply the Mason way, and in my experience, it has not discriminated based on race, color, national origin, or otherwise. Our diversity efforts are designed to expand opportunity and build inclusive excellence – not to exclude or advantage any group unlawfully.

The investigation reportedly stems from a complaint alleging that the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts amount to unlawful racial preference. The university strongly rejects that characterization.

In Response to a Widely Distributed Press Release

The Department of Education issued a press release at the same time it notified George Mason of the latest investigation, and I want to be sure that our community has an accurate understanding of the realities of how we hire faculty and staff at George Mason.

No academic units mandate outcomes based on race, color, national origin, sex, or any other characteristic protected by law. These practices are consistent with equal opportunity principles.
There are no mechanisms in Mason’s promotion and tenure policies that give preferential treatment based on race, color, national origin, sex, or any other characteristic protected by law.
There are no academic unit performance evaluations authorized at George Mason that use race or anti-racism measures as determinants of institutional success.
All task force work around inclusivity has aligned with state-level policy priorities and directives included in Virginia’s “One Virginia Plan.” No task force outcomes instituted hiring quotas or race-based policies.
We support units in developing rigorous standards in alignment with strong research institutions nationally, the university does not define those standards, and all hiring evaluations are based on the required and preferred qualifications listed in our position descriptions. Units are never instructed by the university to hire individuals with credentials below those standards or based on race or any other characteristic protected by law.

Why Title VI Exists – and What It Was Meant to Correct

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted to dismantle explicit and systemic racial discrimination that denied access to education, employment, housing, and public services based solely on race, color, or national origin. It was designed to ensure that no person in the United States would be excluded from participation in federally funded programs because of who they are.

Before the Civil Rights Act, it was legal in many states – including Virginia – to deny African Americans access to quality public schools, equal job opportunities, and basic services. Activists like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., alongside countless citizens of all races and faiths, sacrificed their lives and livelihoods to secure these protections. Title VI was born from this movement and was intended to be a tool to expand opportunity – not to suppress efforts to build fairer, more inclusive systems.

Today, we are seeing a profound shift in how Title VI is being applied. Longstanding efforts to address inequality – such as mentoring programs, inclusive hiring practices, and support for historically underrepresented groups – are in many cases being reinterpreted as presumptively unlawful. Broad terms like “illegal DEI” are now used without definition, allowing virtually any initiative that touches on identity or inclusion to be painted as discriminatory.

This shift represents a stark departure from the spirit in which civil rights law was written: not to erase difference, but to protect individuals from exclusion and to enable equal opportunity for all.

George Mason’s Broader Commitment

As Virginia’s largest and most diverse public university, Mason enrolls more Pell-eligible students than any other institution in the Commonwealth and graduates students from all backgrounds at similarly high rates. It admits 90% of applicants and proudly offers an elite education to the broadest possible public. Its mission is grounded in excellence, access, and impact, not exclusion. And we send students into an economy that depends deeply on George Mason to be a reliable source for career talent. This region would not be the powerhouse it is without our university, carrying out its mission in what we often refer to as “the Mason way.”

That “Mason way” includes the belief that diversity includes thought, background, and circumstance and any attempt to artificially redefine our diversity, as one of race-based exclusivity, is doomed to fail no matter who ends up being excluded.

I will continue to update you as circumstances allow, and wish everyone a continued productive and rejuvenating summer as we anticipate another record class of entering freshmen next month.

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington
President

Statement regarding Department of Education investigations (UPDATED)

Lynden Tennyson — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 16:14:01 +0000

Statement regarding Department of Education investigations (UPDATED) Lynden Tennyson Thu, 07/10/2025 - 12:14

At the direction of the �� Board of Visitors (BOV), all questions related to the current U.S. Department of Education investigations of George Mason are now being referred to Mike Fragoso at Torridon Law PLLC.

George Mason responds to the Department of Education's inquiry regarding anti-semitism

Lynden Tennyson — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 19:07:09 +0000

George Mason responds to the Department of Education's inquiry regarding anti-semitism Lynden Tennyson Thu, 07/03/2025 - 15:07

Dear fellow Patriots:

I am writing to give perspective to recent public reports that the US Department of Education has begun a civil rights investigation of ��. A complaint filed recently alleges the university has “discriminated on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry) by failing to respond effectively to a pervasive hostile environment for Jewish students and faculty.”

As we prepare a response to the complaint, it is important that we all have an accurate understanding of how safe and welcoming the George Mason community is, particularly as we prepare to welcome tens of thousands of students to campus in just a few short weeks.

George Mason has not been marred by the sort of violence that has rocked so many other campuses elsewhere in Virginia and around the nation following the Hamas attacks of 2023. It is a distinction we are proud of, and work hard each day to maintain.

We accomplish this through a number of measures, some visible to the community, some intentionally invisible, to maintain our tradition as a safe and universally welcoming place to study, work, and live. And we continue to have no place for antisemitism or any form of violence or discrimination anywhere in this community. This is reflected in the board’s antisemitism resolution passed earlier this spring, one of the few approved by any Virginia university.

Communication – We hold a commitment to communicate with the full George Mason community and meet regularly with students, faculty, staff, and community groups. This is my 11th message to the community related to our response to the Hamas attacks. To date, messages have included denunciations of terrorism and antisemitism, as well as enhanced commitments to campus safety.

I and members of my leadership team have kept in constant contact with concerned community members and groups to ensure we are hearing and responding to their concerns as they arise. And when faculty have reached out to me with frustrations or questions, I have personally answered their inquiries.

Safety – �� demonstrations have not occurred for more than a year, and when they did last year they remained safe, legal, and non-disruptive to university business. No encampments have ever formed at George Mason, and we will not permit them in the future. George Mason was the first university in Virginia to enact a workable process for enforcing the state’s anti-masking laws, and the system developed here was adopted by other universities in the Commonwealth. For all aspects of protests, the rules are clear, widely communicated, and uniformly enforced here.

Law enforcement – On two occasions, when George Mason experienced unlawful activity associated with violent antisemitic actions by students. Actions by our leadership team, in coordination with law enforcement, have resolved these issues by providing the proper remedies when required. The vigilance exhibited by our own police department earned them the Combating Antisemitism Movement’s Guardian Award earlier this year. Overall, our leadership team was hailed by leaders of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington for “deploying the full weight of the university's security and disciplinary measures to prevent these students from perpetrating harm on campus.”

Resources – George Mason was one of the first universities in the region to introduce a comprehensive safety and well-being plan for the university, just weeks after the Hamas attacks. The Patriot Plan for Community Safety and Well-Being has been held up as a model for others to follow, and it remains in effect. I encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with its content.

Inclusivity – As always, antisemitism has no place at ��, and never has. This is true for any form of discrimination or violence. We are wholly dedicated to maintaining that ideal throughout our campuses, and are heartened to see a reduction of incident reports from this time a year ago. Our data continues to show that our environment has dramatically improved since the horrific Hamas attacks of 2023, so we are perplexed to be receiving this investigation at this time. Nevertheless, we will respond in a forthright, direct, and timely manner to this and any inquiry.

As the investigation continues, I will keep the community updated. In the meantime, I wish everyone continued health and well-being this summer, as we look forward to the kick-off of the fall 2025 semester.

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington

President

Topics

Statements

A Future We Want: One Grand Challenge. Six Grand Solutions.

Lynden Tennyson — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 14:46:44 +0000

A Future We Want: One Grand Challenge. Six Grand Solutions. Lynden Tennyson Mon, 04/28/2025 - 10:46

Dear Fellow Patriots:

I am writing to announce the beginning of an important new chapter in the history of research at ��. Drawing on our roots as the university that overcame adversity to become the nation’s youngest-ever R1 institution, we are now poised to launch a university-wide research project that will sharpen our focus on humanity’s most pressing needs while maximizing our competitiveness for vital research funding in this very uncertain time.

Last year I challenged a group of faculty and university leaders to identify the greatest threats to humanity’s ability to live a peaceful, healthy, prosperous and just existence. The point of the exercise was to establish a framework to align the full force of our scholarly enterprise around solving those so-called grand challenges.

They went to work. From their dazzling array of inspiring research came long lists of worthy possibilities, which the team carefully rendered to 13 groupings, and finally to six overarching challenges:

Advancing 21st century education for all
Building a climate-resilient society
Driving responsible digital innovation and sustainable infrastructure
Improving human health, well-being, and preparedness
Pioneering space exploration, research and collaboration
Strengthening peace, trust and engagement in democracy

These are grand challenges of our times as seen by our faculty. And I agree with them. But as I studied them, two astounding truths emerged.

First, the group inadvertently expressed each of these topics as solutions, not challenges. Their positioning tells of their ambitions to move immediately past problem articulation and on to problem solving. It is the most optimistic approach to grand challenges I have ever read.

Second, these are not free-standing challenges, but six interlocking solutions to a single, existential grand challenge—a future that is shaping up to be one we do not want for our children or choose for ourselves. This is the singular grand challenge confronting all of humanity. Unprecedented action is required immediately to secure the future we want, not one we are forced to endure.

Our world is at a crossroads: It is time either to brace ourselves for global decline and a future that none of us wants, or seize back control of our destiny and work to reverse course. It will take all of us working together on all of these solutions at once to alter the trajectory of our future.

But given today’s extremely volatile federal funding environment, why launch a new research initiative? In some ways, this a very good time to introduce such a project because the moment demands that research enterprises maximize coordination and efficiency to stay viable.

With that, I am proud to introduce The Grand Challenge Initiative. We have many ways of tackling our most fundamental threat. Still, we are indivisible in our resolve to do our part to assure that our descendants will inherit a world where it is possible to pursue the lives they want for themselves. In that respect, we are one world, one people, and one university, with one Grand Challenge in front of us. I encourage you to explore this website to see the many ways our faculty are already hard at work on the Grand Challenge.

To this challenge we will throw our six Grand Solutions. We will organize our research and learning communities around them. University resources and priorities will be aligned to give preference to these efforts. Best of all, every academic unit on campus will be able to see itself in at least one of the Grand Solutions, and chart its contribution to the cause of defeating humanity’s ultimate Grand Challenge.

The world on the horizon can look very unsettling to the untrained eye, as changes that we experience all around us seem to give rise to an unrecognizable and often discouraging future.

But learned eyes like those of our faculty also can envision a world replete with possibility and opportunity. Instead of asking, “What if we can’t fix what’s broken in our world?” they ask a far more compelling question: “What if we can?”

Patriots, let’s all make answering that question the cause of our time together at this university.

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington
President

Topics

Statements

University condemns call for violence

Bronwyn Longchamp — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 01:29:47 +0000

University condemns call for violence Bronwyn Longchamp Thu, 04/17/2025 - 21:29

�� is aware of a recent essay published online by one of its students that has created concern.

Upon learning of the essay, Mason Police referred the matter to state and federal law enforcement for evaluation of criminal behavior.

George Mason condemns this and all encouragements of violence. This is not the Mason way.