On July 25, the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division sent a letter launching an investigation into the George Mason University Faculty Senate—because faculty members dared to show support for their university president. Let me repeat that: The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating faculty for passing a resolution supporting their president, Gregory Washington—the first Black president of Virginia’s largest public university.
This marks the fifth federal inquiry into George Mason in as many weeks. It follows a clear pattern of escalating, coordinated attacks on the university’s leadership—attacks that originate in the political offices of Richmond and echo all the way to Washington, DC.
Let’s be clear about what’s happening. The DOJ’s letter references only a single phrase from a nonbinding faculty resolution—language that simply mentions a strategic goal set by the George Mason Board of Visitors in 2022. That goal is to achieve “faculty and staff demographics that mirror student demographics.” This language comes from a “Whereas” clause—a common preamble that offers context, not policy. The resolution does not praise hiring based on race nor promote it. It only cites the university’s strategic plan, nothing more.
Yet DOJ officials have used this isolated clause to imply that the faculty senate is encouraging discriminatory hiring practices, and based on that, they are demanding internal communications among faculty members. This is not enforcement—it is intimidation.
Let’s call this what it is: a gross misuse of federal power to chill speech, silence faculty members, and undermine shared governance. It is an attack on academic freedom, plain and simple.
If the Department of Justice can investigate faculty governance bodies for citing a university’s own strategic plan—one approved unanimously by its governing board—then no campus in America is safe. Today it’s Mason. Tomorrow it could be yours.
The AAUP stands in full solidarity with the faculty of George Mason University. We will not sit silently as the DOJ targets educators for doing their job: deliberating, debating, and speaking out in defense of their institution and its leadership. This moment demands courage—from university leaders, from boards, and from everyone who believes in the mission of public higher education.
We call on the George Mason Board of Visitors to stand with their faculty and president by rejecting this attempt to weaponize federal authority against shared governance. They must not only refuse the DOJ’s request but also affirm that faculty speech will be protected, not punished.
And we say to the Department of Justice: If you genuinely care about civil rights, begin by respecting faculty's rights to govern their institutions without fear or political interference.
The AAUP has defended academic freedom for over a century. We are not backing down now.
Todd Wolfson
President, AAUP