WASHINGTON (AP) — On Thursday, the Trump administration initiated a civil rights inquiry into George Mason University’s hiring policies, extending their national challenge against diversity initiatives to Virginia’s largest public university.

The Education Department announced this action in response to a grievance lodged by several professors at George Mason University. These professors assert that the institution is giving preference to applicants from underrepresented backgrounds. They specifically criticize the university’s president, Gregory Washington, for allegedly promoting hiring guidelines that prioritize diversity aspects over candidates’ qualifications, as stated by the department.

This move signifies a broadening of the Trump administration’s efforts to alter the landscape of higher education, which had previously been centered on prestigious private colleges such as Harvard and Columbia. Recently, George Mason became the second significant public university to come under scrutiny, following a Justice Department probe at the University of Virginia that led to the resignation of its president, James Ryan.

A statement from George Mason denied any allegations of discrimination and said the university “affirms its commitment to comply with all federal and state mandates.”

The Trump administration has used civil rights law to fight DEI, saying diversity preferences amount to illegal discrimination against white and Asian American people. On his second day in office, Trump signed an action demanding an end to DEI at all universities that receive federal money.

George Mason responded to federal orders by renaming its DEI office in March, but it concluded that its policies were already in line with federal law.

The complaint to the Education Department said the school did nothing to change campus hiring and promotion policies that favored those from minority groups, the department said. The complaint said George Mason had a policy to include an “equity adviser” in every academic department to help recruit faculty. The university also created an “anti-racism” task force whose work included “diversity cluster hire initiatives,” according to the agency.

It also accuses Washington of issuing guidance allowing faculty and staff to be hired based partially on their diversity “even if that candidate may not have better credentials than the other candidate.”

Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, said “it appears” that George Mason’s hiring and promotion policies “not only allow but champion illegal racial preferencing.”

George Mason has built a reputation as a conservative powerhouse, especially in law and economics. But it has also been the subject of conservative criticism over its DEI initiatives. A 2023 report by the Heritage Foundation found that George Mason was “bloated” with high numbers of DEI officials and had “radical content” on its websites. Washington disputed the report and its methodology.

The University of Virginia was also called out in the report, and its president more recently faced criticism from conservative groups that said he was too slow to end DEI initiatives on the Charlottesville campus. Among those leveling complaints were America First Legal, a conservative group founded by Trump aide Stephen Miller.

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