There were fears from supporters of George Mason University’s president Gregory Washington that he was going to be fired Friday amid a series of investigations from the Trump administration into hiring practices at the university. Instead, the Board of Visitors voted to give him a raise.
There were fears from supporters of George Mason University President Gregory Washington that he was going to be fired Friday amid a series of investigations from President Donald Trump’s administration into hiring practices at the university. Instead, the Board of Visitors voted to give him a raise.
In a packed room Friday morning with people holding signs of support for Washington, he gave his review of the last year.
“From pandemic to post-pandemic to the higher-ed crisis, where there was significant challenges that we are still dealing with now,” Washington said. “Yet, it is a series of higher-ed crises that we are going through, from a loss of confidence to now, whatever this is, that we are dealing with as it is now still a function of that. Through all of this time, this university has continued to perform. We have performed and performed admirably.”
Then, the Board of Visitors went into an almost three-and-a-half-hour closed-door meeting. The board then came back for a public announcement and vote that lasted three minutes.
In the unanimous vote, the Board of Visitors at GMU approved a 1.5% base salary increase for Washington. His new salary will be $820,452.43.
The Trump administration said it is looking into complaints about antisemitism and racial discrimination by the university and Washington.
The DOJ said its investigation stems from statements and policies made by GMU’s president that the push to hire people of certain races and sexes were decisions made to achieve “diversity goals.”
A group of professors at GMU said the Board of Visitors has not done enough to defend the president amid the investigations.
“We are here to stand for principles of diversity and inclusion. We are here to call on the board to protect the president, to stand with Mason and do their job. Protect us from this federal intrusion,” said Tim Gibson, an associate professor at the school.
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