DOJ to review GMU faculty resolution praising diversity efforts

Justice Dept. investigating DEI at George Mason University

George Mason University is under investigation by the Justice Department for its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department says they plan to review a faculty resolution in support of George Mason University President Gregory Washington, the latest in a string of investigations into the university over diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

What we know:

The Justice Department sent a letter to George Mason University saying they would be investigating a Faculty Senate resolution that commended Washington's efforts to ensure "faculty and staff demographics that mirror student demographics."

"This statement is concerning as it indicates the GMU Faculty Senate is praising President Washington for engaging in race- or sex-motivated hiring decisions to achieve specific demographic outcomes among faculty and staff," reads the letter obtained by FOX 5 DC. 

The request to review the resolution, along with any drafts or written communications between Faculty Senate members, comes a week after the Justice Department opened an investigation into George Mason University to determine whether the school gives preferential treatment of certain races and sexes in the hiring process.

Dig deeper:

GMU under investigation by DOJ for alleged DEI hiring practices

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into George Mason University to determine whether the school gives preferential treatment of certain races and sexes in the hiring process, the latest in a long list of schools to face pressure from the federal government over DEI policies.

The backstory:

The investigations into George Mason University follows the resignation last month of the University of Virginia's president, James E. Ryan, following similar probes into diversity, equity and inclusion policies at the school. 

Ryan had faced conservative criticism that he failed to heed federal orders to eliminate DEI policies, and his removal was pushed by the Justice Department as a way to help resolve a department inquiry targeting the school, sources say. 

"To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University," Ryan wrote in a statement. "But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job. To do so would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld."