DEI on Campus: George Mason University renames diversity office after Trump crackdown

George Mason University renamed its diversity, equity and inclusion office following federal guidance ending DEI, joining many other schools that are responding to the federal directives.

On Jan. 20, Trump issued an executive order that called for the “termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”

Schools across the nation have been responding to this executive order as well as a Jan. 21 order of similar content and a Feb. 14 Dear Colleague letter from the U.S. Department of Education that called for the end of race-based decisions in education.

George Mason University “updated” its Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to the Office of Access, Compliance, and Community in March after “carefully review[ing] and address[ing] recent policy changes at the federal and state levels” relative to DEI, according to a school message.

“We will change the name of this office and move on, committed as always to the substance of that office: ensuring a fair, welcoming, and supportive environment for all, and observing state and federal civil rights laws to the benefit of all,” the message read.

George Mason’s core values “will never change under any circumstances,” including the value of “diversity is our strength,” the message said.

George Mason also changed language on its website and deleted some webpages altogether to ensure that digital platforms “accurately reflect [the school’s] compliance with new and pre-existing federal requirements.

“George Mason will continue to ensure that we comply with all legal mandates from the federal government,” the message said.

George Mason University media relations manager John Hollis referred The Center Square to the school message already cited among others.

Temple University director of university communications and media relations Steve Orbanek likewise referred The Center Square to announcements concerning executive orders, the Education Department’s Dear Colleague letter, and the letter’s FAQ follow-up, all of which affirm the school’s commitment to comply with the law.

Since receiving this communication from Temple, the school also announced it is still reviewing guidance from the Department of Education to confirm the school’s “policies and practices comply with applicable law.”

When asked how the University of Arkansas is responding to the Jan. 20 executive order, the school’s director of media relations and core communications John Thomas told The Center Square that Arkansas “will comply with all state and federal guidance and law.”

Ohio State University, the University of Virginia, the University of Kentucky, the University of Michigan, Case Western Reserve, and Virginia Commonwealth University have announced the dissolution of their respective diversity and inclusion offices, The Center Square previously reported.

The University of Cincinnati, the University of Arizona, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Washington, the University of California, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, Brown University, Cornell and the University of Wisconsin–Madison are all evaluating, reviewing, or monitoring Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, The Center Square previously reported, with no updates to their responses when reached again.

The University of Washington Medicine spokeswoman Susan Gregg previously told The Center Square that UW Medicine has no comment when asked for the school’s response to the Jan. 20 executive order, after weeks of saying there were no updates to the fact UW Medicine was continuing with its normal operations – operations that would presumably involve DEI.

Gregg did not respond when reached again for any updates.

Michigan State University had no update for The Center Square to its previous comment that it “feels confident [it is] continuing to operate within federal and state laws” as it regards its manner of educating and hiring.

The Center Square previously reported that Columbia University removed DEI language from parts of its website and took down some DEI-related web pages.

Columbia did not respond when asked for updates on its response to the executive order.

Mayo Clinic School of Medicine told The Center Square it had no comment when asked for its response to the Jan. 20 executive order, joining the University of Maryland, UC Irvine School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, and New York University, who each previously told The Center Square the same.

UC Irvine SOM previously said it may have more information “as we learn more,” but did not provide any more information when reached again.

Emory University “declined to participate,” when reached.

The following schools have not yet provided comment after repeated requests concerning each of their responses to the executive order:

HarvardStanfordDukeYalePennNorthwestern UniversityThe University of ChicagoBoston UniversityUC San DiegoIndiana UniversityUniversity of PittsburghCommunity College of Allegheny CountyUniversity of FloridaFlorida State UniversityEast Carolina UniversityUniversity of CincinnatiLouisiana State UniversityUniversity of MississippiUniversity of MinnesotaGeorgia TechGeorgia State UniversityRutgers UniversityOregon State UniversityUniversity of AlabamaTexas A&M UniversityUniversity of Texas at AustinPurdue UniversityCollege of William and MaryUniversity of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Colorado BoulderStony Brook UniversitySan Diego State UniversityClemson UniversityUniversity of Oklahoma