by Theresa Joffre
An analysis by The College Fix found that at least 87 employees at George Mason University are dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. For comparison, the school employs 59 full-time professors of history and art history.
Of the 87 DEI positions, there are full- or part-time employees and students working to advance DEI in some capacity, and most of those positions appear to be paid and full-time, the analysis found.
These positions include Vice President of DEI and Chief Diversity Officer, Director of the Center for (*100*), Equity and Empowerment, and Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Faculty Well-Being.
Public databases list salaries for nearly 40 of these positions, totaling more than $3.5 million a year.
The Fix report also found that GMU employed 130 administrators per 1,000 students in the 2022-23 academic year, an 11 percent enhance from 2017, according to data the school submitted to the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Administrators include public relations, administrative support, IT, student affairs and academic departments, as well as legal and other non-academic departments.
With the enhance in administrative staff, the instructor-to-undergraduate student ratio at GMU has decreased since 2013, from 89 teachers per 1,000 students to 84 teachers per 1,000 students in 2022–2023.
The findings regarding GMU’s DEI position were supported in part by research conducted by the Heritage Foundation last year. From a September 2023 report by a conservative think tank entitled “Dangerous DEI Bloat at Virginia’s Public Universities” found that GMU employs about seven DEI staff for every 100 tenured or part-time faculty.
“George Mason University, with a reputation for right-wing institutions, employs 7.4 DEI staff per 100 tenured faculty, the highest rate of any public university in the country analyzed in this article,” according to the report .
“…GMU employs at least 69 DEI employees, which, considering that it employs 938 full-time and part-time faculty members, equates to a ratio of 7.4 DEI employees per 100 faculty members.”
When asked to detail the 69 DEI staff, Heritage Foundation fellow and report co-author Jay Greene directed The Fix to a thread he posted on X describing the roles he found.
Today in response to @jaypgreene AND @Gundisalvus‘S @Heritage report, @GMUPres wrote to the department @GeorgeMasonU expressing contempt for their conclusions.
You can read the President’s entire email below.
2/ pic.twitter.com/RsaQ7sy9GB— Mason Goad Gumeishun (@GoadMason) September 22, 2023
GMU President Gregory Washington questioned the findings.
“He responded by email to all 40,000 of his students, disputing Heritage’s numbers and declaring the university a free speech mecca. Some of his comments may be valid, such as when he argued that Heritage’s apply of only tenured faculty may not be the most appropriate indicator, according to the Washington Examiner.
President Washington also argued in his memo that the size of GMU – the state’s largest public university with approximately 40,000 students – requires a certain number of employees dedicated to DEI.
DEI appears to remain a top priority at the university. AMG is currently planning to add two “Just Societies” courses to the general requirements for graduating students. According to the GMU website, the Just Societies program “is part of Mason’s commitment to preparing students to operate in a diverse, global world.”
Professors could submit their courses to the mandate if they incorporated DEI concepts into the curriculum.
George Mason University just announced last week that it would delay implementation of its fresh DEI mandate. The decision was made after a vocal contingent of center-right law and economics professors raised alarm and GMU trustees appointed by Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin opposed the decision. application. This requirement continues to apply in 2025-2026
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Therese Joffre is a contributor to The College Fix
Photo “Gregory Washington” by Doctor Gregory Washington
