Statement on faculty hiring

Dear Mason Faculty:

I hope this message finds you well, and that your fall semester is off to a great start. As we welcome yet another record student body to our campuses, I want to remind you that for more than any other reason, our students came here to learn from each of you.

I am writing to touch on a Washington Poststory published last Friday about the ongoing federal inquiries into George Mason University's faculty hiring practices, which has prompted conversation and questions about the state of diversity among our faculty.

I am writing to offer further depth and clarity on one matter included in the article, the complexity of which could not be captured in the story. Nor could the nuances of the faculty hiring process.

The article listed the percentage of current tenured, tenure-track, and research faculty by demographic identities, which demands a deeper dive to fully understand. As you surely know, the university, and I personally, stand accused of creating a pervasive environment of discriminatory hiring practices against white and Asian faculty applicants.

The article accurately states the percentage of white faculty at Mason as around 60 percent. While that number has gradually declined in recent years that predate my arrival in 2020, I hasten to make clear that an examination of hiring data shows that this was not caused by racial discrimination, and certainly not because anyone put their thumb on the hiring scale to achieve certain outcomes.

The faculty hiring process itself is governed by the Faculty Handbook, which is written and voted on by our faculty, and ratified by the Board of Visitors. Contrary to the narrative about my supposed heavy-handed drive to force faculty diversification, the president and the provost have very little sway over the faculty hiring process. Appropriately, it is a bottom-up process ratified by the board.

The shifts in faculty ethnic diversity reflect two realities. First, a disproportionate number of Asian applicants were hired into our rapidly proliferating engineering faculty, reflecting the demographics of the prevailing applicant pool. Second, late-career and more generationally white faculty have left, primarily due to retirements, some of which was due to incentives we began offering to all faculty in 2021 and others because of the natural progression of their careers. Their successors have come earlier in their careers, with generational demographics that are naturally more ethnically diverse.

But even these realities have not greatly moved faculty demographics. In fact, 80 percent of the 211 tenured and tenure-track faculty hires during my time here have been either white (42.6%) or Asian (37.4%). Black, Latino, Native American/Alaskan, and multiracial faculty combined accounted for just 19% of our hires. By contrast, 177 of the 234 faculty who retired or otherwise left the university during that same time - more than 75% - were white. In raw numbers, the university has only experienced a net gain of eight black, eight Hispanic, and two Native American/Alaskan faculty since my arrival in FY 2021, and experienced a net loss of two multiracial faculty.

With that said, it is important to return to George Mason's definition of diversity, which is far broader than the current and exclusive federal focus on ethnic diversity. At George Mason, "diversity" is defined as one's origin, identity, life circumstances, and viewpoint. We are the world in microcosm, which I believe should be celebrated and emulated.

The Postarticle itself even showcases our viewpoint diversity by including defenders and critics alike from within our own faculty. That is as it should be, as this is the Mason Way. I will continue to defend every faculty member's right to speak, think, research, and teach freely, unfettered by ideological threats or intimidation. It's one aspect of our campus that truly makes it special.

Have a great semester, fellow Patriots!

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington

President