Another University Stands Up To Trump

 

Among too many who are capitulating, there's at least one more university standing up to the Malignant Fascist's bullying tactics :

The president of George Mason University is keeping his job and receiving a 1.5% pay raise after concerns he would be ousted by the Board of Visitors. 

Students, faculty, and community leaders gathered on campus Friday morning to protest what they describe as political interference in university governance, coinciding with a closed-door board meeting to evaluate President Gregory Washington’s performance.

The rally, dubbed a “Day of Action,” comes amid federal investigations into GMU’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies under Washington ─ the university’s first Black president. The university faces four federal investigations, with two of them surrounding allegations of racial discrimination in employment practices. 

In July, the Department of Justice released a letter accusing Washington of using race and sex to motivate who is hired to achieve diversity goals. Washington fired back with a statement saying, “longstanding efforts to address inequality – such as mentoring programs, inclusive hiring practices, and support for historically underrepresented groups – are in many cases being reinterpreted as presumptively unlawful.”

Despite the investigations and protester concerns, the board ultimately voted to give Washington the salary increase during Friday's closed door meeting, bringing his total salary to $823,452. Supporters were pleased by the outcome. 

"I believe they realized the consequences would be too great," said GMU professor Benjamin Manski. "I think this shows people can stand up for public institutions and democracy, and that's important today."...

Good for them.  (By the way, they're not a hotbed of liberal activism;  GMU is home to the Antonin Scalia Law School.)  Along with news that Harvard University's reported caving to the Malignant Fascist wasn't true, GMU's decision to retain its president (and give him a raise) in the face of the MF's threats is a hopeful sign that the extortionist bluffs aren't working any more.  Let's hope so.