Procedure review and policy changes for employee misconduct

August 28, 2023

Dear fellow Patriots:

I am writing to share information with the George Mason University community about a situation that we are addressing involving accusations of sexual misconduct by a former member of the Scalia Law School faculty.

I want to start with my personal commitment: This university is wholly devoted to maintaining a community that is safe, dignifying, and welcoming to every individual. Accordingly, when accusations come forward that suggest this standard has not been met, we take them very seriously.

Priority One

Our first priority is with anyone who has experienced sexual misconduct at this university. We are here to support you and take action through the systems we have in place to address such misconduct. The resources we have in place will work with you and will do their best to respect your dignity and provide care and attention to your individual needs. More information on those is below.

Actions We Are Taking 

Trust lies at the heart of our ability to maintain a safe and welcoming environment to learn, work, and live.  To that end, I am announcing a series of actions that will strengthen the systems we already have in place to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct.  I want to thank everyone who has worked with the university to identify and implement these actions. 

  • Immediately enhanced on-site support staffing at Mason Square campus: Beginning on Monday, August 28, a member of the university’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team will be available at Mason Square Mondays and Thursdays. This will supplement existing on-site resources from the university’s Counseling & Psychological Services and Student Support & Advocacy Center.
  • Inquiry into university response to complaints: I have ordered a broad external review of how complaints of sexual misconduct at the university have been handled, as well as the adequacy of university systems that are in place to respond to such allegations.  The university community has my commitment that we will be as transparent as circumstances will allow.  We will use this review to identify and then implement further ways that we can improve our prevention of and response to sexual misconduct. 
  • Change to University Policy 1204, regarding employee-student romantic or sexual relationships: Policy 1204 already prohibited relationships between students and employees where there was a power relationship. However, we have revised and strengthened Policy 1204 to expand and more clearly define what relationships are prohibited as well as explicitly prohibiting attempts at initiating prohibited relationships. Violations of this policy will result in discipline up to and including termination. All faculty and staff will be required to complete training on this revised policy and certify compliance. There will be more communications to faculty, staff, and students about the new policy and training requirements. The updated policy can be found here.
  • Enhanced Title IX training and processes: Beginning this semester, Mason will enhance prevention and education programming and increase the number of trainings offered on all campuses. We have expanded our reporting to allow an anonymous self-reporting option for Title IX reports. Mason will also establish a formal channel to seek feedback from individuals who engage with the Title IX office at the conclusion of their matter, and we will use that feedback to continuously improve the services and responses we provide.

I cannot stress enough that we encourage any student or university employee who wishes to make a report to do so, by submitting a Title IX Incident Report. It will be received by the University’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and responded to with compassion, empathy, and discretion.  The University condemns any attempt to silence or intimidate individuals from making good faith complaints of sexual misconduct through the TItle IX process. 

Use this form to report any information and/or knowledge of alleged incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, sexual exploitation, and related Title IX-protected role retaliation involving George Mason University students, staff or faculty. Such acts are Prohibited Conduct under University Policy 1202: Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence.  You can also use this form to report violations of Policy 1204.  If you are seeking to self-report possible prohibited conduct anonymously, please use this form.   

In addition, the university provides resources to support both students and employees:

Mason Resources for Students  

Mason Resources for Faculty and Staff   

Community Resources for All

A comprehensive guide to resources can be found at Patriots Thriving Together.  

Faculty and staff who are interested in learning how to support students in distress can also access our Mason guide Let's Help Our Students.   

I will update the university community as circumstances warrant.

 

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington

President

Topics

Statement: Office of the President