Dear Members of the George Washington University Community,
As you can see from the constant flurry of headlines relating to executive orders, investigations, and other actions taken by the federal government, these are challenging times for higher education. Colleges and universities nationwide, including GW, face the potential of intense scrutiny from the federal government on a host of fronts, including federally funded research, DEI activities, protecting Jewish students, faculty and staff on campus, and the enforcement of conduct and free expression policies. The result is an increased risk that significant streams of funding upon which GW depends might be compromised. Aside from the grants that support our robust research enterprise, that funding includes our students’ access to all sorts of federal financial assistance.
The university’s leadership team meets regularly to understand the executive orders and other actions and their potential impact on GW and to do all we can to safeguard our mission, our values, and our operations. We take pride in fostering a vibrant and engaged community of students, faculty, and staff and creating an excellent and supportive environment for living, learning, and working. We are committed to ensuring our community includes voices that reflect a diversity of life experiences and perspectives. We are dedicated to protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression. We believe in advancing new knowledge and promoting trust in science. We will defend the value of higher education as one of the bedrocks of this great nation. These values form the foundation of our identity as a university, and we will do everything we can to uphold them.
As we move forward, we are conscious of not acting precipitously in anticipation of possible federal actions or actions that have been enjoined by the courts. However, we want to be clear that we will do what is required to protect GW’s future access to federal funds, including vigorous enforcement of our policies. Here are some actions we have taken already or that are underway in support of this objective:
- We implemented a new layer of review pertaining to the posting of positions. We did this to give us a mechanism to work with vice presidents, deans, and other leaders to responsibly manage our financial and human resources.
- Despite our hope that this extra review step will help us get through the months and years ahead, we are also proactively working to identify additional financial steps GW can take in the event of a freeze or cancellation of federal funds.
- We joined a lawsuit spearheaded by the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and the Association of American Universities challenging NIH’s reduction of the indirect cost rate, which has resulted in an injunction on the proposed reduction.
- We published for comment by the GW community proposed changes to certain policies, such as our anti-discrimination policy, to both strengthen them and to comply with our voluntary settlement with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
- We responded to the letter sent to us by the Department of Justice’s Task Force on Antisemitism indicating our willingness to participate in their inquiry.
- We began publishing a weekly newsletter cataloging federal updates to keep our community informed of the latest developments.
We know the avalanche of orders, investigations, and actions has disoriented and disturbed many in our community. We know that many of us are trying to make sense of what they mean not just for GW, but for ourselves and our own careers and future prospects. We understand.
If there was ever a moment for us to come together as OneGW, this is it. We have an opportunity to reinforce the importance of mutual respect, and to give each other just a little extra grace. We urge you to lean on those closest to you for mutual support, and to take advantage of the many resources GW offers to faculty, staff and students.
This university has seen challenges before – we have survived pandemics and had a front row seat to tumults in government and politics. When times get tough though, Revs push up their sleeves and get back to it – in classrooms, in labs and studios, on athletic fields, and in offices that provide valued service to GW. So please, keep up the great work being done every day at GW!
We look forward to continuing to be in touch with the community as this situation continues to evolve.
Sincerely,
Ellen M. Granberg
President
Christopher Alan Bracey
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Professor of Law
Bruno Fernandes
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Scott M. Mory
Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff