Judge Rules On Status Of 4 Youngkin Appointees To GMU Board
FAIRFAX, VA — A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge sided with members of the Virginia Senate and issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday to prevent four appointees to the George Mason University Board of Visitors from participating in any activity, meeting, vote or decision as members of the board.Judge Jonathan D. Frieden granted the injunction based on a complaint filed last week by State Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) on behalf of the senate.The complaint contended Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, circumvented the Virginia General Assembly in making appointments to the boards of visitors of several state universities, including GMU. The state legislature has exclusive authority to confirm or refuse confirmation of gubernatorial appointments to university boards of visitors, according to the lawsuit.“Youngkin has now appointed all 16 visitors to our board, and they seek to bend the institution to their political will,” said Bethany Letiecq, a GMU professor and president of the school’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, during a protest last week in front of the Fairfax County Courthouse.Also See …Trump Attacks On GMU Equity Policies Assault On Public Education: NAACP2 VA Colleges Could Face Antisemitism Penalties: Trump AdministrationGeorge Mason University faces investigation in Trump administration’s anti-DEI crackdownFor LGBTQ+ Students George Mason University ‘Best Of The Best'“While other governors have appointed people who care about Mason and higher education, people on the left, people on the right, Youngkin has appointed political, idealized operatives who serve him, who serve their own interests, their own business interests, not the people’s interests, not Mason's interests,” Letiecq said. “These board members hold extreme views. They are anti-diversity.”Frieden’s injunction directed Charles Stimson, rector of the GMU board of visitors, to not permit the four disputed GMU appointees from participating in any board activities, decisions, or votes, or participate in meetings, both public and in closed session. The four disputed Youngkin appointees are Charles J. Cooper, William D. Hansen, Maureen Ohlhaussen and Caren Marrick.The injunction also affects four other Youngkin appointees to the boards of visitors of two other public universities in Virginia:University of Virginia: Kenneth CuccinelliVirginia Military Institute: Jonathan Hartsock, Stephen Reardon and Jose J. SuarezThe injunction also prevents any of the disputed appointees from serving on any standing committees or boards and from being appointed to any board office either by assignment or as a replacement.“The Trump-Youngkin administration launched another blatant partisan power grab, this time targeting some of the top universities in the country, right here in Virginia,” Lucas said, in a statement released Tuesday. “Once again, they tried to break the law in their attempt to force our progressive university leaders to bow to their will but, today they failed. The Code of Virginia makes it crystal clear that appointees to Virginia’s public colleges and universities are under the constitutional authority of the General Assembly.”The article Judge Rules On Status Of 4 Youngkin Appointees To GMU Board appeared first on Fairfax City, VA Patch.
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