Updated on Jan. 9, at 11:20 a.m.
Officials met with the Department of Justice on Tuesday to discuss the department’s investigation that found GW acted deliberately indifferent to complaints of antisemitic discrimination on campus, University President Ellen Granberg said Thursday.
The conversation came after officials requested to meet with the DOJ after it determined in August that GW violated civil rights law by failing to adequately address antisemitism on campus, citing several instances during the April 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment. Granberg said in the message to the community that officials presented the DOJ a “full array” of measures the University has employed to combat antisemitism.
“Let me reiterate that antisemitism has no place at GW, and we continue our efforts to support our Jewish community and to combat all forms of hate and discrimination,” Granberg said in an email to the community announcing the meeting.
The DOJ announced in August that the department’s Civil Rights Division determined officials violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, referencing several incidents during the April 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment in University Yard. In a letter the DOJ sent to Granberg, the department said GW could face possible punitive measures if officials did not enter into a voluntary resolution agreement.
Officials released Friday a pre-read of Granberg’s report for the Jan. 16 Faculty Senate meeting stating GW General Counsel Charles Barber, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Collette Coleman, GW Police Department Chief Victor Brito and counsel from international law firm Gibson Dunn attended the meeting with Granberg. The report states officials presented facts demonstrating “our commitment to preventing antisemitism” on campus, and Granberg thanked members of the Federal Matters working group for helping officials prepare for the meeting.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, who penned the initial letter to Granberg outlining the investigation, said officials had provided facts at the meeting she did not have prior to the discussion, according to the report.
Granberg said in the email officials have no further information to share at the time, but they will provide updates as they are able to do so. She said officials may have “legal or business reasons” why they are unable to share information with the public, but said officials will share what they can as soon as they’re able to.
The DOJ did not immediately return a request for comment on what the groups discussed during the meeting or if they made any progress on reaching a resolution.
In response to the investigation, multiple student, faculty and alumni groups demanded in August that officials resist settling with the DOJ. Similarly, the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission unanimously passed a resolution in September urging officials to resist federal pressure and maintain students’ free speech rights amid the investigation.
Dhillon wrote officials had a week to indicate interest in entering into a dialogue with the department.
GW confirmed shortly after the Aug. 22 deadline passed that they were “in contact” with the DOJ, though they declined to say whether GW indicated interest in settling with the department. Granberg confirmed at a Faculty Senate meeting in September that officials were waiting to hear back from the DOJ on an initial meeting.
Granberg said in her Thursday email that officials notified the Board of Trustees, leaders of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Student Government Association and Staff Council ahead of the meeting. She also reaffirmed officials’ commitment to supporting the University’s Jewish community, combating all forms of discrimination and emphasizing that antisemitism has no place at GW.
The department’s investigation referenced multiple incidents during the April 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment that Dhillon argued demonstrated officials’ impassiveness to antisemitic behavior on campus, including an instance when a Jewish student was “surrounded, harassed and threatened” by antisemitic protestors during the encampment after exiting the Law School.
Hundreds of students and multiple organizations launched the encampment in University Yard to protest the war in Gaza and demand that officials drop disciplinary charges against pro-Palestinian protesters, disclose investments and divest from companies tied to Israel. The encampment lasted over 13 days before the Metropolitan Police Department cleared U-Yard in the early morning hours on May 8, 2024, arresting 33 protesters — including at least six GW students — in the process.
Dhillon wrote in the August letter that the encampment intended to “frighten” and “intimidate” Jewish, Israeli and American-Israeli students, preventing them from feeling safe enough to attend classes as they feared for their physical safety.
The DOJ’s investigation came after a series of legal actions against GW over campus antisemitism after the encampment. A DOJ task force announced last Febuary it would visit 10 universities, including GW, to determine if reported antisemitism warranted “remedial action.” Granberg said in May 2025 the task force’s visits appeared to be “on hold” as Dhillon — who had recently taken office at the DOJ — took time to consider how she wanted to approach her position at the department.
In May, officials unveiled four changes to the University’s anti-discrimination policies as a part of a separate voluntary resolution agreement with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to resolve a yearslong investigation into two separate Title VI complaints for alleged antisemitism and anti-Palestinian discrimination.
Just days later, a group of students and alumni also filed a lawsuit against GW, claiming officials violated Title VI by allowing “hostile acts” against Jewish and Israeli students during pro-Palestinian protests and continuing partnerships with organizations they allege are connected to antisemitic movements. GW has since moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but the court has yet to hand down a ruling.
This piece was updated to provide additional information from the University.
