Vice President and General Counsel Charles Barber will step down from his role on June 30 after serving nearly 20 years at GW, officials announced Tuesday.
Barber, who assumed the permanent role in May 2022 and previously served in various capacities in the Office of General Counsel since 1996, said in a University release that he’s “never worked harder” than in recent months as GW’s legal challenges have significantly grown, like many other colleges throughout the country. He will transition into a short-term advisory role following his departure from the general counsel position to assist University President Ellen Granberg, though officials expect to launch a search for his replacement and name a new general counsel by the start of the next academic year, per the release.
“The legal challenges that are presented have grown in significance,” Barber said in the release. “That’s certainly true for universities across the country. But for GW, in the nation’s capital, the challenges have been even greater.”
The announcement came as officials continue their talks with the Justice Department after an August investigation found GW violated Jewish students’ civil rights and failed to combat campus antisemitism, including last week when Barber attended a meeting with the DOJ with other University officials. Officials are also in the midst of negotiating a deal with Universal Health Services, who also own and operate GW Hospital, to end GW’s financial support for the Medical Faculty Associates, which Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes said last month officials hope to reach within the next month or two.
Former University President Thomas LeBlanc named Barber interim vice president and general counsel in June 2021 after Senior Vice President and General Counsel Beth Nolan announced that March she would retire that summer. Former Interim President Mark Wrighton named him the permanent general counsel nearly a year later in May 2022.
Barber previously served as deputy general counsel for nearly 14 years before transitioning to the interim general counsel in 2021.
Barber in the release said his role in recent years became more critical as universities faced heightened scrutiny, federal investigations and financial and regulatory pressures.
“My job is not over,” Barber said. “I’ve never worked harder than I have in the past few months on issues of existential importance to the University. A year from now, I’ll figure out what comes next.”
Barber said he’s proud to have built a general counsel office of trained and experienced lawyers that understand their role in providing legal and strategic advice, along with being empathetic toward the challenges officials and trustees face and their decision making.
During his tenure at GW, Barber was part of the legal team that challenged the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment’s enrollment and zoning restrictions imposed on GW as it developed its Foggy Bottom Campus Plan in 2000, which included an enrollment freeze and ban on new academic buildings until 70 percent of undergraduate students were housed on campus. The University — following years of disputes and lawsuits — gained the right to build about two million square feet of additional campus space, per the release.
Under Barber’s tenure, GW entered a resolution agreement with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in January 2025, concluding nearly two-yearlong investigations into a pair of Title VI complaints alleging anti-Palestinian discrimination and antisemitism at the University. The resolution letter — addressed to Granberg and Barber — said GW “appears” to have ineffectively responded to reports of discrimination and a hostile environment and unfair treatment in the student conduct process.
A subcommittee of the Faculty Senate’s Educational Policy and Technology Committee — tasked with reviewing disciplinary and legal proceedings for students arrested at the pro-Palestinian encampment in spring 2024 — found in December 2024 discrepancies between the accounts of arrested students and officials on GW’s handling of disciplinary procedures. Among the discrepancies was a contrast between Barber’s statement that GW did not “have a position” on the stay-away agreements issued to arrested students and the claim made by students and their legal counsel that the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the University requested the orders.
GW currently faces various lawsuits, including one filed by two alumni and an anonymous group of community members in May that accuses officials and the Board of Trustees of allowing “pervasive and severe” harassment of Jewish and Israeli students to escalate since the onset of the war in Gaza. A former GW Law employee also sued the University in July, alleging that officials fired her in February for disability-related reasons.
Granberg in the release thanked Barber for his nearly 20 years of “outstanding work” and “deep commitment” to the University. She said he has brought integrity, professionalism and an understanding of law to the constantly changing higher education landscape, adding he has shared his expertise in the classroom by educating future legal scholars.
Barber also taught higher education law at GW Law and taught at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, per the release.
Board of Trustees Chair Grace Speights said in the release Barber has been a “trusted” and “essential” resource during her time as chair. She added that the community and entire Board have benefited from his dedication and leadership at the University.
“I am keenly aware that being counsel to the University means serving the Board, as well as senior administrators,” Barber said. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with extremely thoughtful trustees and presidents, and I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given.”
