George Mason University

Higher Education Institution

Mercatus Center

Mercatus, a libertarian think tank at George Mason University, was founded, and has been funded since inception by billionaire oil fortune heir, Charles Koch. Greenpeace has described Mercatus as a “Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group.”

In 2021, Mercatus launched the Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange. Its founder, Ben Klutsey, explained that “illiberal ideologies such as authoritarianism, socialism, and nativism have gained traction around the world, while civic habits and practices such as open inquiry and civil debate have simultaneously diminished.” The program funds fellows and grants to organizations, including the Property and Environment Research Center (another think tank that Greenpeace has described as a “Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group”). The program also included a “Pluralist Lab” series, which announced a partnership with FIRE in 2023.

In June 2025, The Pluralist Lab became its own nonprofit. Its homepage asserts that “The United States is experiencing a breakdown in productive discourse driven by ideological siloing, institutional incentives that discourage open exchange, and cultural mores that rewards performative outrage over genuine engagement.” The lab has produced free‑expression‑aligned programming and materials alongside FIRE, including a “Let’s Talk” conversation facilitation guide.

Notable People

Devin Scanlon

Executive director of The Pluralist Lab

Scanlon was formerly a staff member at the Mercatus Center and previously a regional field director for the Republican Party in Pennsylvania.

Notable Funders

John Templeton Foundation

$3.9 million (2020-2024)

Established by billionaire investor John Templeton. The foundation was led from 2015 to 2025 by his granddaughter, Heather Templeton Dill. It is now headed by the former CEO of Christianity Today, which describes itself as a “globally minded evangelical magazine.” Templeton makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing advocacy organizations such as State Policy Network and Mercatus Center, and Atlas Network (all three of which are described by Greenpeace as “Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Groups”). The foundation also has documented ties to the Koch Network. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Templeton’s giving.

Charles Koch Foundation/Stand Together Trust

$2 million (2022)

Established by billionaire oil fortune heir, Charles Koch, the foundation has been a major funder of right-wing infrastructure for several decades. Koch invests millions into the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups, including climate change denial organizations such as CO2 Coalition. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Koch’s giving.

Sarah Scaife Foundation

$1.9 million (2020-2024)

Established by the late billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife. According to the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch, Scaife is “one of the largest foundations focused on supporting right-wing causes.” The foundation is a major donor to conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society, as well as climate change denial groups like Global Warming Policy Foundation and the nativist/anti-immigrant group Federation for American Immigration Reform. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Scaife’s giving.

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

$1.7 million (2020-2024)

The Bradley Foundation makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing organizations. The closely related Bradley Impact Fund is a major donor to conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom, as well as climate change denial groups like the Heartland Institute. Current and former Bradley Foundation board members, including Victor Davis Hanson and Art Pope, have documented ties to the Koch Network. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Bradley’s giving.

Thomas W. Smith Foundation

~$1.33 million (2020-2024)

Founded by Thomas W. Smith, a Trustee of the Manhattan Institute with documented ties to the Koch Network. The Smith Foundation makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing groups, including Manhattan Institute, State Policy Network, and Atlas Network. It also supports the climate change denial organization CO2 Coalition. James Piereson, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, is listed as a compensated “Trustee/Director” on the Smith Foundation’s 2025 tax filing. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Smith’s giving.

John William Pope Foundation

$1.14 million (2020-2024)

Chaired by Art Pope, whom Greenpeace describes as “a major funder of groups that deny climate change.” The foundation makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing advocacy groups like the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, and the Federalist Society. The Pope Foundation is included on IPS’s top ten funders of climate disinformation groups from 2020 to 2022. The foundation also has documented ties to the Koch Network. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Pope’s giving.

Partnerships

Braver Angels

George Mason’s Center for Leadership and Intercultural Engagement hosts a program called “Braver Campus,” which is tied to the College Debates & Discourse Alliance. Refer to the "Braver Angels" entry for details about the organization's leadership and funders.

BridgeUSA

George Mason hosts a chapter of BridgeUSA. Refer to the "BridgeUSA" entry for details about the organization's leadership and funders.

Interfaith America

According to this announcement, George Mason is part of Interfaith America’s 2026–27 Prejudice to Pluralism cohort. Refer to the "Interfaith America" entry for details about the organization's leadership and funders.

Campus Policy Context

In January 2024, George Mason introduced a policy requiring campus demonstrators and other people whose faces are substantially covered “so as to conceal” their identities to “present an Identification Document” or otherwise establish their identities when requested by an authorized university employee. The new policy followed guidance from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a conservative Republican attorney who was a founding member of a Federalist Society chapter. In July 2025, Miyares spoke at the annual summit of Christians United for Israel, a major Christian Zionist advocacy organization.

Demonstrator face-covering restrictions like the one endorsed by Miyares have been strongly promoted by conservative and right-wing groups such as The Heritage Foundation, Manhattan Institute, and the Trump administration, as well as pro-Israel advocacy groups like the Anti-Defamation League. By contrast, representatives of the ACLU and its New York chapter have argued that peaceful protesters may wear masks as protection from surveillance and doxxing—and similar concerns about restrictions on protesters’ use of masks have been raised by the U.N. Human Rights Committee, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International.

In August 2024, GMU adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism—a definition that is promoted by some pro-Israel and right-wing groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and The Heritage Foundation, but which has been criticized by human rights groups and scholars for the risk that its Israel-related examples can be used to suppress criticism of Israel.

In December 2024, GMU adopted a university speech policy that Heterodox Academy categorizes as “institutional neutrality.” Such policies are favored by groups like ACTA, The Heritage Foundation, Heterodox Academy, and Manhattan Institute, but strongly opposed by the AAUP and many scholars. An October 2025 research paper by Curtis Brewer and Michelle D. Young found that institutional neutrality had been deployed to normalize institutional silence, marginalize dissent, and constrain forms of political expression. Similarly, a spring 2026 Inside Higher Ed investigation found that college administrators have increasingly used institutional neutrality policies to justify censoring students’ political speech.