Thirty American universities were told on Monday to audit their financial and research ties to foreign entities and report back to the Pentagon by Aug. 31. Schools that don’t comply risk losing federal research funding.
The Defense Department has not published the list of schools. A U.S. official gave the names to Fox News, and they run from Harvard, MIT, Cornell and Johns Hopkins to Drake University, Bryant University and Portland State. Duke, Georgetown, NYU, Emory and the University of Texas at Austin are on it too, along with several University of California campuses.
“The Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security,” said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. “Institutions that receive funding from American taxpayers must uphold the highest standards of research security, and these mandated audits will ensure accountability across the board.”
The reviews cover collaborations with institutions named under Section 1286 of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. That list covers 130 academic and research institutions in China, Russia and Iran, which it describes as engaged in “activities that increase the likelihood of U.S. government-funded research and development efforts being misappropriated.” The roster was updated in July. The audits also reach groups tied to rebranded Confucius Institutes.
Each school has to assess how much “sensitive or export-controlled research” is exposed, put a plan in place to fix any violations of national security rules and, where necessary, end “problematic partnerships.” Dr. Joseph Jewell, Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology, said universities are “critical partners” in the department’s research programs and that those investments must be protected from foreign exploitation.
University leaders and higher-education groups have pushed back. They warned that the audits imply misconduct without any public evidence, and they raised concerns about retroactive liability for ties that existed years ago.
Harvard has drawn particular scrutiny. A report from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said researchers affiliated with the university co-authored more than 140 publications with a group of Chinese universities. The same report, citing an Education Department dashboard, said Harvard reportedly received more than $600 million from China under the Section 117 foreign-gift disclosure system, more than any other American university.
Universities have already been pulling back from one kind of link. A 2023 watchdog report found Confucius Institutes at American colleges fell from about 100 to fewer than five in four years.
Sources
- Particle: Pentagon Orders 30 Universities to Audit Foreign Research Ties
- Harvard, NYU among 30 universities hit with Pentagon foreign-tie audit deadline
