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PULSE POINTS:
âť“What Happened: Harvard University faces a U.S. Department of Education probe over $1.1 billion in foreign contributions, including $100 million from China, amid allegations of incomplete disclosures.
👥 Who’s Involved: Harvard University, U.S. Department of Education, Secretary Linda McMahon, Open The Books, and foreign entities, including those linked to China and the Palestinian territories.
📍 Where & When: Investigation announced in Washington, D.C., on April 18, 2025, following Open The Books’ report released on April 17, 2025.
💬 Key Quote: Secretary Linda McMahon stated, “Harvard has not been fully transparent or complete in its disclosures, which is both unacceptable and unlawful.”
⚠️ Impact: The probe could lead to penalties for Harvard, including loss of federal funding, and raises national security concerns over foreign influence, particularly from China, in U.S. academia.
IN FULL:
Harvard University faces increasing government scrutiny over its funding sources, with allegations emerging that it made “incomplete and inaccurate disclosures” regarding over a billion dollars in foreign contributions. Since 2017, the Ivy League institution has accepted $1.1 billion from foreign entities, with over $100 million coming from China. Additionally, it is believed Harvard took $1.6 million from organizations associated with the Palestinian territories.
The revised financial data comes from an investigation by Open the Books, which released its report on foreign gifts to Harvard on Thursday. On April 18, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was launching a probe into the university’s foreign funding, accusing Harvard of not being forthcoming with accurate data.
“As a recipient of federal funding, Harvard University must be transparent about its relations with foreign sources and governments,” President Donald J. Trump’s Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, said at the start of her department’s investigation. “Unfortunately, our review indicated that Harvard has not been fully transparent or complete in its disclosures, which is both unacceptable and unlawful.”
“This records request is the Trump Administration’s first step to ensure Harvard is not being manipulated by, or doing the bidding of, foreign entities, which include actors who are hostile to the interests of the United States and American students,” Sec. McMahon added.
The report released by Open the Books found that Harvard provides very little detail regarding what projects or programs received the Chinese money, though several million dollars were earmarked for research projects headed by a Chinese-designated lead. Financial arrangements that essentially guarantee the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can designate individuals to serve in key roles raise serious national security concerns, given the numerous examples of Chinese nationals having engaged in corporate espionage and foreign spying in the past.
Harvard is currently locked in a protracted legal battle with the Trump administration over the university’s refusal to limit pro-Hamas and antisemitic protests on its campus. The Ivy League school faces losing potentially billions of dollars in federal funding.
Image by Joseph Williams.
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