Latest news with #Section117
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration investigating foreign donations at University of Pennsylvania
The Department of Education opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Pennsylvania on Thursday. The department's Office of the General Counsel is requesting records from the university after a review allegedly revealed 'inaccurate and incomplete disclosures.' The university has 30 days to produce documents such as tax information back through 2017, admission agreements with foreign entities for international students, information on those involved with admitting foreign students and those working with non-U.S. research institutions, and a list of grants or gifts that came from foreign sources. 'UPenn has a troubling Section 117 compliance history, having failed to disclose any foreign funding until February of 2019 despite a decades-long statutory obligation to do so. Although the previous Administration degraded the Department's enforcement of universities' legal obligations to disclose foreign gifts and contracts, the Trump Administration will vigorously uphold the law and ensure universities are transparent with their foreign gifts and investments,' Education Department acting General Counsel Tom Wheeler said. Universities have an obligation to disclose foreign gifts or contracts with a value of $250,000 or more annually to the federal agency. The Hill has reached out to the university for comment. Penn has already seen $175 million in funding pulled by the Trump administration for alleged violations in its transgender student athlete policies. The school contends it is in compliance with the NCAA, which does not allow transgender women to compete on the women's teams now. The Trump administration has also opened a foreign funding investigation into Harvard. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Epoch Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
University of Pennsylvania Under Investigation for ‘Inaccurate' Foreign Funding Disclosure: ED
The Department of Education's (ED) Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is investigating the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) over the receipt of foreign funds and has sent a request for records to the institution, the ED said in a May 8 The 'records request' was sent after a review of reports submitted by the university allegedly showed that foreign funding disclosures were 'inaccurate and incomplete,' the department said. Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, universities and colleges in the United States receiving financial aid from the federal government are obligated to disclose any gifts, contracts, or restricted agreements from foreign sources that are valued at $250,000 or more in a year. Colleges and universities should also report any foreign ownership or significant control in their institutions. These measures are in place to protect the country's higher education from foreign influence. Despite this obligation, 'UPenn has a troubling Section 117 compliance history, having failed to disclose any foreign funding until February of 2019 despite a decades-long statutory obligation to do so,' said Acting General Counsel Tom Wheeler. 'Although the previous Administration degraded the Department's enforcement of universities' legal obligations to disclose foreign gifts and contracts, the Trump Administration will vigorously uphold the law and ensure universities are transparent with their foreign gifts and investments.' Related Stories 5/6/2025 5/5/2025 The ED sent a letter to UPenn on May 8, informing the university about the investigation. The department asked the university to produce relevant records within 30 days, which include tax records from January 2017, copies of written agreements with foreign governments or entities detailing admission agreements for international students, and a full list of all foreign gifts, grants, and restricted contracts from January 2017. The institution must also submit a copy of its written procedures and administrative systems aimed at achieving compliance with the foreign funding disclosure requirements under Section 117. 'OGC will investigate this matter thoroughly, ensuring that universities cannot conceal the infiltration of our nation's campuses by foreign governments and other foreign interests,' Wheeler said. 'The American people and Congress have a right to know the impact of foreign funding on our universities, including some of our critically important research universities.' The Epoch Times reached out to the University of Pennsylvania for comment. This isn't the first time UPenn is facing scrutiny over foreign funding. A Investigating Universities The Education Department is investigating the foreign ties of multiple other universities. Previous to this announcement, multiple agencies had asked the university to adopt certain policies to continue receiving federal funding. This included eliminating DEI initiatives, prioritizing merit over race or gender in hiring and admission, and screening out applicants during the international admission process who are 'hostile to American values.' Harvard refused to conform to these requests. 'We are going to be taking away Harvard's Tax Exempt Status. It's what they deserve!' Trump said in a May 2 social media ED is also investigating the University of California–Berkeley, sending a records request for foreign funding disclosures, the department In a statement to The Epoch Times, the institution said that 'over the course of the last two years, UC Berkeley has been cooperating with federal inquiries regarding 117 reporting issues, and will continue to do so.' Aaron Gifford contributed to the report.
The Hill
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Trump administration investigating foreign donations at University of Pennsylvania
The Department of Education opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Pennsylvania on Thursday. The department's Office of the General Counsel is requesting records from the university after a review allegedly revealed 'inaccurate and incomplete disclosures.' The university has 30 days to produce documents such as tax information back through 2017, admission agreements with foreign entities for international students, information on those involved with admitting foreign students and those working with non-U.S. research institutions and a list of grants or gifts that came from foreign sources. 'UPenn has a troubling Section 117 compliance history, having failed to disclose any foreign funding until February of 2019 despite a decades-long statutory obligation to do so. Although the previous Administration degraded the Department's enforcement of universities' legal obligations to disclose foreign gifts and contracts, the Trump Administration will vigorously uphold the law and ensure universities are transparent with their foreign gifts and investments,' said acting General Counsel Tom Wheeler. Universities have an obligation to disclose foreign gifts or contracts with a value of $250,000 or more annually to the federal agency. The Hill has reached out to the university for comment. Penn has already seen $175 million in funding pulled by the Trump administration for alleged violations in its transgender student athlete policies. The school contends it is in compliance with NCAA, which does not allow transgender women to compete on the girls' teams now. The Trump administration has also opened a foreign funding investigation into Harvard.
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Business Standard
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Trump admin opens investigation into UC Berkeley over foreign funding
The Trump administration launched an investigation into the University of California, Berkeley, on Friday centred on foreign funding, making it the latest university to be targeted by the federal government. The investigation revives criticism from several years ago about the university's partnership with China's Tsinghua University. It comes after President Donald Trump earlier this week signed a series of executive orders focused on universities that he views as liberal adversaries to his political agenda. One order called for harder enforcement of Section 117, a federal law requiring colleges to disclose foreign gifts and contracts valued at $2,50,000 or more. The Department of Education's Office of General Counsel will investigate "UC Berkeley's apparent failure to fully and accurately disclose significant funding received from foreign sources", Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. UC Berkeley denied the government's claims, saying that for the last two years "UC Berkeley has been cooperating with federal inquiries regarding 117 reporting issues, and will continue to do so". The department cited media reports from 2023 about UC Berkeley failing to disclose "hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from a foreign government" but didn't mention the country. On May 2023, the Daily Beast reported that UC Berkeley failed to report it got $220 million from the Chinese government to build a joint Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, which the University of California, Berkeley, and China's Tsinghua University opened in 2014 in the city of Shenzhen to focus on "strategic emerging industries", according to the institute's website. Last year, a report by the Republican members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party found that US tax dollars have contributed to China's technological advancement and military modernisation when American researchers worked with their Chinese peers in areas such as hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, nuclear technology and semiconductor technology. In response to the report, UC Berkeley said Berkeley's researchers "engage only in research whose results are always openly disseminated around the world" and the school was "not aware of any research by Berkeley faculty at TBSI conducted for any other purpose". The university also said then it would unwind its partnership but didn't answer more questions about it Friday. Last week, the Department of Education demanded records from Harvard over foreign financial ties spanning the past decade, accusing the school of filing "incomplete and inaccurate disclosures". Trump's administration is sparring with Harvard over the university's refusal to accept a list of demands over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests as well as its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Education Department launches foreign funding probe into UC Berkeley
The Department of Education said Friday it would launch an investigation into the University of California (UC), Berkeley, over improper foreign funding disclosures. The department said the school may have violated Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, alleging that documents submitted to the department on the school's behalf were 'incomplete or inaccurate,' according to a Friday release. Higher education institutions receiving federal financial assistance are required to disclose foreign source gifts and contracts with a value of $250,000 or more annually to the Education Department. In May 2023, the Daily Beast reported that UC Berkeley received $220 million from the Chinese government to launch a joint venture with the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute. The department acknowledged the probe was sparked by media reports alleging the institution accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from a foreign government, but it did not specify from which outlet, article or country the information originated. In 2023, UC Berkeley then acknowledged having failed to report millions of dollars in foreign government funding, as required by Section 117, according to the department's release. The claims were followed by a 2024 report from Republicans on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party alleging that the school's research was contributing to China's military advancement, which resulted in a dissolved partnership between Berkeley and their counterparts overseas, according to The Associated Press. 'The Biden-Harris Administration turned a blind eye to colleges and universities' legal obligations by deprioritizing oversight and allowing foreign gifts to pour onto American campuses. Despite widespread compliance failures, no new Section 117 investigations were initiated for four years, and ongoing investigations were closed prematurely,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. 'I have great confidence in my Office of General Counsel to investigate these matters fully, and they will begin by thoroughly examining UC Berkeley's apparent failure to fully and accurately disclose significant funding received from foreign sources,' she added. UC Berkeley has denied claims of wrongdoing. 'Over the course of the last two years, UC Berkeley has been cooperating with federal inquiries regarding 117 reporting issues, and we will continue to do so,' the school said in a statement obtained by The Hill. The Trump administration's decision to crack down on UC Berkeley comes after the government rescinded federal funding from Columbia University and Harvard University over their failure to meet McMahon's demands for a complete overhaul of campus structure. Columbia acquiesced to the orders, but Harvard has gained widespread attention for challenging the administration in court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
