By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Education Department on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan after a review of the university’s foreign reports revealed "inaccurate and incomplete disclosures."
“Despite the University of Michigan’s history of downplaying its vulnerabilities to malign foreign influence, recent reports reveal that UM’s research laboratories remain vulnerable to sabotage, including what the U.S. Department of Justice recently described in criminal charges as ‘potential agroterrorism’ by Chinese nationals affiliated with UM," said Paul Moore, the department’s chief investigative counsel, in a statement.
Moore said the university has "both a moral and legal obligation to be completely transparent" about its foreign partnerships.
"Unfortunately, tens of millions of dollars in foreign funding in UM’s disclosure reports have been reported in an untimely manner and appear to erroneously identify some of UM’s foreign funders as ‘nongovernmental entities,’ even though the foreign funders seem to be directly affiliated with foreign governments," he added.
The department asked the university to provide, within 30 days, tax documents related to foreign funding, a comprehensive list of all foreign gifts, grants, and contracts, and a range of additional records detailing its international partnerships and compliance procedures.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has targeted multiple US universities by, for instance, claiming they were violating the law with diversity policies, by threatening to revoke their funding, and by claiming they tolerated antisemitism.