Pentagon orders audit of 30 universities' partnerships with foreign institutions
- The Department of Defense ordered 30 U.S. universities to review their partnerships with mostly Chinese universities and military training institutions.
- Schools must complete the review and end any problematic arrangements within two weeks or risk losing funding.
- Pentagon chief technology officer Emil Michael said the department has “zero tolerance” for academic partnerships that compromise national security.
- An unnamed U.S. official said the schools include Harvard University, MIT and Johns Hopkins University.
- The move follows a Pentagon list of 130 foreign institutions it says could increase the risk that U.S.-funded research is misappropriated.
The Department of Defense has ordered 30 U.S. universities to audit their partnerships with foreign institutions, most of them in China. The Pentagon said the review is meant to protect taxpayer-funded research from theft and exploitation.
Schools were told to complete the review within two weeks and end any arrangements judged problematic, or they could lose federal funding. The Pentagon did not name the universities in its announcement, but a U.S. official said Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University were among them.
Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, said the department will not tolerate academic partnerships that threaten national security. The action follows the Pentagon’s updated list of 130 foreign institutions that it says could raise the risk of misappropriating U.S.-funded research and development.
The list included mainly Chinese institutions, along with some in Iran and Russia. The American Council on Education said it helped develop the original list during Trump’s first term and warned against implying that universities acted improperly without evidence.
五角大楼下令审查30所大学与外国机构的合作关系
美国国防部已要求30所美国大学审查它们与外国机构的合作关系，其中多数涉及中国高校。五角大楼表示，此举旨在保护纳税人资助的研究免受盗用和滥用。
相关学校被要求在两周内完成审查，并终止任何被认定有问题的安排，否则可能失去联邦资助。五角大楼没有公开点名这些学校，但一名美国官员称，哈佛大学、麻省理工学院和约翰斯·霍普金斯大学都在其中。
五角大楼首席技术官埃米尔·迈克尔表示，国防部不会容忍危及国家安全的学术合作。此次行动紧随五角大楼更新的一份130家外国机构名单，国防部称这些机构可能增加美国资助研究和开发成果被挪用的风险。
这份名单主要包括中国机构，也包括一些伊朗和俄罗斯机构。美国教育委员会表示，该机构曾在特朗普第一任期内协助制定最初的名单，并警告不要在没有证据的情况下暗示高校有不当行为。