Lawfare Project personally invited to attend Dep't of Education briefing on foreign funding of U.S. colleges
On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, The Lawfare Project was personally invited to attend the unveiling of the Department of Education’s report regarding enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Section 117 requires American colleges and universities to publicly disclose foreign gifts and contracts valuing $250,000 or more each year.
The Lawfare Project has been at the forefront of investigating Qatari funding of American higher education, and has expressed concern at the lack of transparency around foreign funding. Qatar has given over $1.7 billion to U.S. universities — that we know of — with no transparency as to how that money was spent or what influence was purchased.
"The threat of improper foreign influence in higher education is real.” — Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
The alarming rise in campus anti-Semitism contemporanous to the influx of foreign funding was highlighted during the panel discussion on the report by Dr. Charles Asher Small, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). We commend the important work done by Dr. Small and ISGAP in raising attention to this crucial issue affecting not just academia, but the future of our society.
The Department of Education panel featured opening and closing remarks from Secretary Betsy DeVos, and remarks by Principal Deputy General Counsel Reed Rubinstein. It was moderated by the Department's Chief Investigative Counsel, Paul Moore, and included Senior Counsel for Information and Technology Bucky Methfessel, along with Dr. Small.
This event made clear how critical it is to have increased transparency when it comes to foreign funding. It is not enough for colleges and universities merely to report how much money they receive from foreign sources. They must also disclose what this money funds, so that the American public — and the government — can assess and combat its negative effects, like the growth of Jew hatred.
Some of the key points in the Department of Education’s report:
American universities operate foreign degree-granting campuses in Qatar, a known ally of Iran. They are almost entirely unregulated by American law, despite national security risks.
An American university entered into a contract that gives Qatar Foundation, an arm of the Qatari government, the right of first refusal on nuclear research programs.
Qatar Foundation has been known to silence viewpoints Qatar opposes.
In February 2020, Qatar Foundation prevented a Lebanese band with an openly gay lead singer from speaking on Northwestern's Qatar campus, illustrating the power of foreign agents to censor or silence speech and quell academic freedom.
A large donation by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to Georgetown University empowered the Saudis to push a particular ideologically-driven narrative about Islamic society to the West.