According to a watchdog report, foreign gifts and contracts to American colleges and universities has reached approximately $60 billion. National Review reports that the right-leaning dark money watchdog, Americans for Public Trust, found the $60 billion from foreign entities has gone to hundreds of American educational institutions, “with 10 elite schools raking in a third of the money, raising concerns about national security and a lack of compliance with disclosure laws.”
The watchdog report was created based on Education Department data going back several decades, government investigations, data from educational organizations, think tank reports, and other electronic sources.
“For far too long, a staggering amount of foreign money has flowed into our colleges and universities with little to no transparency or oversight. Much of these foreign funds can be traced back to countries that have well-established adversarial relationships with the United States or engage in direct or indirect malign activities against our country,” said Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust.
It’s not just that our educational systems are receiving money from foreign entities; it’s who those foreign entities are that sparks the most concern. “Americans for Public Trust identified significant amounts of foreign aid from U.S. adversaries and Middle Eastern nations. Last year, Qatar poured over $342 million into colleges and universities, while China spent another $176 million” writes National Review.
Additionally, “Saudi Arabia, an oil-rich, Muslim nation with longstanding ties to the U.S. despite its human rights record and alleged involvement in the 9/11 attacks, gave $175 million to colleges and universities last year. Another $81 million came in from Hong Kong, where the Chinese Communist Party has repressed civil liberties and taken complete control of the political system.”
As for the institutions that benefitted the most, the report indicates Harvard University received the most foreign funding at an estimated $3.2 billion, followed by Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University at $2.8 billion each, the University of Pennsylvania at $2.5 billion, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at $2.1 billion.
In 2024, the University of Cincinnati took in the most foreign cash at $237 million, and Cornell had the second highest total at $203 million. Harvard University took in $150 million and Stanford University received $125 million of foreign aid and gifts last year, the report says.
And people wonder why our colleges are teaching kids to hate America.
Cha-CHING!
That, and ideological alignment.