The education department wrote to UPenn on May 8 to notify the university of the investigation.
The “record request” is said to have shown that, after reviewing the report submitted by the university, disclosures of foreign funding were “inaccurate and incomplete.”
Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, US universities and universities receiving federal financial assistance are obligated to disclose gifts, contracts, or limited contracts from foreign sources worth more than $250,000 a year.
Universities and universities must report foreign ownership or important management of their institutions. These measures are being implemented to protect the country’s higher education from foreign influences.
Despite this obligation, “Upenn has a troublesome Section 117 compliance history and despite decades of legal obligation to do so, it did not disclose foreign funds until February 2019,” said acting advisor Tom Wheeler.
“While previous administrations have degraded the enforcement of universities’ legal obligations to disclose foreign gifts and contracts, the Trump administration is actively supporting the law and ensures that universities are transparent about their foreign gifts and investments.”
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The ED wrote to UPenn on May 8th to notify the university of the investigation.
The faculty asked the university to prepare relevant records within 30 days, including tax records from January 2017, copies of written contracts with foreign governments or organizations detailing the admission contracts for international students, and a complete list of all foreign gifts, grants and restricted contracts from January 2017.
The agency must also submit a copy of the written procedure and management system aimed at achieving compliance with the foreign funding disclosure requirements under Section 117.
“The OGC will thoroughly investigate this issue and ensure that universities cannot hide the infiltration of our country’s campuses through foreign governments and other foreign interests,” Wheeler said.
“The American people and Congress have the right to know the impact of foreign funding on our universities, including our very important research universities.”
The Epoch Times contacted the University of Pennsylvania for comments.
This is not the first time Upenn has faced scrutiny over foreign funding.
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The education department examines foreign relations at several other universities.
Prior to this announcement, several institutions had asked universities to continue to adopt specific policies and receive federal funds.
This includes eliminating DEI initiatives, prioritizing race and gender benefits in employment and admission, and screening applicants during the international admission process that is “hostile to American values.”
Harvard refused to comply with these requests.
In a statement by the Epoch Times, the agency said “over the past two years, Berkeley, California has been and will continue to cooperate with federal inquiries regarding 117 reporting issues.”
Aaron Gifford contributed to the report.
