By Christopher Moore, Fox23 News
The Department of War has sent out formal requests to 30 universities instructing them to perform audits of their academic, financial, and research collaborations with foreign countries. Two Oklahoma schools are among the list of schools notified according to a Fox News story.
Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah have both confirmed with our news partners at FOX23 that they have received requests from the federal government.
In a statement from the Department of War, they state that the universities must complete the audit of all “foreign collaborations, assess the exposure of sensitive or export-controlled research” and reduce them, including ending the partnerships. They are asked to report what they find and their actions taken to the Department by August 31.
“The Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security,” said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering in a statement. “Institutions that receive funding from American taxpayers must uphold the highest standards of research security, and these mandated audits will ensure accountability across the board.”
Dr. Dan Mabery, NSU’s Vice President for University Relations and External Affairs released a statement saying:
The review confirmed that the relationship with GCTB is limited exclusively to undergraduate teaching and degree completion. Additionally, NSU’s review found no GCTB collaboration with a PRC national-level or military laboratory.
Based on this comprehensive review, NSU identified no research security risk arising from the GCTB relationship and found no exposure of DoW-funded, sensitive, proprietary, or export- controlled research.
NSU conducts an annual review of its relationship with GCTB to ensure the integrity and security of the program.”
We reached out to Oklahoma State University for comment on the directive from Washington. We will let you know what they say when they have a statement.
According to Fox News, the other universities named were:
- Georgetown University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- University of California Berkeley
- University of California San Diego
- University of Texas at Austin
- Emory University
- Harvard University
- Penn State University
- University of California Los Angeles
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Minnesota
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- University of South Carolina
- University of Southern California
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Bryant University
- Cornell University
- Drake University
- Duke University
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Johns Hopkins University
- New York University
- Portland State University
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale
- Stony Brook University
- University of Delaware
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
