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OSU denies allegations
Ohio State University has agreed to pay the government $2.1 million to settle claims that it did not properly report connections between its federally funded researchers and China.
The settlement states that OSU failed to report that former professor C.K. Shum and other members of his lab, including Yu Zhang, had ties to China, including grant applications and funding from the People’s Republic of China, while working on federal research grants.
Shum is the principal investigator overseeing a NASA-funded research project.
The government alleges that “Shum had guest, adjunct, visiting, and/or advisory positions with PRC universities and state-run research organizations that Shum reported on his Faculty Activity Reports submitted annually to his department at OSU since at least 2014.”
Further, OSU discovered in 2019 that Shum had enrolled in China’s Thousand Talents Program, a recruitment initiative targeting foreign scientists and technologists. The university allegedly withheld the information from NASA and the National Science Foundation until 2023.
Ohio State has denied the allegations. The settlement notes that the university is not admitting any wrongdoing, and the government is not saying its claims lack merit. The agreement aims to avoid the time and cost of litigation.
In addition to paying $2.1 million, OSU “agrees to cooperate fully and truthfully with the United States’ investigation of individuals and entities not released in this Agreement.”
The school made an initial $250,000 repayment of the federal funds it received to NASA and the National Science Foundation in 2024. It now owes the remaining $1,884,631.00.
This comes amid heightened concerns over foreign influence in higher education.
Last month, the U.S. Department of War ordered 30 academic institutions across the nation must immediately conduct research security audits, The College Fix previously reported.
The schools have been directed “to initiate immediate and comprehensive reviews of their academic, financial and research collaborations with foreign entities of concern,” according to a department news release.
Meanwhile, new federal data shows that American universities have accepted over $380 million in donations from foreign entities on government watch-lists.
Of the 67 universities that received these donations, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology topped the list, receiving $80 million from watchlisted entities. Other schools include the University of Arizona, University of North Dakota, Texas A&M, and the University of California Berkeley, which received almost $27 million.
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