(HorizonPost.com) – According to a new report, from 2014 to 2019, more than 200 American universities received $13 billion in “undocumented contributions from foreign governments,” the New York Post reported.
The Network Contagion Research Institute report reveals that a significant portion of the foreign donations came from authoritarian regimes like China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Some of America’s most prestigious institutions, including Harvard, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT, are among those who have benefited from foreign largesse, none of which was recorded with the Department of Education.
From 2014 to 2019, Harvard received $894 million, while Cornell took in $1.29 billion. MIT received $859 million while Carnegie Mellon raked in the most, $1.47 billion.
Qatar is one of the biggest sources of donations with $2.7 billion. England came in second with $1.4 billion. Another $1.2 billion went to American universities from China while $1.1 billion was donated by Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates donated $431 million.
According to the report’s authors, the windfall of undocumented cash “raises the sobering possibility” that foreign actors use undisclosed channels to donate to universities “for purposes harmful to the democratic norms of pluralism, tolerance, and freedom.”
In a statement, Cornell University defended its funding from Qatar, explaining that the funding it received, over $1.3 billion since 2012, was for operating a medical school in the Gulf kingdom. Over 500 students from the Middle East, Asia, and other parts of the world have graduated from this medical school.
Other countries that have donated to American universities include Canada, Germany, India, Japan, and Switzerland.
According to the report, the “erosion of democratic norms” and the rise of antisemitism on American campuses appear to coincide with the “massive influx of foreign, concealed donations” between 2014 and 2019.
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