Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 14 February 2020
Education Department probes foreign gifts to Yale, Harvard

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) Peart said that after Yale
— The U.S. Education De- became aware of the
partment is investigating oversight last year, it sub-
foreign gifts made to Har- mitted in November the re-
vard and Yale as part of quired reporting of foreign
a broader review of inter- funding for the four missing
national money flowing to years. She said the univer-
American universities, offi- sity believes its reporting is
cials said. current and complete.
The department said "Yale does not conduct
Wednesday it is reviewing classified or secret re-
whether the Ivy League search, and the research
schools potentially failed to we do conduct is pub-
report hundreds of millions lished and available to the
of dollars in contracts and public through scholarly
donations from countries journals and other outlets,"
including Saudi Arabia, Peart said. "Yale upholds
Iran, Qatar and China. the free inquiry of its faculty
The department previously and does not accept, from
opened investigations at any source of funding, re-
schools including George- strictions on its research or
town University and Texas teaching."
A&M as part of a cam- In this Dec. 13, 2018, file photo, a gate opens to the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, At Harvard, a professor was
Mass.
paign to scrutinize foreign Associated Press charged last month with
funding and to improve re- lying about his ties to a Chi-
porting by universities. tion Secretary Betsy DeVos sources does not in any way known to be hostile to the nese-run recruitment pro-
"Unfortunately, the more said. compromise American in- U.S. and may be seeking to gram and concealing pay-
we dig, the more we find A Yale spokeswoman, terests, and it respects the steal proprietary research ments he received from
that too many are under- Karen Peart, said Thursday Education Department's and spread propaganda the Chinese government
reporting or not reporting the university is preparing a requirements about report- benefiting other govern- for research. The Educa-
at all. We will continue to response to the Education ing of such funding," Peart ments. tion Department noted the
hold colleges and universi- Department's requests for said. In Yale's case, the depart- arrest in its announcement
ties accountable and work information about foreign A Harvard spokesman, ment said it discovered Wednesday and said it is
with them to ensure their funding. Jonathan Swain, said it is in recent weeks that the concerned Harvard "may
reporting is full, accurate, "Yale takes very seriously reviewing the notice and university may have failed lack appropriate institu-
and transparent, as re- the importance of ensuring preparing a response. to report at least $375 mil- tional controls over foreign
quired by the law," Educa- that funding from foreign Federal law requires U.S. lion in foreign gifts and money" and may have
colleges to report contracts contracts. It said in a let- failed to report fully all for-
and donations from foreign ter to Yale that the univer- eign gifts and contracts.
sources totaling $250,000 or sity appeared not to have The department said its en-
more. The Education De- reported a single foreign forcement efforts since July
partment said some of the source gift or contract in have prompted the report-
foreign governments and 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 ing of approximately $6.5
corporations that donate despite having a significant billion in previously undis-
to American universities are presence abroad. closed foreign money. q

State urges judges to uphold

felon name change restrictions

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A law- first names because of a years after completion of
yer with the Pennsylvania 1998 state law that was de- their sentence to apply
attorney general's office signed to prevent fraud. for a name change, and
told a panel of judges Their lawyer said it was not those convicted of certain
Thursday to uphold a state fair to assume that all con- more serious felonies are
law that bars some con- victed felons who want to permanently barred from
victed felons from legally change their names have changing their names.
changing their names, in fraudulent purposes, the Two of the plaintiffs have
a case brought by three paper said. felony convictions for ag-
transgender women. The women sued the state, gravated assault and the
Alexander Korn said during the Department of State third for rape, so the per-
Commonwealth Court oral and its secretary, Kathy manent ban applies to
argument in Pittsburgh that Boockvar. them.
overturning that provision The Post-Gazette said the Transgender people sued
of the Name Change Act judges appeared to focus to challenge similar laws
could frustrate employers on whether the plaintiff in Illinois and Wisconsin in
seeking accurate back- had sued the correct par- May, and three current
ground checks, the Post- ties. and former transgender
Gazette reported. Pennsylvania law requires federal inmates in Texas
The women are unable to anyone convicted of a sued over another such
change their masculine felony to wait at least two law in December.q