Could money from unfriendly nations have a detrimental impact on higher education? Possibly, and existing law requires that schools report gifts and contracts with foreign countries. The existing law, however, is inadequate, and a bill (with the acronym DETERRENT Act) has been introduced in Congress. In today’s Martin Center article, Ashlynn Warta looks at it.

She writes, “According to the bill’s authors, the legislation would protect American institutions from foreign influence, which, if left unchecked, could not only threaten our national security but also leave our top research institutions at risk of foul play. The DETERRENT Act thus aims to strengthen existing protections for the benefit of our nation’s universities and students.”

A major concern behind the bill is the amount of money flowing into American colleges from both “authoritarian regimes and Middle Eastern sources” seeking to influence what our students are taught.

We know about much foreign money already, and Warta reports on a number of schools in North Carolina accepting such funds:

According to the current public database of foreign gift reporting, of the 12 countries of particular concern, seven have given gifts or entered into contracts with American institutions. Two of the 12 have contracts with or have given gifts to North Carolina institutions: China and Saudi Arabia. China has made 11 recorded transactions with two North Carolina institutions, Duke and North Carolina State, totaling nearly $21 million. And there are 67 reported transactions between four N.C. institutions and Saudi Arabia, totaling over $12 million. (Those schools are Duke, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina State, and UNC Greensboro.) Of the 67 transactions with Saudi Arabia, 43 were made with NCSU.

Does the bill have a chance of passage? The Martin Center will keep you posted.