READ: PROF. GIORDANO: American universities are 'turning a blind eye’ to 'foreign influence' on campuses
Higher Education Fellow Nicholas Giordano wrote an op-ed in The Daily Wire with suggestions for deterring foreign influence in higher education.
Campus Reform Higher Education Fellow Nicholas Giordano recently wrote an op-ed in The Daily Wire. “Follow The Money: Why Foreign Influence On University Campuses Is A Threat To National Security” describes investments and espionage from China and other “nefarious countries.”
Giordano listed examples of foreign influence, which he said stems from countries’ investments in higher education. “Unfortunately, following the money reveals why universities are turning a blind eye: they’re addicted to the cash flow,” he wrote.
A Harvard University department chair was convicted for failing to disclose receiving a salary from the Wuhan University of Technology in China, according to Giordano. The chair, Dr. Charles Lieber, also received payment to open a lab there.
Giordano continued to describe “Ji Chaoqun—an engineering ‘graduate student’ at the Illinois Institute of Technology.” He wrote that Chaoqun “worked on behalf of what the FBI deems a high-level Chinese intelligence officer.”
“The reality is, foreign entities are using college campuses throughout the United States as vehicles to buy influence on and, ultimately, off campuses,” Giordano argued.
He proposed solutions to deter the threat of foreign influence. Colleges and universities should receive education from the intelligence community, and Congress should improve the vetting process for student visas and prevent investment from “nefarious countries,” according to Giordano.
Read the full article here.
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Editorials and op-eds reflect the opinion of the authors and not necessarily that of Campus Reform or the Leadership Institute.
