The College Fix

UC Berkeley says foreign money doesn’t influence research, harm academic freedom

An energy foundation linked to Chinese Communist Party officials has poured $630,000 into four American universities for “clean energy” projects, according to a new report.

The University of California Berkeley, the University of California Los Angeles, the University of Maryland, and Harvard University all received a portion of $630,000 from the Energy Foundation, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.

The foundation opened in San Francisco decades ago but split into an American group and a Chinese group. The Energy Foundation China did not respond to an email on Friday seeking comment on the report and what it hopes to achieve with its grants. The Free Beacon identified a handful of foundation executives tied to the CCP, including CEO Ji Zou.

However, UC Berkeley said the money does not influence academic freedom.

“UC Berkeley has strict protocols and policies that protect the independence of university researchers, as well as their academic freedom,” Assistant Vice Chancellor for Executive Communications Dan Mogulof told The College Fix via email. “The terms in UC Berkeley’s research contracts reserve decision-making authority and freedom to publish for the university.”

The school recently announced it would cut ties with a Chinese school. It had received $87.5 million for the venture.

“After careful consideration, which began nearly a year ago, UC Berkeley is in the process of relinquishing all ownership in the Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute non-profit entity in Shenzhen,” Mogulof told The Fix recently in a separate article. “The University continuously reevaluates and responds to the risks and benefits posed by foreign engagement and takes concerns about research security very seriously.”

UCLA, the University of Maryland, and Harvard did not respond to questions about the report. The Fix sent emails and called in the past several weeks.

These partnerships between the universities and the Energy Foundation can be cause for concern within the U.S., according to a researcher who studies foreign influence on higher education.

MORE: Cornell faculty condemn university’s CCP partnerships

Neetu Arnold said there is an “academic freedom concern” about the “influence on curriculum” that could come with these concerns.

The Manhattan Institute policy analyst said “funding can come with strings attached.”

“This affects faculty and students’ ability to engage in academic inquiry freely,” she told The Fix via email. “Universities might be encouraged to shape their curriculum or research priorities that align with the interests of the Chinese government.”

The Energy Foundation advocates for lower fossil fuel usage and an increase in green energy, such as solar and wind. The money given to these universities was to promote and “advance low carbon cities” as reported by the Free Beacon.

“The primary reasons universities enter into contracts with China are research and cultural exchange,” Arnold said. “Universities must carefully weigh both the benefits and costs of such partnerships.

In the United States, federal law requires universities to report any foreign check that exceeds $250,000, she told The Fix. These are set in place to protect the country from any foreign entity that may attempt to harm and infiltrate the U.S.

“There are currently two main approaches: funding bans and transparency measures,” Arnold said. “Bans on foreign money are the obvious approach, but they need to be targeted to a few countries to be politically viable.”

Foreign donations without proper transparency can “skew education and research,” Arnold said.

The foreign influence expert previously identified millions of dollars flowing from Chinese-linked TikTok to American universities for racially discriminatory scholarships, as The Fix previously reported.

MORE: Over 500 COVID studies retracted, watchdog finds

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