The Steady Drip: Education Department Probes Berkeley Over Alleged Failure to Report Chinese Donations (Connecting the Dots: The University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Harvard University, the Harvard Corporation, China, Russia & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Education Department Probes Berkeley Over Alleged Failure to Report Chinese Donations (Connecting the Dots: The University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Harvard University, the Harvard Corporation, China, Russia & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Federal law requires schools to disclose substantial foreign gifts and contracts to the Department of Education twice a year.

The Epoch Times

By Aaron Gifford

4/25/2025 Updated: 4/26/2025

Prospective students tour the University of California–Berkeley campus before beginning of the new semester, in Berkeley, Calif., on June 8, 2023. Carlos Barria/Reuters

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/education-department-probes-berkeley-over-alleged-failure-to-report-chinese-donations-5847549

The University of California, Berkeley, is under investigation for allegedly not reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in donations from a Chinese entity and allegedly sharing information about an “important technology,” the Department of Education announced on April 25.

The research university will have 30 days to comply with a record request in this matter, a senior official said during a press call.

Officials did not detail the link between Chinese contributions to Berkeley and the sharing of the technology. A release sent after the call noted that the activities being questioned date back to 2023, when the elite school revealed a “fundamental misunderstanding” of its reporting obligations.

This investigation follows a similar probe into Harvard University’s reporting of foreign funding.

This announcement follows President Donald Trump’s April 23 executive order “To End Harmful Foreign Influence at American Universities,” which states China and Qatar have funneled billions of dollars into American higher education institutions with little oversight to push their propaganda.

The senior official said these reporting regulations, which require universities to report any donations of $250,000 or more twice a year, predate the Trump administration and were lax under former President Joe Biden, who moved enforcement of these requirements from the Department of Education’s Office of General Counsel to its Office of Federal Student Aid.

The penalties for non-compliance were not disclosed.

In the news release, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said, “The Biden-Harris administration turned a blind eye to colleges and universities’ legal obligations by deprioritizing oversight and allowing foreign gifts to pour onto American campuses.”

“Despite widespread compliance failures, no new Section 117 investigations were initiated for four years, and ongoing investigations were closed prematurely,” McMahon said.

An October 2020 report conducted during Trump’s previous administration determined that several universities failed to report more than $6.5 billion in foreign gifts and contracts.

The Department of Education also reported that, dating back to 2014, U.S. universities had received more than $19.6 billion in foreign donations or contracts, including $3.1 billion from Qatar, $1.5 billion from China, and $1.1 billion from Saudi Arabia.

There are no laws prohibiting colleges and universities from accepting donations from any nation, including China, Russia, or Iran, but disclosure is required, the senior official said, adding that the University of Texas is a good example of a school that complies with the regulation and reports “every dollar.”

The Epoch Times has previously reported on Berkeley’s partnerships with Chinese universities and collaborative work involving major technology companies from China.

Berkeley issued a brief response regarding the Department of Education’s investigation.

“Over the course of the last two years, UC Berkeley has been cooperating with federal inquiries regarding 117 reporting issues, and will continue to do so,” the university said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.

Connecting the Dots:

Stephen M. Silberstein was a benefactor for the University of California, Berkeley, a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century and a contributor for the Majority PAC.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, and the American Constitution Society.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, Jonathan Soros’s father, was a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century, a contributor for the Majority PAC, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Common Cause and the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Christopher Edley Jr. is a board of adviser’s member for the American Constitution Society, was a governing board member for the Common Cause and a law school dean for the University of California, Berkeley.

University of California, Berkeley is a University of California campus.

David H. Romer is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Richard C. Blum was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a regent at the University of California and a board member at the Haas School of Business.

Haas School of Business is a business school at the University of California, Berkeley.

Carl Shapiro was a professor at the Haas School of Business and the assistant attorney general for the Barack Obama administration.

Laura D'Andrea Tyson is a professor at the Haas School of Business and was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Robert D. Haas was a board member for the Haas School of Business and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

C. Douglas Dillon was an overseer at Harvard University and the chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a professor at Harvard University and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Paul E. Peterson is a professor at Harvard University and was a director of governmental studies at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Lawrence H. Summers was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and is a professor; former president of Harvard University.

Ann M. Fudge was an overseer at Harvard University and is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

John C. Whitehead was the chairman for Harvard University and is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Harold H. Koh was an overseer for Harvard University, the State Department legal adviser for the Barack Obama administration and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Herbert M. Kaplan is a board of fellow’s member for Harvard Medical School and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Cass R. Sunstein is a professor at Harvard Medical School and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Lynn Bendheim Thoman is a board of fellow’s member for Harvard Medical School and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Howard E. Cox Jr. is a board of fellow’s member for Harvard Medical School and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Kenneth M. Duberstein is a senior advisory committee member for the Harvard University Institute of Politics and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Harold H. Koh was an overseer at Harvard University, a developments editor for the Harvard Law Review, the State Department legal adviser for the Barack Obama administration and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) a fellow at the Harvard Corporation and is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Harvard Corporation is the governing board for the Harvard University.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Jon M. Huntsman Jr. is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and was an ambassador to China for the Barack Obama administration.

J. Stapleton Roy is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and was a U.S. ambassador for China.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Harlem Children's Zone.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a benefactor at the Harlem Children's Zone.

Maurice R. Greenberg was a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone, is a director at the National Committee on United States-China Relations, an honorary chairman for the United States-China Policy Foundation, a director at the U.S.-China Business Council and a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank).

Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) was a funder for China.

Brent Scowcroft is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank), a friend of Henry A. Kissinger and was a vice chairman for Kissinger Associates, Inc.

Henry A. Kissinger was a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank), a friend of Brent Scowcroft, a friend of Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder of Kissinger Associates, Inc. and a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

J. Stapleton Roy was a vice chairman for Kissinger Associates, Inc. and a U.S. ambassador for China.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Bloomberg Family Foundation was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder of the Bloomberg Family Foundation, a friend of Henry A. Kissinger and was a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem Children's Zone.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a benefactor at the Harlem Children's Zone.

Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) was a funder for China.

Richard L. Armitage is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

David D. Aufhauser was a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Harold Brown is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

James E. Cartwright is the Harold Brown Chair in Defense Policy Studies for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Henry A. Kissinger was a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

James R. Schlesinger is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Brent Scowcroft is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and the interim chairman; chair, international advisory board at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Richard R. Burt was a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Frank C. Carlucci was a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Robert E. Hunter was a VP for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

James L. Jones Jr. was a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Zalmay Khalilzad was a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Joseph E. Robert Jr. was a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

John W. Warner was a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Dov S. Zakheim was a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

George Soros is the founder & chairman of the Open Society Foundations and a board member for the International Crisis Group (think tank).

Zbigniew Brzezinski was a board member for the International Crisis Group (think tank) and is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank).

Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) was a funder for China.

Carla A. Hills is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank) and a board member for the International Crisis Group (think tank).

George Soros is a board member for the International Crisis Group (think tank) and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Thomas R. Pickering is and a co-chair for the International Crisis Group (think tank) and was a U.S. ambassador for Russia.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews is a board member for the International Crisis Group (think tank), a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and a fellow at the Harvard Corporation.

Harvard Corporation is the governing board for the Harvard University.

Lawrence H. Summers was a professor; former president of Harvard University and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a professor at Harvard University and was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).