Justice Dept. investigating Harvard’s aid for international students

The Justice Department is investigating whether Harvard University allowed Chinese donors to create scholarships that excluded American students, adding to the barrage of federal investigations opened by the Trump administration in its fight against the Ivy League college.

Justice Department officials announced the new review Monday, saying revelations about Harvard’s foreign funding “raised concerns” about potential discrimination against American students. The agency did not specify the targeted scholarship programs and confirmed that it “did not reach any results.”

The Justice Department said the investigation targets Harvard’s “China-based financial aid programs.” The agency said Chinese donors provided money to Harvard University to support financial aid programs limited to students from certain countries. The Ministry said that this restriction may amount to illegal discrimination based on the country of origin.

“Schools cannot take federal dollars and then come back and accept money from foreign sources to provide financial aid that intentionally excludes American citizens — doing so is illegal, and we will stop it wherever we find it,” said Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the department’s civil rights division.

Harvard University said it was reviewing the Justice Department’s notice.

“Harvard follows the Required Donation Reporting Act and, consistent with our legal obligations under Title VI, does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin in allocating financial aid,” the university said in a written statement.

In a statement, Liu Zhang, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said that educational cooperation between China and the United States is beneficial to both sides. “China emphasizes that normal education and academic exchange should not be disrupted for political purposes,” Liu said.

Like many American universities, Harvard accepts foreign funding through direct donations or contracts. The Trump administration has called for more transparency regarding foreign funds, warning that accepting funding from foreign adversaries poses a national security risk.

Federal disclosures from Harvard show it accepted $630 million from Chinese sources over decades. Overall, it reported about $4.5 billion in foreign financing. The Justice Department cited those numbers but did not identify any donors or programs under review.

The investigation is a compliance review, meaning it was initiated by the federal government rather than in response to an outside complaint.

Unlike the vast majority of American universities, Harvard and a small number of other schools offer need-based scholarships to international students on the same basis as American students. Grants and other aid from the federal government are intended for American students, but Harvard “has its own employment and scholarship funds available to foreign students,” according to Harvard’s financial aid website.

In some cases, foreign donors have provided funds for use by international students.

In 2014, Pan Xiyi and Zhang Xin, the Chinese couple who co-founded the real estate company SOHO China, donated $15 million to Harvard University to provide financial aid to Chinese students. Their gift sparked negative reactions from critics in China who said that giving money to foreign schools instead of Chinese universities was treason.

The Justice Department’s announcement makes an unusual legal argument that directing private funding to students from some countries amounts to a violation of the civil rights of American students.

“Harvard appears to be accepting these funds and, in compliance with its restrictions, is providing student financial aid to foreign students, presumably Chinese, based on their national origin — at the potential expense of students of other national origins, including U.S. citizens,” the agency said.

The Trump administration has repeatedly opened new federal investigations against Harvard University in its battle to gain obedience from the nation’s oldest university.

Harvard has been a major target in the administration’s efforts to end “wokeness” and combat alleged anti-Semitism in American higher education. A federal judge has blocked the White House from cutting billions of dollars in federal research funding from Harvard University amid the dispute.

Even as the legal battle continues, the government has sought new lines of attack, seeking to limit Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students and members of the US military and launching investigations into the university’s admissions process.

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