DOJ Probing Harvard Over Financial Aid Programs Linked To China-Based Sources

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

The Justice Department (DOJ) said on July 20 that it was investigating whether Harvard University violated Title VI by excluding American students from financial aid programs funded by China-based sources.

The DOJ announced that Harvard's foreign funding disclosures raised concerns about its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin.

Universities are required by federal law to report gifts and contracts from foreign sources that exceed $250,000 in a year. Harvard had disclosed nearly $4.5 billion in foreign funding, of which $630 million came from sources based in China - the university's largest source of foreign funding - the department said.

According to the DOJ, Harvard appears to accept funds from China-based sources that require the university to establish financial aid programs "with preference given to students from particular countries."

"Schools cannot take federal dollars and then turn around and accept money from foreign sources to give financial aid that deliberately excludes American citizens - doing so is illegal, and we will stop it wherever we find it," Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said in the statement.

The department said it notified Harvard of its compliance review through a notice letter b