Saudi relations with universities in the United States are under increasing scrutiny
Saudi relations with universities in the United States are under increasing scrutiny
US colleges and universities have received more than $ 350 million from the Saudi government in this decade, but some are reconsidering their dealings after the murder of a journalist who has ignited a worldwide uproar against the oil-rich nation.
The Associated Press analyzed federal data and found that at least $ 354 million from the Saudi government or the institutions it controls have flown to 37 US schools since 2011. Much of the money was provided through a scholarship program that covers tuition for students Saudis who study in the USA UU However, AP found that at least $ 62 million came through contracts or donations from the kingdom's nationally owned companies and research institutes.
Those who benefit most from Saudi Arabia's contracts include Northwestern University, which has received $ 14 million from a major research center in Saudi Arabia since 2011, and the University of California, the Angels, which accepted $ 6 million from the same institute, known as the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.
Meanwhile, Saudi ArabiaThe national oil company, Saudi Aramco, has channeled $ 20 million to American universities, including $ 9 million to Texas A & M University and $ 4 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A national chemical company known as SABIC directed another $ 8 million to schools in the United States.
Although some of the contracts were stopped before last year, questions about the death of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul have prompted some schools to reconsider current or future agreements.
On October 22, MIT announced that it will conduct a "rapid and complete re-evaluation" of the institute's partnerships with Saudi Arabia, calling the disappearance of Khashoggi a "serious concern". Richard Lester, a rector general, said that teachers working with the kingdom can "make their own determinations about the best way forward".
The institute partners with Saudi universities in numerous research projects and has a long history of working with Saudi Aramco. In March, the oil company pledged $ 25 million to MIT for research in areas that include renewable energy and artificial intelligence.
At Babson College, near Boston, which received $ 2.5 million through a contract with the chemical company SABIC, officials told the AP they are "closely monitoring the events and gathering information from our community on possible future paths." . The school agreement provides leadership training to Saudi business managers, and joins several other research and training associations between Babson and the Saudi universities.
But many other schools have not indicated that they reconsider ties.
Officials at the University of California, Berkeley, said they are not reviewing their Saudi financing, which includes a $ 6 million contract to develop nanomaterials that can be used to support renewable energy. Spokesman Roqua Montez said the kingdom's support represents only a small fraction of the contracts and grants that go to campus researchers.
Northwestern University declined to say if any of its funds are under review. Spokesman Bob Rowley said only that the "vast majority" of the $ 14 million is for scientific grants, but he did not answer any more questions.
Others, including Tufts University and the University of Michigan, did not answer questions about their Saudi funding.
The AP analysis examined data from the Foreign Contracts and Gifts Report of the Department of Education, which details foreign funding to any university in the United States that received $ 250,000 or more in a given year. The self-reported data covers the funds from 2011 to 2017.
In addition to the money directly from the Saudi government or the entities controlled by it, the universities of the United States received a total of $ 140 million from private sources, universities and Saudi hospitals.
Another $ 114 million could not be accounted for because schools did not report the specific source of funds within Saudi Arabia. That included approximately $ 40 million at Johns Hopkins University and $ 28 million at Harvard University. Officials at Johns Hopkins and Harvard did not provide further details.
The largest sums of money were obtained through a Saudi scholarship program that sends thousands of students to US schools. UU Every year. George Washington University received $ 73 million from the program, followed by George Mason University, with $ 63 million.
Those schools said they will not reject the scholarship money because it would force them to reject the students they cover.
"Refusing to pay would give an educational opportunity to qualified students," said Michael Sandler, spokesman for George Mason, in a statement, "It would be against our mission to serve students."
The public school in Virginia receives about 250 Saudi students through the program each fall and spring.
US ties with Saudi Arabia have come under intense scrutiny in the wake of Khashoggi's assassination in Turkey, which President Donald Trump called "the worst cover-up." Activists and some politicians have called on the United States and its industries to break with the nation, and some have done so.
Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 Saudi suspects detained in Saudi Arabia for the October 2 assassination of Khashoggi, who had critically written Saudi Arabia's crown prince in columns for The Washington Post. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the kingdom will prosecute the perpetrators and bring them to justice after an investigation is completed.
Three Washington lobbying firms recently canceled contracts that hired them to represent Saudi interests, and several other companies have suspended work in the kingdom, including those owned by multimillion-dollar investor Richard Branson.
More recently, pressure to break ties has expanded to university campuses, including at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, which is partnering with a Saudi police university to provide a degree in security studies in Riyadh.
Despite protests by a human rights group in New Haven, the university says it plans to continue the program. In a statement, the school said its work in the kingdom "is something that we believe should be supported and encouraged."
The turmoil has also waved through the campuses in other ways. At Columbia University, for example, officials recently canceled a planned conference with Saudi artist Ahmed Mater. Columbia, separately, received a grant of $ 1.1 million from the Ministry of Agriculture of Saudi Arabia in 2016, according to the records, but authorities said the school does not have any more programmed funds from the kingdom.
In some ways, the links between American universities and the kingdom were created to ease tensions between nations. The scholarship program was created in 2005 after the leaders of both countries met to ease the diplomatic tension that followed the September 11 attacks.
Since then, the program has sent tens of thousands of Saudis to study in the United States. It reached its highest point in 2015, when more than 120,000 Saudis came to study in the United States, but the numbers have decreased considerably since 2016, when the kingdom reduced the scale. program amid a budget deficit linked to the fall in oil prices.
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Day reported from Washington.
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Follow Collin Binkley on Twitter at https://twitter.com/cbinkley and Chad Day at http://twitter.com/ChadSDay
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