US Justice Department investigates Harvard over China-linked financial aid programs

The US Justice Department said Monday that it has opened a civil rights compliance review of Harvard University to determine whether financial aid programs funded by China-based donors discriminate against American students in violation of federal law.

The department's Civil Rights Division said it will examine whether Harvard's China-based financial aid programs exclude US citizens based on national origin, which would violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"Every American student should have an equal opportunity to compete for college scholarships, grants, and other kinds of financial aid and benefits," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon was quoted as saying in the statement.

Dhillon said that schools that receive federal funding "cannot take federal dollars and then turn around and accept money from foreign sources to give financial aid that deliberately excludes American citizens."

The Justice Department said that Harvard has reported receiving nearly $4.5 billion in foreign funding, the highest amount disclosed by any US university under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which requires institutions to report foreign gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more.

According to the department, more than $630 million of that funding came from China-based sources. It said that an audit of Harvard's disclosures found that some funding agreements require the university to support or establish financial aid programs that give preference to students from particular countries.

The department said that Harvard appears to have accepted those funds and provided financial aid to foreign students, "presumably Chinese," based on their national origin, potentially disadvantaging students of other national origins, including American citizens.

The Justice Department said that it has not reached any conclusions about whether Harvard violated federal law.

Harvard rejected the administration's broader allegations against the university, calling the latest legal action "yet another pretextual and retaliatory action" stemming from its refusal to cede control of the institution to the federal government.

In a statement, the university said that it remains committed to supporting Jewish and Israeli students and has taken "substantive, proactive steps" to address antisemitism, including strengthening anti-discrimination policies, expanding training for students, faculty and staff, and promoting civil dialogue on campus.

"We will continue to prioritize this important work and will defend the university against this lawsuit," Harvard said.