Trump administration investigating foreign donations at University of Pennsylvania

The Department of Education opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Pennsylvania on Thursday. 

The department's Office of the General Counsel is requesting records from the university after a review allegedly revealed “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures.” 

The university has 30 days to produce documents such as tax information back through 2017, admission agreements with foreign entities for international students, information on those involved with admitting foreign students and those working with non-U.S. research institutions, and a list of grants or gifts that came from foreign sources. 

“UPenn has a troubling Section 117 compliance history, having failed to disclose any foreign funding until February of 2019 despite a decades-long statutory obligation to do so. Although the previous Administration degraded the Department’s enforcement of universities’ legal obligations to disclose foreign gifts and contracts, the Trump Administration will vigorously uphold the law and ensure universities are transparent with their foreign gifts and investments,” Education Department acting General Counsel Tom Wheeler said. 

Universities have an obligation to disclose foreign gifts or contracts with a value of $250,000 or more annually to the federal agency.  

The Hill has reached out to the university for comment.  

Penn has already seen $175 million in funding pulled by the Trump administration for alleged violations in its transgender student athlete policies. The school contends it is in compliance with the NCAA, which does not allow transgender women to compete on the women's teams now.  

The Trump administration has also opened a foreign funding investigation into Harvard.