U.S. Education Dept investigates UC Berkeley's foreign funding disclosures

The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into the University of California, Berkeley's foreign funding disclosures, the department said on Friday.

The investigation, which is seeking records relating to foreign sources of funding to the university, was initiated after a review found Berkeley's disclosures to the government may be "incomplete or inaccurate," the department said in a statement.

The department cited 2023 media reports indicating that Berkeley failed to disclose hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from a foreign government.

The investigation comes two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to enforce existing laws requiring universities to disclose specific details about foreign funding, including the source and purpose of the funds, amid worries by Trump of foreign influence at universities.

"Over the course of the last two years, UC Berkeley has been cooperating with federal inquiries regarding 117 reporting issues, and we will continue to do so," Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof said in an email to Reuters.

The department launched a similar investigation into Harvard University last week.

"The Biden-Harris Administration turned a blind eye to colleges and universities' legal obligations by deprioritizing oversight and allowing foreign gifts to pour onto American campuses," said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

The Trump administration has launched a crackdown against top U.S. universities, over pro-Palestinian campus protests and a range of other topics like transgender rights and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding to those institutions. Rights advocates have condemned what they call an assault on free speech and academic freedom.