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The Ohio State University acknowledged that a former researcher had "inappropriate foreign affiliations" after agreeing to pay $2.1 million to resolve federal allegations that the university failed to share researchers’ ties to China while seeking and receiving taxpayer-funded research grants.
The Justice Department alleged Ohio State failed to properly disclose affiliations and financial support involving Chinese universities and state-run research organizations in applications and reports submitted to NASA and the National Science Foundation from 2012-2023. The allegations included a principal investigator’s participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program.
Ohio State told Fox News Digital in a statement Friday that the university ultimately uncovered and investigated C.K. Shum’s foreign affiliations itself and reported them to federal authorities. Shum is no longer employed at the university.
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"Ohio State uncovered and investigated C.K. Shum’s inappropriate foreign affiliations and self-reported them to NASA and the National Science Foundation," Benjamin Johnson, chief communications officer at The Ohio State University, told Fox News Digital in a statement on Friday. "The university suspended Shum’s principal investigator privileges, halted spending on the relevant federal awards, initiated disciplinary proceedings, and repaid the federal grant funds in question. Shum is no longer employed at Ohio State, and the university has cooperated with federal authorities throughout the investigation."
Johnson added, "Ohio State takes national security seriously, and the university has long been recognized for its efforts to promote research integrity and security. Safeguards include dedicated research compliance and secure research offices, mandatory conflict-of-interest and research security disclosure systems, and robust security and foreign influence training programs."
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In a press release, the Department of Justice said that the grant applications required OSU to share any ties to any foreign government.
"The settlement resolves allegations that OSU failed to disclose the collaboration and affiliation with, or funding received from, the PRC by certain OSU employees working on NASA and NSF grants," the press release read. "Specifically, the settlement resolves allegations that since 2014, annual Faculty Activity Reports submitted to OSU identified affiliations with PRC universities and state-run research organizations, but OSU did not disclose this information to NASA or NSF."
The press release also noted that Ohio State became aware in 2019 that a researcher tied to NASA-funded work was involved in China’s Thousand Talents Program, but waited until 2023 to inform NASA and the National Science Foundation.
The federal government describes the program as a Beijing-backed effort to attract people with expertise in or access to overseas technology and intellectual property. The DOJ also said they also found other OSU employees connected to the grants who had relationships with Chinese entities or received Chinese funding.
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"American universities that benefit from the federal government’s support for scientific research and advancement must fully disclose all foreign funding in their grant applications," Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Civil Division, said in a statement. "We will continue to hold accountable any university that fails to comply with disclosure requirements designed to protect research security and federally-funded scientific achievements."
Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Rachel del Guidice is a culture reporter for Fox News covering the intersection of politics, faith, family, and American culture.
