Calm before the storm edition
See you all at the international-ed-apalooza
More Scrutiny of China Ties
First it was the University of Texas. Now Emory University has fired two scientists because of improper ties with China.
A university investigation found that the two faculty members had “failed to fully disclose foreign sources of research funding and the extent of their work for research institutions and universities in China.”
Though the researchers were not named, profiles of Li Xiaojiang and his wife, Li Shihua, both professors in the university’s department of human genetics, were removed from the Emory website. According to Li Xiaojiang’s research team, the university shut down his laboratory on May 16 while he was on leave in China, seizing computers and documents and questioning staff members about the professors’ ties with China. He had been selected as a member of the Thousand Talents Program, a Chinese government-backed effort that seeks to recruit top researchers to return to China or to accept lucrative short-term joint appointments at Chinese universities.
In April, MD Anderson Cancer Center moved to sack three researchers for undisclosed relationships with China. Both firings are the result of a broader investigation by the National Institutes of Health into the foreign ties of scientists whose work it supports. NIH director Francis Collins told a U.S Senate hearing last monnth that the investigation found “egregious instances” of violations of agency rules for disclosing funding as well as evidence of alleged intellectual property theft.
Intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that American campuses’ tradition of openness and free exchange of ideas could leave them vulnerable to national security risks.
To be clear, I’m not questioning Emory’s decision to fire the Lis. Still, the announcement is yet another reminder that as the United States and China ratchet up political tensions, American higher education is squarely on the front lines. And at some point, will that have a chilling effect on Sino-American academic collaboration?
I want to know how your institution is navigating this tension. Have you pulled back from joint research? Forbidden participation in Thousand Talents? Rewrote the rules for overseas partnerships? Let me know – tweet me @karinfischer or drop me a note at latitudesnews@gmail.com.
SEVIS Hike
It’s going to get a lot more expensive for international students to obtain a visa. The Department of Homeland Security announced last week that it is increasing the cost of fees students and colleges must pay into the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. Student charges will increase by 75 percent, from $200 to $350. For colleges, the cost for initial certication will increase to $3,000 and the agency will add several new fees for colleges, including for site visits, recertification, and appeals.
Judging by the responses I got on Twitter, you’re not fans:
The new fees will take effect on June 24.
Around the Globe
A federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner when it sought to end an Obama-era rule that protected young people brought to the U.S. as minors from deportation.
The Middle East Studies Association is protesting a State Department decision to deny a visa to Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi who had planned to visit the U.S. to see family and to speak on college campuses.
India plans a far-reaching review of higher-education system in the wake of parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government plans to draw up a five-year blueprint for reform.
Yet another case of censorship has roiled China studies.
The Fulbright program has a new look.
A survey of international-student recruitment agents found that their perceptions of sending students to study in the U.S. has deteriorated, especially among Chinese agents. Interestingly, they also are turning away from Canada and toward the UK.
A sobering perspective on the cost of President Trump’s border wall:
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And finally...
Like many of you, I’m heading to NAFSA for a week of immersion in all things international education. If you’ll be at the conference, I hope you’ll say hello. I’ll be speaking a couple of times during the week:
On Tuesday, May 28, at 10 a.m. I’ll be at the NAFSA Pavillion for a conversation about my recent Chronicle of Higher Education cover story about whether we’re at the end of an era for internationalization.
On Friday, May 31, at 8:30 a.m. I’ll join Darla Deardorff of AIEA and Jun Liu of Stony Brook University in 207B for a session on “Globalizing the Campus: How to Build Intercultural Competence.”
OK, now it's your turn – tell me what I should check out at #NAFSA2019. What are the panels, speakers, poster sessions, issues, events, confabs, etc., etc. I shouldn't miss? Tweet me at @karinfischer. See you in D.C.!
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