Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    An AI-Driven Work Force
    AI and Microcredentials
Sign In
News

White House Officials Will Visit Campuses to Discuss Foreign Threats to Research

By Nell Gluckman September 17, 2019
Kelvin Droegemeier, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Kelvin Droegemeier, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology PolicySue Ogrocki, AP Images

Research universities in the United States have felt increasing government pressure to confront the potential theft of intellectual property and national-security secrets from countries like China. Now White House representatives will visit campuses to discuss that effort.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

Kelvin Droegemeier, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Kelvin Droegemeier, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology PolicySue Ogrocki, AP Images

Research universities in the United States have felt increasing government pressure to confront the potential theft of intellectual property and national-security secrets from countries like China. Now White House representatives will visit campuses to discuss that effort.

In the next few months, representatives from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will hold meetings at academic institutions to speak with researchers and students about “matters of research security,” according to a letter the office’s director sent on Tuesday to universities and professional organizations. The letter warned about some nations’ “increasingly sophisticated efforts to exploit, influence, and undermine our research activities.”

Kelvin K. Droegemeier, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, said he would visit campuses in order to talk to faculty members. “The faculty would benefit by being part of that conversation,” he said. “That’s really the target audience.”

Another goal would be to make sure researchers are aware of the rules and what they mean, Droegemeier said.

University leaders have tried to balance government warnings about spying and theft with researchers’ fears that they are being targeted and stereotyped because of their ethnicity. Collaborations between researchers in the United States and China, as well as government-sponsored talent programs that recruit scholars to China, are under the microscope, straining the closest research relationship between any two countries in the world.

For scholars, the threat that they could be investigated by the government for their contacts in other countries is real. Already this year, scientists at Emory University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have lost their jobs after the National Institutes of Health wrote letters to their universities highlighting behavior that the agency found suspicious. In May the NIH said it was investigating more than 50 institutions for a range of behavior it saw as questionable.

Some Chinese American researchers have been wrongly accused of spying. In 2015 a physics professor at Temple University was charged with sharing sensitive information with China, but the charges were later dropped. Many U.S.-based scientists of Chinese descent say they are confused and frustrated by the lack of clarity about what they can and cannot do when it comes to working with Chinese colleagues. They worry that government pressure will hamper the free flow of information that is important to research.

Droegemeier’s letter said that a committee of government officials has been formed that will establish guidelines on disclosure requirements for researchers who receive federal funds, develop best practices for academic institutions, and highlight ways to identify risky research practices.

The effort wasn’t specifically targeted at China, Droegemeier said. “Regardless of where you come from,” he said, “if you’re involved in research we expect you to follow the rules of research. First of all, we need to make sure you’re aware of them.”

Nell Gluckman writes about faculty issues and other topics in higher education. You can follow her on Twitter @nellgluckman, or email her at nell.gluckman@chronicle.com.

A version of this article appeared in the September 27, 2019, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Scholarship & Research
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
Gluckman_Nell.jpg
About the Author
Nell Gluckman
Nell Gluckman is a senior reporter who writes about research, ethics, funding issues, affirmative action, and other higher-education topics. You can follow her on Twitter @nellgluckman, or email her at nell.gluckman@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

How University Research Landed on the Front Lines of the Fight With China
Researchers Working With China Face Scrutiny by Officials Who Don’t Grasp Science, Lawyer Says

More News

Photo illustration showing Santa Ono seated, places small in the corner of a dark space
'Unrelentingly Sad'
Santa Ono Wanted a Presidency. He Became a Pariah.
Illustration of a rushing crowd carrying HSI letters
Seeking precedent
Funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions Is Discriminatory and Unconstitutional, Lawsuit Argues
Photo-based illustration of scissors cutting through paper that is a photo of an idyllic liberal arts college campus on one side and money on the other
Finance
Small Colleges Are Banding Together Against a Higher Endowment Tax. This Is Why.
Pano Kanelos, founding president of the U. of Austin.
Q&A
One Year In, What Has ‘the Anti-Harvard’ University Accomplished?

From The Review

Photo-based illustration of the Capitol building dome propped on a stick attached to a string, like a trap.
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Can’t Trust the Federal Government. What Now?
By Brian Rosenberg
Illustration of an unequal sign in black on a white background
The Review | Essay
What Is Replacing DEI? Racism.
By Richard Amesbury
FILE -- University of Michigan President Santa Ono speaks during a Board of Regents meeting in Ann Arbor, Mich., Dec. 5, 2024. The University of Florida's new president will be Ono, a biomedical researcher lured from the top job at the University of Michigan with a large pay package, despite criticism of him that social conservatives raised.
The Review | Opinion
The Ruination of Santa Ono
By Silke-Maria Weineck

Upcoming Events

Plain_Acuity_DurableSkills_VF.png
Why Employers Value ‘Durable’ Skills
Warwick_Leadership_Javi.png
University Transformation: a Global Leadership Perspective
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin