Department of War: All 30 Audited Universities Fully Mitigated Ties to Foreign Entities of Concern

The Department of War announced Monday that every one of the 30 U.S. research universities ordered in August to audit their foreign academic, financial, and research relationships has fully mitigated the identified ties to entities on the NDAA Section 1286 list.

The reviews produced more than 80 termination-related actions. These included ending relationships with entities on the official list of foreign entities of concern (primarily Chinese, Russian, and Iranian institutions and talent programs) and precautionary terminations of additional relationships not specifically listed. Seven universities were singled out for exceeding minimum compliance: Oklahoma State University, the Pennsylvania State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of South Carolina, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, and Virginia Tech.

Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology Joseph Jewell said those institutions “took bold, self-initiated steps to protect their labs, faculty, and intellectual property from foreign exploitation.” Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael stated the department “went 30-for-30” and warned that “taxpayer dollars will not support institutions whose partnerships put the American warfighter or the Nation’s technological advantage at risk.”

In August the Department directed the 30 schools to complete comprehensive audits of ties to Section 1286 entities and report mitigation by the end of August. Failure to comply risked loss of future Defense Department research funding. The most recent Section 1286 list, published in July 2026, identifies foreign institutions confirmed to engage in activities that raise the likelihood of misappropriation of U.S. government-funded research.

House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar has separately urged the Department to expand the list with additional Chinese Academy of Sciences institutes, defense laboratories, universities, and talent programs. The Department said it will continue updating the list and assessing universities that retain problematic relationships.

The action implements long-standing statutory requirements intended to prevent adversarial governments from exploiting American academic research. All 30 institutions reported full mitigation of the specifically identified relationships.