Ohio State Pays $2.1 Million Settlement Over Researcher’s Undisclosed Ties to China

Ohio State Pays $2.1 Million Settlement Over Researcher’s Undisclosed Ties to China

Higher education’s ties to China are an ongoing concern. Intellectual theft is a constant problem and a legitimate national security issue.

Just last week, we highlighted a story about UC-Irvine and its partnership with a Chinese engineering school, even though it has been flagged as a national security concern.

Now comes this story out of Ohio.

FOX News reports:

Ohio State pays $2.1M settlement as it admits researcher had ‘inappropriate foreign affiliations’ to China

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 to 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.

“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 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.

“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.”

This is from the DOJ Office of Public Affairs:

Ohio State University Agrees to $2.1M Settlement to Resolve Allegations that it Failed to Disclose Employees’ Ties to the People’s Republic of China in Applications for Federal Research Funding

Ohio State University (OSU), a public university in Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to pay a total of $2,100,000 to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose OSU employees’ affiliations with and support from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in connection with federal research funding.

“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,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “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.”

“Together with the Department of Justice and NASA, we have secured a major financial recovery on behalf of the American public,” said Robert Steinau, Senior Official at the NASA Office of Inspector General. “The settlement and accompanying compliance agreement send a clear message: We will not tolerate institutions that conceal foreign ties and compromise national security. Our cutting-edge research must not fall into the hands of our adversaries.”

We either take these issues seriously, or we don’t.

If we ignore them, we do so at our own peril.

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