Yale University statement regarding Education Department notice

Yale University on Feb. 13 released the following statement in response to a notice from the U.S. Department of Education:

On Feb. 11, Yale University received a notice from the U.S. Department of Education that it is commencing an administrative investigation into the university’s compliance with a statutory requirement that mandates reporting to the Education Department of certain foreign gifts and contracts. Over the past year, at least five other universities have received similar notices from the Education Department. In its notice to Yale, the Education Department correctly states that for four years — 2014 through 2017 — Yale failed to submit required reports on foreign sources of funding.

When Yale became aware of this oversight last year, we moved as quickly as possible to address it: in November 2019, Yale submitted to the Education Department all of the required reporting of foreign funding for the missing years. Yale believes its reporting is now current and complete. The Education Department’s Feb. 11 notice asks Yale to provide further information about such funding. Yale is reviewing the Education Department’s request and is preparing a response.

Yale takes very seriously the importance of ensuring that funding from foreign sources does not in any way compromise American interests, and it respects the Education Department’s requirements about reporting of such funding.

Yale also believes that a signal strength of American higher education has long been the quality of its international relationships and collaborations, which have helped our universities produce exceptional scholarship and research and exceptionally prepared graduates, to the direct benefit of the American people. 

Yale does not conduct classified or secret research, and the research we do conduct is published and available to the public through scholarly journals and other outlets. Yale upholds the free inquiry of its faculty and does not accept, from any source of funding, restrictions on its research or teaching.