The Ohio State University has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle federal allegations that it did not disclose researchers’ connections to China while applying for and receiving publicly funded research grants, and the school has acknowledged that a former researcher had “inappropriate foreign affiliations.”
According to the Justice Department, Ohio State failed to fully report affiliations and financial backing tied to Chinese universities and government-run research institutions in materials submitted to NASA and the National Science Foundation between 2012 and 2023.
Federal officials said the case also involved a principal investigator’s participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program, a recruitment initiative that has drawn scrutiny from U.S. authorities over research security concerns.
In a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday, Ohio State said it was the university that discovered and examined the foreign ties involving C.K. Shum before reporting the matter to federal agencies.
Shum is no longer employed by Ohio State.
Benjamin Johnson, Ohio State’s chief communications officer, said the university “uncovered and investigated C.K. Shum’s inappropriate foreign affiliations” and voluntarily disclosed them to NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Johnson said Ohio State suspended Shum’s principal investigator privileges, stopped spending on the affected federal awards, began disciplinary proceedings and repaid the grant money at issue. He added that the university cooperated with federal authorities throughout the investigation.
Ohio State emphasized that it treats national security as a priority and pointed to its research integrity and security programs, including dedicated compliance offices, secure research operations, mandatory conflict-of-interest and research security disclosure systems, and training focused on foreign influence risks.
In a press release, the Department of Justice said the grant applications required OSU to share any ties to any foreign government.
“The settlement resolves allegations that OSU failed to disclose the collaboration and affiliation with, or funding received from, the PRC by certain OSU employees working on NASA and NSF grants,” the press release said.
“Specifically, the settlement resolves allegations that, since 2014, annual Faculty Activity Reports submitted to OSU identified affiliations with PRC universities and state-run research organizations, but OSU did not disclose this information to NASA or NSF.”
The press release also noted that Ohio State became aware in 2019 that a researcher tied to NASA-funded work was involved in China’s Thousand Talents Program but waited until 2023 to inform NASA and the National Science Foundation.
The federal government describes the program as a Beijing-backed effort to attract people with expertise in or access to overseas technology and intellectual property.
The DOJ also said it found other OSU employees connected to the grants who had relationships with Chinese entities or received Chinese 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,” Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement.
“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.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.
