The Department of Education (DOE) on Tuesday announced that it's opening a "foreign funding" investigation into the University of Michigan.

UM spokesperson Colleen Mastony told the Associated Press in a statement that the university will cooperate with federal investigators and takes its responsibility to comply with the law "extremely seriously."

"We strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission," Mastony wrote.

The Context

The storied school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is among multiple colleges across the country that have faced pressure from the Trump administration's demands to shutter diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and crack down on student activism on campus.

President Donald Trump has also prioritized increasing transparency around foreign gifts to U.S. universities, particularly those tied to China. Similar investigations have been opened at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley.

What To Know

"Today, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of the General Counsel (OGC) opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) after a review of the university's foreign reports revealed inaccurate and incomplete disclosures," the DOE said in a news release.

Paul Moore, chief investigative counsel, issued a statement accompanying the news release, accusing the highly ranked state school of "downplaying its vulnerabilities to malign foreign influence," adding that "recent reports reveal that UM's research laboratories remain vulnerable to sabotage" by Chinese foreign nationals.

Moore specifically pointed to recent criminal charges that the Department of Justice brought against Chinese nationals accused of conspiracy and smuggling material into the U.S. that could be a "potential agroterrorism weapon."

"As the recipient of federal research funding, UM has both a moral and legal obligation to be completely transparent about its foreign partnerships," Moore said, adding that "OGC will vigorously investigate this matter to ensure that the American people know the true scope of foreign funding and influence on our campuses."

The DOJ brought charges last month against a Chinese scientist and his girlfriend—who worked at a lab at the U of M—after, according to the FBI, the bureau halted their effort to bring a toxic fungus into the United States.

Days later, authorities arrested a Chinese scientist who was arriving in the U.S. and has been accused of shipping biological material to a laboratory at UM.

The school also in June announced that it would review its protocols related to research security.

What People Are Saying

The DOE said in its Tuesday press release: "Today's investigation into UM reflects the Trump Administration's ongoing efforts to hold colleges and universities accountable for failing to comply with federal disclosure laws on foreign funding, consistent with President Trump's Executive Order on 'Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities.'"

What Happens Next

The DOE said Tuesday that it has asked U of M to produce a number of records within 30 days to "verify" the university's "compliance with the law and the accuracy of its disclosures" regarding any foreign funding.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.

Update 7/15/25, 9:10 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and context.