Foreign entities have provided at least $62.4 billion in funding to U.S. colleges and universities nationwide through a variety of means, according to publicly reported data, including more than $150 million to Oklahoma universities.

One state lawmaker wants to turn off that spigot due to concerns about foreign influence on higher-education entities.

“I guarantee you, if I’ve got some Chinese Communist that gives me a $100 bill, it’ll make front-page news—and it should,” said state Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain. “There’s the old adage: I pay; I say. This institution (of Oklahoma universities) is of, by, and for the people of the state of Oklahoma.”

Hamilton has filed several measures for this year’s legislative session that seek to address the issue of foreign funding in Oklahoma schools, including Senate Bill 1261. As filed, that legislation declares that “no institution of higher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education shall be authorized to accept donations, gifts, grants, or devises from a foreign source.”

Trump Wants Transparency Regarding ‘Foreign Influence’

Federal law has required U.S. universities to publicly report certain foreign gifts and contracts since 1986.

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) requires institutions of higher education that receive federal financial assistance to disclose semiannually to the U.S. Department of Education any gifts received from and contracts with a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year.

Enforcement of the law has been sporadic through the years. 

But an April 23, 2025, executive order from President Donald Trump, “Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities,” directed the U.S. Secretary of Education to strengthen enforcement. Among other things, the order requires universities “to more specifically disclose details about foreign funding, including the true source and purpose of the funds” and to provide Americans “with greater access to information about foreign funding to higher education institutions.”

On Jan. 2, the U.S. Department of Education launched a new portal for universities to report foreign funding. It shows that universities nationwide have reported receiving $62.4 billion from foreign sources.

Nationwide, Qatar is the country with the greatest financial presence in U.S. universities, with $6.6 billion tracked. Germany and England rank second and third, respectively, while China comes in fourth with $4.1 billion in funding provided to U.S. universities.

Sixty percent of foreign funding to U.S. colleges nationwide is provided through contracting, while another 8.4 percent is provided through restricted contracts. Another 21.9 percent is gifted, and another 4.5 percent has been provided via restricted gifts.

The University of Oklahoma ranked 102nd out of 527 universities and colleges nationwide for the amount of foreign funding it receives, with a total of $104.2 million, by far the most of any Oklahoma university. At OU, $99 million in foreign funding came from contracts, while another $2.5 million came from restricted contracts. Another $2.7 million was provided to OU as gifts.

The top two national sources of foreign funds at OU were Germany and the Bahamas, while China ranked third, accounting for $7.6 million in funds at OU. Oman, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Canada, England, the United Kingdom, and Peru were also sources of foreign funding at OU.

OU reported that 95 percent of foreign funds came through contracts and 2.4 percent came from restricted contracts. Another 2.6 percent of foreign funds were gifted to the university.

Oklahoma State University ranked 147th with $46.4 million in foreign funding. Funding from Kuwait accounted for $23.5 million of the total, while Saudi Arabia provided $16.5 million, South Korea provided $1.3 million, China provided $872,000, and Mexico, Germany, Ethiopia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and India accounted for the remainder.

At OSU, $19.8 million in foreign funds came from contracts, $10.5 million came from restricted contracts, $16.1 million came from restricted gifts, and $27,000 came from gifts.

Oral Roberts University ranked 411th with $1.2 million in gifts from Indonesia and Singapore.

The University of Central Oklahoma ranked 510th with $299,811, all from contracts with Saudi Arabia.

Hamilton believes all foreign funding of Oklahoma universities should end.

“I’m an absolutist,” Hamilton said. “I’m very much on board with saying, ‘We ain’t freaking doing it.’”