Ohio State University will pay $2.1 million to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose employees’ affiliations with and funding from the People’s Republic of China on NASA and National Science Foundation grant applications, the Justice Department announced. The settlement covers NASA and NSF grants awarded to the university between November 2012 and August 2023, a time period when federal research funding was a major revenue source for large universities with far less scrutiny than it faces today.
According to the settlement agreement, the case centers on former OSU professor C.K. Shum and members of his lab, including Yu Zhang, who the government contends were affiliated with, listed on grant applications for, or receiving funding from the PRC while working on federal grants.
OSU denies the allegations, and the agreement is not an admission of liability. The case comes during a period when federal research cuts are already reshaping graduate education across the country.
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Why It Matters
Research universities run on federal grant money, and this type of disclosure failure can be costly – especially in today’s environment. The government says undisclosed foreign ties undermine the integrity of the grant process and put taxpayer-funded research at risk.
Settlements like this one highlight a broader enforcement push at a moment when universities are cutting jobs and degree programs as other funding sources shrink.
The Details
Here’s what the settlement alleges:
- Since at least 2014, Shum’s annual Faculty Activity Reports at OSU listed guest, adjunct, visiting, and advisory positions with PRC universities and state-run research organizations. That information was not shared with NASA or NSF.
- In September 2019, OSU learned that Shum admitted participating in a PRC Thousand Talents Program, which was a recruitment effort targeting people with access to foreign technology and intellectual property. OSU didn’t notify NASA or NSF until 2023, when it also began disciplinary proceedings.
- Federal law has barred NASA grant funds from PRC collaborations since 2011 under P.L. 112-10 § 1340, known as the Wolf Amendment.
- OSU repaid $254,661 in January 2024. The remaining $1,884,631 is due within seven days of the agreement’s effective date, and the full $2.1 million is classified as restitution.
- The deal releases OSU from common-law fraud claims but reserves False Claims Act, criminal, and administrative liability and any liability of individuals, including Shum.
- OSU also entered a compliance agreement alongside the settlement, and signed the deal on August 28, 2026.
How This Connects
Federal scrutiny of universities keeps expanding on multiple fronts.
The Justice Department recently found that UC Davis’s medical school used race in admissions despite California’s ban, while Columbia paid $9 million over false rankings data and a judge just dismissed the administration’s antisemitism case against Harvard.
The common thread: schools face financial consequences from Washington that would have been rare a decade ago.
What’s Next
OSU agreed to cooperate with ongoing investigations of individuals not released by the deal, so charges or claims against specific researchers remain possible.
The administration’s new fraud enforcement task force signals more university investigations are likely. This also comes at a time when new visa restrictions are squeezing international enrollment, creating stress on university budgets from both directions.
Editor: Colin Graves
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