Cornell is on a list of 30 universities asked by the Department of Defense to review collaborations with foreign “entities of concern,” the Pentagon announced in a Monday statement.
A U.S. official confirmed to The Sun through email that Cornell was one of the universities included on the list. Why Cornell was listed was not disclosed.
The Pentagon, which distributes over $50 million to Cornell in research funding each year, told universities they must audit foreign collaborations with entities on the 1286 List and present mitigation plans before Aug. 31. The 1286 List identifies academic and research institutions that the DOD believes may threaten U.S. national security interests, and most of the listed entities are Chinese.
If universities fail to meet the deadline, they may risk losing crucial eligibility for future federal research funding. Cornell received over $1 billion in federal research expenditures from the federal government in 2024.
“The Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security," said Emil Michael, under secretary of war for research and engineering, in the Pentagon’s release.
The increased scrutiny on Cornell and other universities comes after the Pentagon updated the 1286 List in July to include dozens more entities from China, Russia and Iran. The DOD is prohibited from funding any “fundamental research” between universities and the designated entities.
And, the move comes after the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which helps disseminate research grants, proposed rule changes that would bar research collaborations between U.S. and Chinese universities — part of an effort by the Trump administration to limit universities’ ties to China and promote a domestic-first education policy.
Some of the DOD’s concern comes from universities’ research on dual-use technologies: those that can be used both for civilian and military applications. Both China and the U.S. have exchanged trade restrictions over these technologies in recent months.
Cornell has received the Pentagon’s request and “will respond to the Department’s questions,” a University spokesperson wrote to The Sun.
Atticus Johnson is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a news editor for the 144th Editorial Board and can be reached at ajohnson@cornellsun.com.
