Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
The State Department and the Department of Education are investigating Duke University and the University of North Dakota over allegedly violating foreign funding disclosure rules.
The statue of Washington Duke on Duke University's East Campus with Baldwin Auditorium is shown in Durham, N.C., on April 11, 2006. Sara D. Davis/Getty ImagesSection 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires postsecondary institutions that receive federal financial assistance to disclose the source of foreign gifts and contracts with an annual value of $250,000 or more, according to a Sept. 16 statement.
The law aims to counter undue foreign influence in America's higher education sector. Both universities receive taxpayer support to develop crucial technologies.
However, a review of records submitted by the universities "indicated the submission of incomplete, inaccurate, and untimely disclosures," the Department of Education said in the statement.
In a Sept. 15 letter to Duke University president Vincent E. Price, the department raised concerns about the institution's research collaboration with China's Wuhan University. This agreement between the universities has led to the establishment of Duke Kunshan University in Jiangsu, China, in 2013.
Wuhan University is overseen by China's Ministry of Education and another state entity that oversees China's nuclear weapons and military research programs. The institution plays an important role in the country's national defense science and tech innovation.
China's Ministry of Education requires joint-venture universities, such as Duke Kunshan University, to have a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) unit to monitor their operations. These units can also influence administrative tasks. Moreover, Duke Kunshan University's Board of Trustees appears to include key Chinese regime officials, according to the letter.
The Education Department's review of Sec. 117 disclosure reports from Duke shows that the university has reported 1,266 qualifying foreign funding transactions since July 2020, totaling roughly $1.01 billion. The institution allegedly engages in "systemic reporting errors related to timely disclosure of contracts with foreign sources," the department said in the letter.
As for the University of North Dakota (UND), the department's Sept. 15 letter to the institution's president Andrew Armacost highlighted the university's critical role in America's national security efforts.
Specifically, UND's School of Aerospace partners with the North Dakota Army and Air National Guard, the U.S. Air Force, and private sector defense contractors. UND also provides a training environment to support U.S. drone dominance in uncrewed air systems.
Since July 2020, the university has reported 71 transactions that would qualify under Section 117, valued at around $98 million. Many of these transactions "appear to have involved Chinese aviation companies," the letter said.
The Department of Education instructed both universities to submit records of tax compliance; Section 117 compliance structure; international research collaborations; foreign government talent program compliance; foreign gifts, grants, and contracts; and international faculty, research personnel, and student agreements.
"Unfortunately, it appears that both Duke and UND have provided untimely and incomplete foreign funding disclosures, which include erroneously identifying certain governmental partners as 'non-governmental,'" Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in the statement.
"We expect these universities will cooperate fully. The Department of Education and the Department of State will continue to work together to vigorously ensure the integrity and accountability of our nation's colleges and universities in reporting their foreign gifts and contracts," Kent said.
The Epoch Times reached out to Duke University and the University of North Dakota for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
In an email to The Chronicle, Duke's student-run news organization, a spokesperson from the institution said they were "reviewing the letter carefully." The university is "committed to complying with the law and will continue to do so in a manner that is consistent with our academic mission," the spokesperson said.
The recent investigations come after the Education Department announced its partnership with the State Department in February, aimed at improving transparency of foreign contracts and gift reporting in higher education institutions.
According to a fact sheet published at the time, the partnership aligns with President Donald Trump's April 2025 executive order, Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities.
In the order, Trump wrote that it is the administration's policy to "end the secrecy" regarding foreign funds flowing into the country's educational institutions.
Last month, the Pentagon announced it had asked 30 academic institutions to audit their research, academic, and financial collaborations with foreign entities that are deemed to threaten national security.
The Pentagon's notices were sent to universities linked to certain research facilities or foreign schools in China, Iran, or Russia.
Tyler Durden Mon, 09/21/2026 - 15:00Smartglasses are set to be the "next major computing platform," according to Loop Capital analysts, as Meta currently leads the space, with Google, Samsung, Apple, and SNAP preparing their own AI-powered eyewear.
Loop Capital analyst Rob Sanderson wrote in a note on Sunday that an "inflection point" has arrived for smart glasses, which are "transitioning from wearable camera accessories to what is becoming a primary hardware interface for conversational AI."
Sanderson and analyst Anthony Chukumba spoke with wearable-tech executive Jon Li about the smart glasses industry and where it's headed into the new year.
Li shared our view that Meta dominates the smart glasses industry with its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, while Google is building an ecosystem around Android XR and Snap holds an advantage in more advanced augmented reality. He said Apple could remain on the sidelines until 2028 or 2029 before introducing its own smart glasses.
Here are the key points from the conversation between Loop Capital analysts and Li:
Jon Li is a seasoned technology executive with extensive product management, user experience design, and business development experience. Mr. Li is currently Managing Partner of strategic consultancy Asentio where he advises companies on product strategy, commercialization, and human-AI collaboration. He previously served as US General Manager for XREAL, where he was instrumental in driving the company's expansion into the US market through the development of strategic and retail distribution partnerships. Earlier in his career he held senior product and program management positions with Indigo Technologies, SERES EV, and YouSpace and senior design positions with Motorola, Philips, and FLIR Systems.
Bullish on Android XR broadly... Mr. Li is bullish on the Android XR smartglasses operating system (OS), which Google has developed in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm. He noted Android XR leverages Google's existing Android OS, large developer base, and mature developer framework and tools. In addition, Mr. Li views Android XR as a "true digital assistant" with the ability to utilize users’ calendars, tasks, documents, location, etc. to provide contextual assistance in real time. He noted one significant difference between Android OS and Android XR is Google plans to more tightly control distribution of the latter by working with a limited number of partners (e.g., Samsung, XREAL). Mr. Li expects Android XR and Gemini AI features to be updated every few months, while hardware changes would occur at most once a year.
...and Warby Parker's Intelligent Eyewear more specifically. Mr. Li is also fairly upbeat about Warby Parker's forthcoming Intelligent Eyewear launch, which he views as a key component of mass market smartglasses adoption. Mr. Li believes Warby Parker is a compelling Android XR partner given the optical retailers' history of transforming the eyeglass purchase process (i.e., online and in store) as well as ability to educate first-time buyers and provide initial fittings and post-purchase support. All that said, Mr. Li questioned the strength of Warby Parker's post-purchase customer relationships given the fact Google, not Warby Parker, controls the digital assistant consumers will be interfacing with.
Views Snap as having a multi-year lead on full AR. While previous versions were not released for commercial distribution, Snap's recently introduced SPECS are the company's 5th generation hardware design. Mr. Li believes Snap's long-term focus and extensive experience with augmented reality on smartphones gives it a multi-year lead over competitors and expects the cadence of multiple iterations will shrink and cost-reduce its offering. Mr. Li sees enterprise suitability and highlights the base of customers in industrial production, manufacturing, healthcare and other verticals left stranded by Microsoft's discontinued HoloLens platform as an area of obvious interest. Mr. Li believes it will ultimately be the developer community and partner ecosystem that drives category adoption and sees Snap's ~450K developers using Lens Studio as a meaningful advantage.
Apple launch probably later than sooner, will lift overall market. Mr. Li believes Apple is unlikely to enter the smartglasses market until 2028/2029 given the company's long history of learning from competitors' earlier products to introduce a superior version later (e.g., iPod, iPhone, AirPods). Mr. Li believes Apple will initially introduce a premium, higher priced product (i.e., ~$800 as compared to $499 for the top-of-the-line Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Optics) and focus on user experience as opposed to hardware specifications; ultimately, he thinks Apple's success will hinge on the strength of the AI assistant and level of integration with the broader iOS ecosystem, stating Siri AI is not yet where it needs to be. Mr. Li thinks an Apple entry will be a net positive for existing industry players by drawing more attention to and legitimizing smartglasses, pointing to the impact the company's recent introduction of the iPhone Duo is having on foldable smartphones.
Beyond Loop Capital and their insights into the smart glasses industry via an insider, Luca Solca, Bernstein's senior equity analyst and global luxury-goods sector head, covering companies including EssilorLuxottica, LVMH, Hermès and Richemont, and recently pointed out emerging backlash in the public domain of these glasses, with some trends on social media going viral, such as "pervert glasses," and such.
We suspect Meta, Snap, Google, and other players will eventually need to confront the "pervert glasses" narrative with a counter narrative of their own. Good luck solving that with a marketing campaign.
Tyler Durden Mon, 09/21/2026 - 14:45