The University of Maryland (UMD) recently announced it would close its Confucius Institute (CI), joining the long and growing list of American universities that sever their ties with the much-criticized Chinese government-funded education program around the globe.
In a campus-wide email, UMD President Wallace Loh wrote that it was no longer possible for the school’s Confucius Institute to continue to operate after the 2019-2020 school year, citing a federal funding bill that essentially made American universities choose between continuing their CIs or accepting money from the U.S. Department of Defense.
In 2004, the UMD became the first university in the United States to establish a Confucius Institute. The number of CIs across the country steadily increased over time, growing to roughly 100 at its peak. The structure of such institutes varies, but they are usually headed by a director, who is typically a faculty or staff member from the host university, and a Chinese co-director, who reports directly to Beijing and supervises Chinese teaching staff. Chinese Ministry of Education generally provides startup and annual funding, recruits language teachers from China, and provides teaching materials and curricula.
“Confucius Institute funding comes with strings that can compromise academic freedom,” read the report. “The Chinese teachers sign contracts with the Chinese government pledging they will not damage the national interests of China. Such limitations attempt to export China’s censorship of political debate and prevent discussion of potentially politically sensitive topics.”