Binghamton University reported receiving $4.25 million in gifts from China as of Jan. 31, 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The funding came in three separate transactions.

Earlier this year, the Education Department unveiled a new foreign funding reporting portal detailing how much money U.S. institutions of higher education earned from sources outside the country. Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, a gift is defined as “any gift of money or property.” All figures are based on self-reported data by institutions.

Of 559 institutions that reported foreign funding, the University ranked No. 337 in funding amounts and No. 36 out of 64 New York institutions. Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires that all foreign gifts and contracts to colleges and universities valued at $250,000 or more be reported to the Department of Education, which will then make those disclosures available to the public.

The Section 117 report portal is the result of a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and Department of Education as part of the Trump administration’s aim to “return education to the states.” Collaboration between these two departments is part of the Trump administration’s aim to “break up the federal education bureaucracy,” according to a Feb. 23 press release.

In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order aimed at closing the Department of Education and mandating actions be taken toward achieving that goal.

The partnership is supposed to aid national security interests, according to the press release. The aim is that by compiling and publishing data on foreign funding to higher education, “national security experts” can help “identify potential threats.”

The University partnered with the Confucius Institute of Chinese Opera from 2009 to 2021. A University spokesperson told Pipe Dream that the funding in the figures reported is “in no way associated with the Confucius Institute,” according to the University. When asked to elaborate where the funding comes from, the spokesperson did not respond.

In 2019, the University signed an agreement to foster a partnership with East China University of Science and Technology. As part of the agreement, the schools aimed to collaborate on short courses and seminars, joint applications for external funding and establishing joint laboratory facilities and degree programs. As of 2026, the status of this agreement is unclear.

BU is not the only SUNY to receive funding from entities, agents or individuals from China. The University at Albany reported about $46.2 million in foreign funding, with around $23.9 million from China. Stony Brook University, which reported about $36.5 million in funding, received $6.5 million from China.

In 2024, the University at Albany paid $313,574 to resolve civil allegations that a researcher did not disclose connections with the Chinese government. Dr. Qilong Min, who was working on three federal research grants, did not report that he was receiving funding from China.

Neither the University at Albany nor Stony Brook University returned Pipe Dream’s request for comment.

“Thanks to the Trump Administration’s new accountability portal, the American people have unprecedented visibility into the foreign dollars flowing into our colleges and universities — including funding from countries and entities that are involved in activities that threaten America’s national security,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a Feb. 11 press release. “This marks a new era of transparency for the American people and streamlined compliance for colleges and universities, making it easier than ever for institutions to meet their legal obligations.”

According to the site, Qatar, China and Germany have given the most to U.S. institutions, providing totals of $8.8 billion, $6.8 billion and $4.9 billion, respectively. Harvard University, Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University were the top three nationwide recipients of foreign funding.

Since 2020, the Department of Education has launched investigations into 22 universities as a result of foreign funding reports. Four new investigations into Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan have been launched since January 2025.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we remain firmly committed to ensuring that universities uphold their legal and ethical obligations to disclose the true origins of their foreign relationships,” McMahon said. “This transparency is essential not only to preserving the integrity of academic research but also to ensure the security and resilience of our nation.”

New York legislators and officials have resisted the president’s structural changes to the Department of Education. In July 2025, Sen. Kristin Gillibrand sent a letter, signed by Sen. Chuck Schumer and a swath of New York House Democrats, demanding the Trump administration release $7 billion in withheld funding back to public schools.

In March 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of attorneys general to sue Trump in his attempts to dismantle the Department of Education.

“The Trump administration’s decision to tear apart the Department of Education carries catastrophic consequences for education nationwide,” Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said last November in a joint statement. “By outsourcing the Department’s responsibilities to other federal agencies, the administration is moving closer to its misguided goal of dismantling our education system, and in doing so, threatens to upend New York’s school system, putting millions of students’ educations at risk. Make no mistake, this maneuver is a direct attack on New York teachers, students, and families and its effects will be felt in schools statewide.”