Foreign funding at Harvard is in the spotlight. But where does it come from?

The college is among the biggest recipients of foreign money among schools nationwide and has previously faced criticisms for its financial ties to other countries

One of the gates to Harvard University in Cambridge in 2016.NYT

Harvard University is one of the largest recipients of foreign gifts among US colleges, and that funding became a target Friday when the Department of Education demanded that the Cambridge institution turn over droves of documentation on its dealings with other countries.

The records request comes amidst the escalating confrontation between the nation’s wealthiest college and the federal government, which has frozen $2.2 billion in research funding for Harvard and threatened its tax-exempt status, amid a push for changes to its admissions, hiring, and academic programs.

Federal law requires that universities share information on foreign gifts and contracts with the Department of Education. But the agency alleged Friday that Harvard made “incomplete and inaccurate” disclosures between 2014 and 2019.

Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said the data the school submits annually includes “information on gifts and contracts from foreign sources exceeding $250K annually,” including those to “provide executive education, other training, and academic publications.”

Here is what the disclosures show, according to a Globe analysis.

Harvard receives the most foreign contributions of any Ivy League school and other prominent research institutions in the region, including MIT, Boston University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Donors from roughly 90 countries have sent money to Harvard over the last three decades, with the biggest cumulative contributions coming from England, Switzerland, India, China, and Hong Kong, according to federal data going back to 1995. The funds have been funneled to specific research projects, professorships, and new initiatives.

Three restricted gifts from Turkish donors totaling $6 million since 2022, for example, were designated for the establishment of Harvard’s Sabri Ülker Center for Metabolic Research. Some funds from China supported the the Harvard China Engagement Endowment Fund and the China Conservation Collaboration to protect tree species at the Arnold Arboretum.

These contributions are key to Harvard’s budget, which relies heavily on philanthropic gifts and endowment contributions — from inside the US and beyond — to account for almost 40 percent of its annual operating revenue.

In all, the Department of Education shows that Harvard received more than $150 million directly from foreign governments over that time, with the largest total contributions from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE’s gifts have been used to support students from Arab countries, including by providing financial aid for classes and summer programs and funding for graduate fellowships.

Going back to 2010, the amount of foreign contributions Harvard receives has fluctuated between $86 and $338 million annually, but gifts fell off after 2023 when the college saw a significant decline in fundraising amidst controversies around pro-Palestinian protests and allegations of campus antisemitism.

Harvard, alongside other elite universities, has long been criticized for accepting donations from governments and individuals from countries with sometimes-hostile relationships with the United States.

In 2020, the Education Department under President Trump launched an investigation into foreign investments from Harvard and asked the university to disclose information about contracts related to China, Iran, Russia, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, plus gifts from specific firms, including telecommunications giant Huawei and the Alavi Foundation, which has given money to Harvard in the past to promote the study of Islamic culture. A report of the investigation’s findings released that October said that Harvard “appears to possess inadequate institutional controls over its foreign donations and contracts,” the Crimson reported.

Then last May, Harvard officials began digging into donations from the Middle East amidst concerns about antisemitism on campus. The university’s lawyers later said that “no issues were identified” with those gifts.

Congress is now considering bills that could constrict universities’ ability to accept foreign funds, reduce the reporting threshold for donations, and institute fines for college that do not comply with additional requirements.