Northwestern's $14.4M In Saudi Government Funding Questioned

EVANSTON, IL — Northwestern University has declined to say if it plans to reconsider millions of dollars in funding it has received from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the wake of accusations its agents assassinated a journalist. Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and contributor to the Washington Post, was killed and reportedly dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

Western and Turkish intelligence officials have implicated senior levels of the Saudi government in the journalist's killing, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has sought to portray himself as a moderate reformer. The Saudi government has claimed Khashoggi was killed in a fistfight, although Turkish officials pointed to a team of Saudi agents who arrived to meet Khashoggi including an "autopsy expert" and a man with a bone saw "like 'Pulp Fiction.'"

According to an analysis by the Associated Press, Northwestern is among the biggest beneficiaries of Saudi government funding, having received $14,408,243 from the state-owned King Abdulazziz City of Science and Technology.

Northwestern said it extended its condolences to Khashoggi, his family, friends and colleagues. In a statement, the university said it has determined "the vast majority of the funds received have been to faculty in the form of grants for basic science research," which will be shared with the world with global benefits. "Going forward the University is asking faculty to assess their relationships with Saudi Arabia."

Other U.S. institutions, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, announced plans to reassess their partnerships with Saudi Arabia. The University of California at Berkeley said they have no plans to review Saudi funding, according to the AP.

The AP looked at U.S. Department of Education data from 2011 to 2017 and found that a minimum of $354 million was provided to U.S. schools from Saudi government agencies or state-owned institutions.

A majority was provided by a scholarship program for Saudi students studying in the U.S. created in 2005 to ease tensions following the Sept. 11 attacks, when 15 of 19 hijackers who commandeered four airliners and flew them into the both towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field and killed nearly 3,000 people in a day. Participation in that program has declined from its 2015 peak of 120,000 Saudi students as the kingdom made cuts to scholarships when reduced oil prices led to a budget shortfall, according to the AP.

Read more from the Associated Press

Related:

• Khashoggi: Saudi Arabian Prince Crossed A Line, GOP Leader Says
• Khashoggi Case: Saudi Calls, 'Body Double' After Killing