Trump admin should probe Northwestern U over Qatar contract, Brandeis Center says
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is urging the U.S. Department of Justice to probe Northwestern University over the highly ranked private school’s $737 million contract with Qatar.The center’s letter, which was sent to the department on Friday, stated that the university’s contract with the Qatar Foundation, which the Gulf state controls, violates the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. (JNS sought comment from the university.)The letter noted that Michael Schill, the university’s then-president, revealed to the House Education and Workforce Committee in an August 2025 interview that the university’s agreement with the Qatar Foundation had stipulations limiting speech not just on the university’s Qatar campus but in the United States as well.The agreement states that the university “shall be subject to the applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar, and shall respect the cultural, religious and social customs of the State of Qatar,”…
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law has urged the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Northwestern University's $737 million contract with the Qatar Foundation, alleging violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The center's letter, sent Friday, claims the agreement limits speech on both the university's Qatar and U.S. campuses, citing former university president Michael Schill's August 2025 testimony to the House Education and Workforce Committee. The contract reportedly stipulates that the university "shall be subject to the applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar, and shall respect the cultural, religious and social customs of the State of Qatar."
- The center highlighted that after the October 7, 2023, attacks, Qatar Foundation staffers sent emails to the dean of Northwestern's Qatar campus with talking points regarding "diplomatic role and mediation efforts in Palestine/Gaza and Afghanistan."
- A March House Education and Workforce Committee report noted the Qatar Foundation instructed universities, including Northwestern, to send "any communications received, or proposed to be sent to government entities" to the foundation first.
- The university's Qatar campus also hosted an event featuring a professor who "glorifies Hamas" on a panel titled "Hamas and the Framing of Terrorism" shortly after October 7.
Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center, stated, "Academic freedom and the civil rights of students, faculty members and their families should never be beholden to the purse strings of a foreign government."
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