Global: Colleges Suspend Trips to China Amid Coronavirus Fears

Study-abroad programs and faculty visits are on hold as the outbreak grows. [Global] Hello readers, and welcome to a dizzyingly busy week in international education. I’m Karin Fischer, and these are some of the most important developments I’m following this week: American Colleges Suspend Travel to China Amid Coronavirus FearsColleges are scrambling to draw up plans to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. In the wake of U.S. government warnings against nonessential travel to China, where the highly contagious respiratory disease first emerged, a growing number of American colleges have called off study-abroad programs and university-funded faculty and staff trips. A decade ago, I covered an outbreak of the [swine flu]( in Mexico, and one of the major differences is that the primary concern then was risks to Americans going overseas. This time around, colleges must also pay close attention to the effects on their home campus, due in part to the many Chinese students now studying in the United States. [Read my story]( about how colleges are preparing for the potential of widespread illness. But this is a constantly evolving situation, and I want to know how your campus or study-abroad provider is dealing with it. You can find me on [Twitter]( or email me, at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( Harvard Professor Arrested for Lying About China TiesThe chair of Harvard University’s department of chemistry and chemical biology has been arrested and charged with [lying to federal investigators]( about his ties to China. Charles M. Lieber was paid $50,000 per month for his work at the Wuhan University of Technology, as part of China’s state-run Thousand Talents program, according to a federal affidavit, but made false statements about his involvement with the program. Lieber, whom Harvard placed on paid leave, is the latest scientist to be caught up in a broadening federal investigation into Chinese involvement in potentially sensitive research. And the scrutiny could be expanding to the state level — I recently reported that [Florida had opened]( an inquiry into potential foreign influence on research. Harvard said it was conducting its own review of Lieber’s case. Travel Ban Could Be ExpandedColleges are bracing for a possible expansion of the Trump administration’s three-year-old [travel ban]( to include a half-dozen additional countries. Among the countries mentioned — Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania — just one sends many students to the United States. About 13,000 Nigerians study on American campuses, according to the Institute of International Education, making it the 11th-largest source of international students. Still, educators fear that an expansion of the [2017 executive order]( could reinforce perceptions that the country is unwelcoming to foreign students and scholars. The White House has not commented publicly on the possible extension. Meanwhile, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, said it would probably vote on legislation [to repeal]( the current ban. Soros Backs Global University Network to Solve Pressing ProblemsGeorge Soros, the philanthropist and financier, is urging world leaders to back his [Open Society University Network]( a $1-billion effort to integrate teaching and research across higher-education institutions worldwide to solve big problems. Soros said he would commit $1 billion of his own money to the project. The Central European University, which Soros founded, and Bard College will team up with Arizona State University and other institutions around the globe. Among the problems the network could tackle are climate change, authoritarianism, and displaced people. A Chinese Student’s Case Raises Speech ConcernsConcerns have mounted about Chinese-government surveillance of students overseas, and now those fears seem to be justified. Luo Daiqing, a Chinese student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, was sentenced to six months in prison for tweets criticizing President Xi Jinping of China. Luo had posted the comments while studying in the United States, but he was detained when he returned to China. An email sent from his university email account to a local Minneapolis newspaper said he had been released. Luo’s case set off a debate about colleges’ responsibilities to students from more-authoritarian countries and the implications for free speech on American campuses. You can read more in the latest issue of my global newsletter, [latitude(s)](. 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