MSU refutes claim China program was pipeline for foreign defense officials

Missouri State University is refuting a report released this week that alleges, among other things, that the institution was part of a pipeline that used U.S. taxpayer funds to educate students for China’s government-owned enterprises, including those tied to that country’s defense industry.

The 28-page “Heartland for Hire” report was issued by for-profit geopolitical research firm Strategy Risks, based in New York City. It was released to media outlets June 24.

“We were looking for a case where an American public university had a program where they were sort of supporting foreign students in a way that looked different from what we usually expect to see,” said Sam Shulman, a research analyst at Strategy Risks, in a June 25 interview. “It seems that the program was basically curated by a foreign government and that the students enjoyed some benefits like being able to bypass certain admissions processes that we hadn’t seen elsewhere.”

The report, which has received national attention from Fox News and other outlets, raises questions about the funding and results of a program MSU created a quarter-century ago to offer a master’s degrees in business administration to students from China.

It alleged that by 2018, more than 1,500 of its graduates worked for the Chinese government or state-owned enterprises.

“The meat of this story is where many of these students ended up and the careers they pursued being involved in state-owned enterprises, specifically in China’s defense sector,” Shulman said.

Springfield Business Journal requested an interview with Brad Bodenhausen, MSU’s vice president for community and global partnership but was told he was still vetting the report. SBJ then submitted questions to MSU through its communications officials and received responses in writing.

MSU officials said the program delivered the same curriculum as the university’s traditional MBA program.

“The curriculum is designed to develop business acumen and leadership, managerial, analytical and strategic decision-making skills applicable across a broad range of business disciplines,” the MSU officials said. The report cited Chinese recruiting materials for the program. These materials allegedly claimed the Chinese government covered half of the tuition, with the other half split between the U.S. government and the student.

However, in the footnote of the report, the company wrote that other recruiting material described funding differently, and it stated that “no public U.S. record confirms that taxpayer money was paid” and “the figure cannot be confirmed.”

MSU noted the discrepancy in a response to SBJ: “No taxpayer dollars were directed toward the program, as the report alleges but readily admits it cannot substantiate.”

Asked where graduates of the program went to work, MSU said does not know because the university “does not routinely track post-graduate employment data for graduate students.”

The report alleges that while MSU granted the degrees, Chinese state institutions controlled who was admitted, the selection criteria and the makeup of each cohort.

Asked about the vetting of students, MSU said organizations interested in sponsoring students were briefed about the program’s admission requirements and the application process set by the university. MSU said agreements with those organizations outlined the university’s rules and expectations.

According to MSU, the program was designed for working executives, regional government officials, and university administrators.

Shulman said MSU did not require applicants to the program to complete certain requirements, such as an English language test. The report noted enrollment dropped steeply after the pandemic.

The university stated, “The role of sponsors was limited to promoting the program, screening potential applicants using Missouri State's admission criteria and forwarding applications. Final admission decisions were solely the responsibility of the university.”

MSU said students admitted to the one-year intensive program were required to comply with all student visa regulations administered by the U.S. State Department.

The report stated that students studied a “conventional business curriculum” in the program, and MSU pointed this out in its statement, adding there was “no evidence of espionage, intellectual property theft, misconduct, false affiliations or complaints of harassment.”

Shulman said the company, which focuses heavily on the international political economy and China, generated the report for “people interested in the American education system or in American foreign relations.” He said the company works with an “ideologically diverse” group of nonprofits to highlight issues of interest to the public.

SBJ asked Shulman if it found evidence MSU was aware that many of its graduates were later hired in Chinese government-related roles, including in the defense sector.

“We didn’t find any direct evidence that MSU knew exactly where its students were ending up,” he said, in the interview.

Shulman agreed to be interviewed by SBJ, but the author of the report was listed as Lara Jun Hastings. The report acknowledged that the author’s name was a pseudonym.

Asked about the disconnect apparent in parts of the report – for example, alleging taxpayer funds were used but acknowledging this could not be verified – Shulman said, “What we can present is the facts and, to a certain degree, it is up to the readers to come to their own conclusions.”

The report states MSU did not respond to requests for comment before the report was published. MSU said the university was notified about the report by email the afternoon of Sunday, June 21 and asked for comment by 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 23.

In a statement to SBJ, the university wrote, “We didn’t have an opportunity to review findings or determine accuracy of information.”