High Country Times

In a recent communication addressed to Renee Wegrzyn, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee (E&W) and House Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) have requested details on how ARPA-H ensures compliance with Title VI in its research funding processes. This inquiry follows an increase in antisemitic incidents at educational institutions such as Columbia University and the University of California, San Francisco, where ARPA-H is currently funding research.

The letter was signed by E&W Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC), E&W Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development Chair Burgess Owens (R-UT), E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), E&C Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and E&C Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA).

“Due to ongoing reports of antisemitism across colleges and universities, federal and congressional investigations into potential civil rights violations at these institutions, and an ongoing congressional investigation into HHS’s and NIH’s handling of these concerns at HHS-funded institutions, the Committees are seeking more information about how ARPA-H ensures that those involved in projects it funds comply with Title VI and relevant civil rights laws to ensure a research environment free of harassment and discrimination, especially towards those of Jewish faith and heritage,” stated the committees.

ARPA-H operates under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services within the National Institutes of Health. It has funded over $595 million in research projects through various agreements, with more than $506 million allocated to universities. Among these recipients are Columbia University ($39.5 million), University of Pennsylvania ($7 million), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($18.4 million), Wyss Institute at Harvard University ($27 million), Yale University School of Medicine ($24 million), University of California, San Francisco ($35 million), Harvard Medical School ($104 million), and Stanford University ($26 million).

Of note is that eleven out of fourteen university-based projects funded by ARPA-H last year are linked to institutions currently or recently under investigation for potential Title VI violations or facing lawsuits related to antisemitic behavior.

Columbia University is undergoing multiple investigations by both federal bodies like the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights as well as congressional committees due to complaints about antisemitism. The Committee on Energy and Commerce is also investigating similar issues at the University of California, San Francisco.

The U.S. Department of Education concluded its investigation into the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign with a resolution agreement acknowledging non-compliance with Title VI concerning anti-Jewish discrimination complaints.