UND president refutes violating foreign fund reporting rules

The president of the University of North Dakota said Tuesday the college has properly reported foreign funds in its aviation program and emphasized that a Chinese pilot training program is run by an affiliated foundation, not UND. 

UND President Andrew Armacost commented on an investigation into the college’s  aviation programs announced last week by the Department of Education and State Department. 

The agencies investigating UND say the college failed to properly report foreign gifts and contracts. 

Federal agencies investigate University of North Dakota for reporting of foreign funding

Armacost addressed the investigation in front of the Legislature’s Higher Education Institution’s Committee that was meeting on UND’s Grand Forks campus. 

He said the contracts and funding that have been identified deal with training contracts for pilots with Chinese airlines. 

“These contracts are set up through the UND Aerospace Foundation, and now the training for Chinese pilots happens entirely in Mesa, Arizona, which is a site run by the UND Aerospace Foundation and not the University of North Dakota,” Armacost said.

The foundation is a nonprofit corporation that supports the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at UND, according to its website. It also runs the noncollege credit pilot training program. 

Armacost told the committee that a foreign pilots training program dates back to 1987 and that it helps UND maintain a large aircraft fleet that is used mostly for undergraduate programs. 

Sen. Scott Meyer, R-Grand Forks, asked if UND would move away from China, regardless of the legality. 

“As we discuss with legislators and other members of the community, conversations about continuation of contracts undoubtedly will come up,” Armacost said.

Armacost also sent a letter to legislators that said the Department of Education did not contact UND about its concerns before announcing its investigation.

“UND has thoroughly reported foreign funds received by the University and its affiliated organizations,” he said in the letter.

Armacost told the committee that the university is working to comply with a data request from the federal agency. He said the volume of material requested may require UND to ask for an extension to the 30-day reporting period. 

He said only U.S. citizens are allowed to participate in UND’s unmanned aircraft systems program. 

Aviation is one of UND’s premiere programs.

Scott Snyder, vice president for research and economic development, highlighted UND’s strong reputation in working with drones. 

“We’ve been working with drones for 20 years,” Snyder told the committee. “What you may not be as aware of is that we’ve been doing counter drone work for about the last six years.”

He said UND’s work has caught the attention of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security as the agencies try to improve their ability to combat drone attacks.

“Our country has some challenges when it comes to countering UAS,” Snyder said. 

Armacost’s letter emphasized that the investigation into UND is not related to an investigation into Duke University announced at the same time.

Reach North Dakota Monitor deputy editor Jeff Beach at [email protected]