LAWRENCE, Kan. — The University of Kansas plans to close its Confucius Institute in January.
An email sent Monday to faculty and staff from interim Provost Carl Lejuez said the institute will close in part because of a 2018 law that restricts Department of Defense funds to universities that host Confucius Institutes. The institutes offer Chinese language, cultural enrichment and cultural events.
In 2018, former FBI Director Christopher Wray and some U.S. lawmakers said the institutes are propaganda tools of China’s Communist Party. At one point, the Chinese government sponsored more than 100 institutes in the U.S. but several colleges have closed theirs.
