Dive Brief:

• Pennsylvania State University will end its agreement with the China-funded Confucius Institute at the end of the year.
• Penn State’s announcement follows another by the University of Chicago last week which saw talks over extending an agreement with the institute suspended.
• In a written statement, Penn State Dean Susan Welch said her school’s goals are not consistent with the Chinese agency that runs the institute, but the university declined to get more specific.

Dive Insight:

Inside Higher Ed quotes a source speculating that Penn State probably ended the relationship because Chinese managers of the Confucius Institute regularly rejected ideas to fund research or activities outside of a narrow band of “cultural” activities they promoted, such as visiting Chinese troupes. The Confucius Institutes, located in about 90 U.S. higher ed institutions, are allowed to advance a Chinese state agenda in choosing curriculum and controlling staff, according to the American Association of University Professors, which has urged universities to drop the institutes unless changes are agreed upon.