New Florida law blocks Chinese students from academic labs

A new state law is thwarting faculty at Florida’s public universities who want to hire Chinese graduate students and postdocs to work in their labs. In effect since July, the law prohibits institutions from taking money from or partnering with entities in China and six other “countries of concern.” The list of banned interactions includes offering anyone living in one of those countries a contract to do research. Students could be hired if they pass a rigorous vetting by state officials. But how that process would work is not clear, and the 12 public colleges and universities covered by the law are still writing rules to implement the statute. More than 280 faculty members at the University of Florida, which has the state’s largest research portfolio, have signed a petition urging UF to clear up the confusion-and to voice support for an open-door policy on hiring. “We urgently request a timely decision that allows us to recruit top international graduate students with an assistantship, irrespective of their nationality,” declares the petition, sent on 6 December to UF President Ben Sasse and senior UF leadership. “Failure to act swiftly may result in the loss of exceptional students to other universities, and the damage will be irreversible.” The uncertainly created by the law has already put a freeze on making offers to research students in China for the fall of 2024, which normally happens in December and early January. ...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news