ATHENAI NEWSROOM

Inside Higher Ed | Meghan Brink
“[S]upporters of the bill, such as Athenai Institute, a [student-founded] organization that works to combat involvement from the Chinese government in higher education, say that it would create more transparency with reporting of foreign investments in endowments, which are difficult to track.”
The New York Sun | Mary Julia Koch
“Mr. Metz reasoned that universities are not aware of how heavily index or mutual funds have allocated their endowments toward China, an issue that organizations like Athenai aim to address. ‘There are risks out there that Wall Street hasn’t adequately accounted for,’ he said. ‘If universities can account for those risks, not only will they be on the right side of history, not only will they play a role in sending a message to the Chinese government, but they can also save money.’”
Inside Higher Ed | Meghan Brink
“The Athenai Institute, a… group that works to combat Chinese government involvement in higher education, is in support of the bill. ‘We think this builds an important step towards ensuring that U.S. academic institutions aren’t knowingly or inadvertently investing entities complicit in the Chinese government’s human rights abuses,’ said John Metz, president of the organization. Metz said congressional action would ensure that such investments from university endowments, which are difficult to track, would be disclosed.”
Politico | Phelim Kine
“That groundswell of student action has coalesced in the nonprofit Athenai Institute, dedicated to prodding U.S. universities into divesting their endowments of any Chinese Communist Party-linked investments. Athenai’s strategy is to use university divestment of problematic Chinese investments as a roadmap for the private sector to purge its balance sheets of similar holdings.”
Washington Examiner | John Metz and Rory O’Connor
“Students at the Catholic University of America, inspired in part by Krach’s work, successfully lobbied their university to become the first in the world to commit to divest from companies complicit in the genocide of Uyghurs and other human rights abuses. Since then, student leaders around the country, from George Washington University to UCLA and more than two dozen other institutions, have joined the fight for divestment.”
Voice of America | Wenhao Ma
“John Metz, Athenai Institute's executive director, said that other than moral reasons, universities should pull business ties from China for their own business interests, as investments in a country that is involved in human rights abuses could be subject to future sanctions. Students from Georgetown University, George Washington University, the University of Virginia and the University of California, Los Angeles, are mobilizing toward divestment from China.”
Fox News | Timothy H.J. Nerozzi
“Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has signed onto a letter demanding universities cut financial ties with China… [t]he letter, drafted by the Athenai Institute, requests university officials push their schools to divest entirely from their Chinese financial ties in protest of Chinese human rights abuses and international security threats. Haley's signature is among the most prominent attached to the Athenai Letter.”
Inside Higher Ed | Josh Moody
“Though Chinese students on U.S. campuses may be thousands of miles from home, they are always within their government’s reach, said John Metz, executive director of the Athenai Institute, a political nonprofit focused on diminishing China’s influence on U.S. colleges. The group’s efforts include advocating for the closure of Confucius Institutes—cultural programs at colleges, funded by Chinese government grants—urging universities to disclose ties to China and protecting students and faculty from efforts to silence criticism of China’s government.”
Campus Reform | Alexa Schwerha
“Students from across the political aisle joined forces Tuesday to host a panel calling on George Washington University to divest from companies complicit in the Uyghur genocide. Hosted by the College Republicans and the College Democrats, in partnership with the Athenai Institute, the panel featured Campaign for Uyghurs founder Rushan Abbas and concentration camp survivor Zumrat Dawut”.
The GW Hatchet | Max Beveridge
“Two Uyghur human rights activists who experienced persecution by the Chinese government discussed financial divestment from the companies that reportedly profit on Uyghur forced labor at a discussion Tuesday…. The pair spoke about personal tragedies they’ve experienced actions students can take to end financial support of the genocide individually and at GW. The event was moderated by Elise Anderson, the senior program officer for the Uyghur Human Rights Project – an NGO promoting Uyghur human rights – and was hosted by the Athenai Institute, a student-run non-profit, and sponsored by College Democrats, College Republicans and the GW Uyghur Divestment Committee.”

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