FIU’s Foreign Influence & Global Risk Task Force

FIU’s Foreign Influence & Global Risk Task Force (Task Force) is responsible for shepherding the University’s overall strategy to address vulnerability to foreign influence threats across research, academic, and business operations using the risk management approach. Facilitated by the Office of University Compliance & Integrity and comprised of key institutional stakeholders, the Task Force meets throughout the academic year and remains responsive to particular concerns should they arise. Task Force membership is comprised of leadership-level representatives from a wide variety of university functions, and Members are tasked with not only developing university policy/procedures to address foreign influence, but also ensuring that recommendations are implemented accordingly. 

Pursuant to the Task Force Charter set forth by the University President in December 2020, “the Task Force [is] responsible for considering implementation of and monitoring best practices in countering foreign influence and protecting sensitive research.”  Equally critical is the Task Force mandate to “address these important issues in a proactive way that protects the academic freedom of our institution, the open nature of the research being performed on our campuses, our rich engagement with the world and our reputation as a welcoming place for the world’s most talented students and scholars.”

Tracking and interpreting evolving Federal and State requirements is an important component of the Task Force’s work; hence the Task Force is also actively engaged in informing the FIU community about foreign influence developments. The Task Force maintains an informative association with federal agency representatives and is routinely briefed by FIU’s staff representatives in Tallahassee and Washington, DC on the latest legislative developments.      

Task Force Members: