Western Kentucky University is severing ties with the Confucius Institute on the WKU campus

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Western Kentucky University is severing ties with the Confucius Institute on the WKU campus.

In a letter university president Tim Caboni sent to faculty and staff, he said, the university has given notice to Confucius Institute headquarters that WKU will be terminating the agreement. Activities will be phased out over the next several weeks.

“Defense spending legislation passed in 2018 prohibits institutions from hosting Confucius Institutes if they receive U.S. Department of Defense funding for Chinese language programs,” the letter reads.

The Department of Defense denied WKU a waiver that would allow the university to operate both the Confucius Institute and the Chinese Flagship Program.

Details are not yet finalized.