“Why the FBI Is on Your Campus” Article by John Krige

Posted October 16, 2017

External Article: The Chronicle of Higher Education

John Krige, Kranzberg Professor in the School of History and Sociology, has published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education titled “Why the FBI is on Your Campus.” In the article, Krige outlines how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) often monitors science and engineering research schools, like Georgia Tech, out of suspicions concerning foreign nationals and “academe’s adherence to openness and the free circulation of ideas.”

Excerpt:

A graduate student was the first to alert me to the activities of the FBI on campus. She was the chair of the program committee for an international conference of science and technology scholars to be held in Washington, D.C. The FBI wanted to see her about the event, and she asked me to join her at the meeting. Their concerns were straightforward. A number of people from China had registered. Were they bona fide scholars, or was this a cover for more nefarious activities? My student was asked to report on any "suspicious activity." It was clear that this kind of request was a routine matter for the FBI agents… John Krige is a professor of history at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Parts of this story draw on a 2015 article in the journal Engaging Science, Technology, and Society.
 

For the full article, visit The Chronicle of Higher Education website.