CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has no “compelling case” to cut ties with Saudi Arabia following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but it’s unlikely to pursue an expansion of its work in the kingdom, according a to a report released by the school Thursday.
The school began reviewing its relationships with Saudi Arabia in October amid a global uproar over Khashoggi’s killing. MIT is among dozens of U.S. universities that accept funding from the Saudi government, but it has stood out for its close relationship with the country’s national oil company and other government-owned institutions.
Associate Provost Richard Lester, who led the review, criticized Saudi Arabia’s role in the killing, along with its “repressive policies” in other areas, but he said none of the institutions MIT works with had any role in Khashoggi’s death. Cutting ties would curb important research, he said, while doing nothing to fix the country’s problems.
“These organizations are supporting important research and activities at MIT on terms that honor our principles and comply with our policies,” he said in the report. “They are also providing critical resources to support the education of outstanding Saudi students and women scientists and engineers, who will surely be in the vanguard of social change in that country.”
Still, Lester said the killing likely puts an end to earlier discussions about a major expansion of the school’s work in Saudi Arabia. In previous conversations, he said, some at MIT suggested that by broadening ties, the institute could help steer the kingdom toward more progressive policies.
“The Khashoggi murder has deflated many of those hopes,” Lester wrote.
The report revealed what Lester called a “disturbing” connection between the Khashoggi murder and MIT’s campus. When Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the school in March, his entourage included Maher Mutreb, who was later identified by the U.S. government as one of 17 Saudis who organized and carried out the killing of the Washington Post columnist.
“This individual had engaged with members of the MIT community at that time – an unwelcome and unsettling intrusion into our space, even though evident only in retrospect,” Lester wrote.
Lester’s report was based on input from students, faculty and alumni, along with outside experts on Saudi Arabia. It now goes to MIT President Rafael Reif, who called for the review and will make a final decision.
Since the killing, some on campus have called for an end to all financial ties with the kingdom. In an open letter in October, more than 20 graduate students in political science urged Reif to take a stand against Saudi Arabia. Along with the murder, they pointed to the kingdom’s alleged human rights abuses.
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