Foreign governments are pouring billions into American universities, and the worry is that the money quietly shapes what gets taught — bad news for anyone who expects campuses to be independent.

• Qatar has sent more than $7 billion into US universities and China is close behind, with Georgetown alone taking about a billion from the Qatari government since 2005.
• The concern is simple: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and China are not known for funding free inquiry, so the money likely buys influence over the curriculum.
• Georgetown's Islamic studies program is the example — it has pushed a softened account of early Muslim-Christian relations, and students who challenged it got pushback even while earning top grades.
• The comparison drawn is to how communist states handled history: keep the flattering material, bury the rest.

Outlook: Expect more pressure in Washington to force universities to disclose foreign donations and to face scrutiny over what that money is funding.