Fulbright in Protest: Board of Directors Resigns
Eleven of the twelve Fulbright Board members resign due to political interference in scholarships; tensions grow between academia and government.
Photo by Michael Pointner in Unsplash
The vast majority of the members of the Board of Directors of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Program announced their resignation yesterday. a statement Published on its website, 11 of the 12 members announced their resignation, protesting the federal government's interference in the selection process for scholarship students:
“Effective immediately, the members of the Congressionally mandated Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board voted overwhelmingly to resign their positions rather than endorse unprecedented actions that, in our view, are impermissible under the law, compromise the national interests and integrity of the United States, and undermine the mission and mandates that Congress established for the Fulbright program nearly 80 years ago.”
The previous administration of Joseph Biden appointed the 11 members of the Board of Directors who resigned. Dr. Carmen Estrada-Shaye, the only member of the Board of Directors who did not resign, was appointed by President Trump, and shared the next message with AP NEWS:
“I was appointed by the President of the United States and I intend to serve my term.”
The Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Program
The Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Program was established in 1946 to foster “mutual understanding” between the United States of America and several other countries. Each year, the U.S. Congress appropriates funds to the Department of State to administer the program.
This program offers approximately 8,000 scholarships annually. These scholarships support recent American graduates, allowing them to travel abroad to teach various subjects, usually English, in different countries around the world.
The program also provides support to international students from 160 different countries to travel and study in the United States. Educational institutions from these 160 countries, along with various nonprofit organizations and government agencies, also contribute to the program's funding.
The academic community considers the Fulbright Program one of the most prestigious opportunities a student can receive. Its alumni include 62 Nobel Prize winners and 90 Pulitzer Prize winners.
The Board's Reasoning
In their statement announcing their resignation, the 11 former Fulbright Board members elaborated on the alleged interference by the federal government:
“The current administration has usurped the Board’s authority and denied Fulbright scholarships to a significant number of individuals selected for the 2025-2026 academic year. Furthermore, the administration is currently subjecting an additional 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients to an unauthorized review process, which could result in further denials.”
Historically, the Fulbright Board of Directors has had the final say in deciding which students receive scholarships. This system was established by the Law Fulbright-Hays in 1962, which grants authority to the Board of Directors, and provides that its members be appointed directly by the president.
The Government's Response
Responding to this context, the State Department shared the following message with AP NEWS:
“It is ludicrous to believe that these members will continue to have the final say in the selection process, especially when it comes to determining academic compatibility and alignment with President Trump's executive orders. The claim that the Fulbright-Hays Act grants the Fulbright Board exclusive and final authority over program applications is false. This is nothing more than a political maneuver intended to undermine President Trump.”
This conflict adds to the long list of legal disputes between the current administration and various educational centers and programs. Since Donald Trump's inauguration earlier this year, the government has been involved in various disputes with universities such as Harvard University.
Scholars, professionals, and students from around the world are anxiously awaiting the State Department's decision on how education should relate to international relations in the United States.
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