Latest news with #J.WilliamFulbright
The Hill
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Senator Fulbright had a vision. His successors must see it through.
Last week, 11 of the 12 members of the Fulbright Board of Directors resigned, citing political interference in awarding Fulbright Scholar awards for the upcoming year. This comes less than two weeks after ten students and six researchers left Sweden after nine months away from home, returning to America to continue their educational and professional paths. Unless something changes, this year's Fulbright research grantees to Sweden, and those to other countries around the world, may be the last to make the trip, as the entire international cultural exchange program budget faces elimination in the budget bill. Since it was founded in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enjoyed bipartisan support because it has always been aligned first and foremost with our national interests. In the words of Sen. J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.), the American politician and statesman who served in the U.S. Senate between 1945 and 1974, Fulbright was designed to be 'a modest program with an immodest aim — the achievement in international affairs of a regime more civilized, rational and humane than the empty systems of power of the past,' as he said when the program was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. In order to continue this work, Fulbright's successors today must act to restore this important program that has been paying huge dividends for nearly 80 years. The Fulbright scholars in Sweden, including myself, hail from institutions across the country. After a rigorous selection process over the course of a year, they were chosen to represent our country abroad, facing long winter days, to study critical issues such as immunities in malaria infections, potential treatments for chronic kidney disease, root causes of autoimmune disorders, fair uses of artificial intelligence, strengthened safety regulations in long-range rescue operations, long-term sustainability of oceanic food sources, and enhanced access to medical services. The Fulbright Program runs on a tight annual budget of $288 million, representing a minuscule share of America's international relations budget. Scholars and students are deployed to 165 countries around the world. Stipends to grantees are exceedingly modest, covering only room, board and incidental expenses. Limited financial support encourages grantees to explore local resources and even share accommodations. To survive the Nordic winter when the sun appeared only two or three hours each day, the 15 researchers in Sweden spent their free time participating in local sports teams and volunteering at health clinics and community service organizations. Their presence in community activities helped forge lifelong relationships and spread goodwill at a time when America's hard power is frequently questioned abroad. Since the program's inception, Fulbright recipients have gone on to win 62 Nobel prizes, 96 Pulitzer prizes and 17 Presidential Medals of Freedom. Eighty-two have been named MacArthur geniuses and 44 have become heads of state. The list of Fulbrighters is long, distinguished and bipartisan. Fulbrighter Linus Pauling, one of the founders of the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology, won both the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize. Authors John Steinbeck, Edward Albee and John Updike were Fulbrighters, as is American soprano Renée Fleming. In the eyes of Fulbright, who himself received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993, the Fulbright Program was meant to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason and a little more compassion into world affairs, thereby increasing the chance that nations will learn to live in peace and friendship. The 2025 Swedish Fulbright researchers, representing the best and brightest our country has to offer, have done their part to contribute to this goal. I wish our senators could have seen them in action as I have. At a time when governmental funding priorities are scrutinized for fiscal efficiency, the Fulbright Program stands as a proven investment in education and diplomacy while promoting American values worldwide and shaping future leaders. Fulbright helps build a stronger, smarter, more prosperous United States. Eliminating its funding would be a poor investment in America's future, making the world a more dangerous place in the process. Christie S. Warren, the 2024-2025 Fulbright-Lund Distinguished Chair in Public International Law, is Professor of the Practice of International and Comparative Law and director of the Center for Comparative Legal Studies at William and Mary Law School.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Fulbright Scholarship Board resigns over political interference, Trump administration wants to cancel 200 grants
Entire Fulbright Scholarship Board comprising 12 persons resigned citing interference by the Donald Trump administration. The entire board, which is responsible for approving the Fulbright Scholarship, resigned Wednesday, citing interference from the Donald Trump administration, as the administration wanted to cancel the awarding of Fulbright scholarships to almost 200 American professors and researchers who are prepared to go to universities overseas, the NYT reported. These are scholarships that the board already approved over the winter after a yearlong selection process. These were sent to the State Department as the department was supposed to send acceptance letters. But the department started sending rejection letters to these scholars. What is the Fulbright program? The Fulbright program was established in 1946 after legislation introduced by J. William Fulbright, a Democratic senator from Arkansas. The Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 formalized legal statutes for the program. It says the selection of scholars, teachers and others falls under the authority of a 12-member board appointed by the president. The nearly 200 scholars who are receiving rejection letters are part of a group of about 900 American scholars approved by the board over the winter. All 12 people on the board who were appointed by the Biden administration quit citing usurpation of the authority of the Board. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tired of High Power Bills? Plug in This Device elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo "The administration is also currently subjecting an additional 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients to an unauthorized review process and could reject more. We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute," the board said in a statement. "Through generations of war and peace, the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Program has been a bipartisan pillar of American diplomacy—an enduring symbol of our nation's commitment to mutual understanding and diplomacy, academic excellence, and international cooperation. It has promoted US interests and global stability. Fulbright alumni have gone on to become leaders of government, industry, academia, arts, and culture in every part of the world," the statement noted.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Fulbright Board Resigns, Citing Unlawful Interference by the Trump Administration
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." The dozen board members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board voted to resign, effective immediately. The reason for their resignation is the political interference of the Trump administration, which rejected some 200 Fulbright scholars who were previously approved by the board. The board wrote in their resignation statement, 'the current administration has usurped the authority of the Board and denied Fulbright awards to a substantial number of individuals who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year. The administration is also currently subjecting an additional 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients to an unauthorized review process and could reject more. We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute.' The Fulbright program was established in 1946 by Senator J. William Fulbright, a Democrat from Arkansas, and formalized in 1961 with the Fulbright-Hays Act, signed into law by President John F. Kennedy. The State Department manages the program. 'The bipartisan Fulbright Board was mandated by Congress to be a check on the executive and to ensure that students, researchers and educators are not subjected to the blatant political favoritism that this administration is known for,' Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said in a statement, per the New York Times. 'While I understand and respect the bipartisan Fulbright Board for resigning en masse rather than grant credibility to a politicized and unlawful process, I am painfully aware that today's move will change the quality of Fulbright programming and the independent research that has made our country a leader in so many fields.' The Fulbright board noted, 'Our resignation is not a decision we take lightly. But to continue to serve after the Administration has consistently ignored the Board's request that they follow the law would risk legitimizing actions we believe are unlawful and damage the integrity of this storied program and America's credibility abroad. Indeed, the erosion of the Fulbright program weakens America and our national security interests. Institutions and the rule of law matter and have distinguished our country for almost 250 years.' They concluded, 'It is our sincere hope that Congress, the courts, and future Fulbright Boards will prevent the administration's efforts to degrade, dismantle, or even eliminate one of our nation's most respected and valuable programs. Injecting politics and ideological mandates into the Fulbright program violates the letter and spirit of the law that Congress so wisely established nearly eight decades ago.' Read the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board's full resignation statement, here. You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
