Latest news with #FulbrightForeignStudentProgram
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Entire Fulbright Scholarship board quits, citing Trump admin actions
All members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced their resignation on Wednesday, releasing a statement accusing President Donald Trump's administration of political interference in the prestigious exchange program. The 12-member board alleged the Trump administration "usurped the authority of the Board" by denying Fulbright awards to "a substantial number of individuals" who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year. The board also alleged the administration is currently "subjecting" an additional 1,200 international 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 its statement. MORE: State Department delivers crushing news to Fulbright scholar hopefuls in Afghanistan The board oversees the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, which offers international graduate students, young professionals and artists the opportunity to study and conduct research in the United States. The government-funded, non-partisan program -- which was established by Congress in 1942 under then-President Harry Truman's administration -- operates in more than 160 countries worldwide, providing scholarships to approximately 4,000 foreign students annually. In the joint letter on Wednesday, the board said the awards that were overridden by the administration were concentrated in biology, engineering, architecture, agriculture, crop sciences, animal sciences, biochemistry, medical sciences, music and history. MORE: State Dept. suggests Afghan Fulbright hopefuls seek other options as program stalls The board claimed it has raised "legal issues and our strong objections with" senior Trump administration officials "on multiple occasions," including in writing, but says the concerns have not been acknowledged. In a statement to statement to ABC News after the board announced its resignation, a senior State Department official called the decision "a political stunt attempting to undermine President Trump." "It's ridiculous to believe that these members would continue to have final say over the application process, especially when it comes to determining academic suitability and alignment with President Trump's Executive Orders." the official said. The board, however, said in its statement that the decision was not one "we take lightly," woth the board calling on Congress, the courts and future Fulbright Boards to "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," the board concluded in its statement. Entire Fulbright Scholarship board quits, citing Trump admin actions originally appeared on
2 days ago
- Politics
Entire Fulbright Scholarship board quits, citing Trump admin actions
All members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced their resignation on Wednesday, releasing a statement accusing President Donald Trump's administration of political interference in the prestigious exchange program. The 12-member board alleged the Trump administration "usurped the authority of the Board" by denying Fulbright awards to "a substantial number of individuals" who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year. The board also alleged the administration is currently "subjecting" an additional 1,200 international 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 its statement. The board oversees the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, which offers international graduate students, young professionals and artists the opportunity to study and conduct research in the United States. The government-funded, non-partisan program -- which was established by Congress in 1942 under then-President Harry Truman's administration -- operates in more than 160 countries worldwide, providing scholarships to approximately 4,000 foreign students annually. In the joint letter on Wednesday, the board said the awards that were overridden by the administration were concentrated in biology, engineering, architecture, agriculture, crop sciences, animal sciences, biochemistry, medical sciences, music and history. The board claimed it has raised "legal issues and our strong objections with" senior Trump administration officials "on multiple occasions," including in writing, but says the concerns have not been acknowledged. ABC News has reached out to the State Department and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for comment. Saying the decision to resign was not one "we take lightly," the board called on Congress, the courts and future Fulbright Boards to "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," the board concluded in its statement.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A top Fulbright Scholar producer, Ohio State students hit by federal freezes
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio State was the top producer of doctoral Fulbright U.S. scholars for this school year, but State Department funding is now paused for two of the four programs faculty and students are enrolled in. According to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, OSU was the top producer of Fulbright Scholars across all universities for the 2024-25 school year. It was one of only 19 institutions recognized as a top producer of both Fulbright U.S. Student and Fulbright U.S. Scholar programs. How dismantling the Department of Education will affect Ohio schools Ohio State is nearing its annual Fulbright Week celebration, a weeklong event with information sessions and activities beginning March 26. The celebration might be dampened this year; Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson said two of the four federal scholarships that students and faculty are involved with have been affected. Johnson said the university is considering how to proceed. He broke down the four federal study abroad scholarship programs OSU currently has participants enrolled in. Of them, the Fulbright Foreign Student Program and the Gilman Scholarship have been impacted by funding pauses. Fulbright U.S. Scholars and U.S. Students: Six faculty and 24 OSU students are currently abroad through this program, Johnson said. It sponsors students, scholars and young professionals to pursue educational projects abroad. Fulbright Foreign Student Program: Johnson said 36 international students are studying at OSU this year through this program, which provides opportunities to foreign students to study in the U.S. Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program: This program is similar to the foreign student program but provides opportunities for scholars and professionals rather than students. Johnson said Ohio State is currently housing six international scholars through this program. Gilman Scholarship: This is not part of the Fulbright program but is also funded under the same federal department. According to the State Department, this program provides merit-based scholarships up to $5,000 for language and research studies overseas. Johnson said two OSU students are scheduled to study abroad this summer through the program. Johnson said 16 students have alerted the institution that they have been affected by funding freezes: both Gilman scholarship participants and 14 of the 36 foreign student participants. The Foreign Student Program gives monthly stipends to participants to cover food, housing and living expenses. Johnson said Ohio State has not heard from any of the visiting scholars or U.S. participants about a funding pause, but in both cases, he said the funding comes from the State Department and the university is not directly involved. Reynoldsburg City Schools cutting some social workers after failed levy According to information from the federal government's spending website, some Fulbright programs were canceled over the past few months. For instance, a Fulbright agreement with the Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Scholarship and Leadership program sponsoring Colombian students' attendance in the U.S. was terminated on Feb. 28. The termination lists government DEI programs and illegal discrimination as the reasons for canceling the funds. The spending data shows 10 Fulbright Foreign Student grantees from Uruguay had program elements removed on Feb. 19 to comply with anti-DEI requirements. Another Fulbright collaboration, this one in Canada, was revised on Feb. 18 to add a certification confirming it complies with anti-discrimination laws. So far into President Donald Trump's second term, changes have been made to 35 grants, which appear to receive certificates of compliance, remove portions or cancel grants altogether. As these grants often fund multiple awardees, the data shows dozens of awardees' Fulbright funds have been eliminated or updated to remove provisions encouraging diversity, equity and inclusion. Spending data lists the Gilman Program as terminated 'in alignment with an executive order' as of March 6. There are four total federal grants affiliated with the Gilman scholarship that had not expired, including the terminated grant. There are no immediate differences between the canceled grant and the uncanceled ones, which may be active or paused. Ohio higher education bill one step closer to law Ohio's Oberlin University was also a top Fulbright Scholar producer as the college with the most honorees among undergraduate-only institutions. An Oberlin spokesperson said the university has been in contact with most of its scholars, all of whom said they have received funding through the end of the month. Oberlin will continue to be in contact with them to monitor their wellbeing, representatives said. The Fulbright Program had fairly active social media on multiple platforms but appeared to stop posting multiple times a week in late January, around the time federal funding freezes were enacted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
