Fulbright board quits due to Trump administration's political meddling [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Wed 11 Jun 2025 12.34 EDT
Last modified on Wed 11 Jun 2025 12.35 EDT
All 12 members of the prestigious Fulbright program’s board have reportedly resigned in protest of what they describe as unprecedented political interference by the Trump administration, which has blocked scholarships for nearly 200 American academics.
The board, according to a memo obtained by the New York Times, accused the state department of acting illegally by cancelling awards already approved for professors and researchers due to travel overseas this summer, following a year-long selection process that concluded over the winter.
The administration is also reviewing applications from approximately 1,200 foreign scholars already approved to study in the US, potentially disrupting exchanges that were due to begin with acceptance letters in April. “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’s members wrote in their resignation letter.
The mass resignation represents a significant escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and academic institutions. The White House has been systematically targeting higher education, with 45 universities currently under investigation as part of Trump’s anti-DEI crackdown, including dozens of state schools and two Ivy League institutions.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/11/fulbright-board-quits-trump
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