Fulbright scholar Aubrey Ray was to be paid three months of work by the US government through an education assistant at a school for Ukrainian refugees in Estonia. Instead, he only paid about a week and had no words as to when he could see the remaining grants.
Lay is one of the academics who rely on State Department funds to participate in long-term programs like Fulbright, and says their payments were suddenly cut off after being notified that the authorities were reviewing their activities. The move appears to be in line with the White House initiative to significantly reduce government spending. This is a reform that has impacted many federal agencies.
The government is facing even more dramatic changes in the coming weeks and months. President Trump has directed the agency to prepare a plan for a wide range of layoffs known as forced cuts, which are likely to require more limited operations at the agencies that provide critical services.
The funding freeze has sparked panic among thousands of academics stuck outside their home country without clarifying the future of their program or the money they need to support themselves.
In February, the State Department temporarily suspended spending to review its programs and activities, According to NAFSAInternational Association of Educators. This included programs such as Fulbright, Gilman and International Critical Language Scholarships.
In the weeks since officials enacted the suspension, some scholars and advocacy groups said funding flows have dried up due to people's grants, but there has been no communication from US officials about whether that will change.
The State Department did not immediately respond to an Associated Press investigation into the funding freeze.
Ray discovered that lack of communication from US officials was troublesome. He also wondered about the future of the programme his grandmother took part in decades ago. after thatFounded in 1946the program became the flagship of the US government's mission to intercultural involvement. The worst thing for him is what it means for his students, especially if he is forced to leave early.
“I don't want to be transformed and uncertain in their lives,” Ray said. “I can't stand that idea.”
Ray said he'll be fine for another month, but he's worried about participants who can't save extra money.
“The clarity I got is that no one knows what's going on,” he continued.
Thousands of academics are in similar positions, according to the Fulbright Association, a nonprofit made up of graduates. In an email in the newsletter, the association said the funding suspension would affect “more than 12,500 American students, youths, or experts planning to participate in the State Department program over the next six months.”
Apart from American citizens, the Fulbright Association said the suspension cut funding for a US program that hosts more than 7,400 people.
Halyna Morozova, a Fulbright scholar at Kyiv, who teaches Ukrainians to students at Edwardsville, said she was at the airport on February 28th after feeling like an endless day. Trump did Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky that day at an extraordinary oval office meeting. Her future in the country and her family back home was heavier and heavier on her heart.
She then received an email from the International Education Institute, known as IIE, which commonly administers the Fulbright Scholarship.
“IIE is currently permitted to send partial pay equivalent to one week of expected upcoming scholarship payments,” the email said. “I'll update future payments as soon as possible.”
Morozova paniced. She usually receives $750 a month. Now she needs to increase $187.50 to achieve her goal.
“It was very scary. I'd say it just because I'm lost in another country,” she said. “I don't know if we'll get another scholarship here and if they have enough money to buy our tickets at home. So there's a lot of things that aren't clear and certainly not certain.”
Olga Bezanova, a professor who manages Morozova and two other academics, said that exchange programs have been in place at her university for nearly 20 years, and the foundation of language education. Now, she is trying to see if the university will supplement funds withheld by the federal government. If that doesn't work, she said she doesn't know what else she could do.
“I have to see the faces of these wonderful people, and they're asking me: “Is this America? What is this?” she said. “This is a mess.”
