Editing Fulbright Program (section)

== History ==
[[File:JWFulbright.jpg|thumb|[[J. William Fulbright]], [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] (D-AR), the program's founder]]
{{Quote|The Fulbright Program's mission is to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.<ref>{{cite web |title=J. William Fulbright Quotes |url=https://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/history/j-william-fulbright/j-william-fulbright-quotes |publisher=[[Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs]] |access-date=June 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142716/https://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/history/j-william-fulbright/j-william-fulbright-quotes |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>|sign=Senator [[J. William Fulbright]]}}

In 1945, Senator [[J. William Fulbright]] proposed a bill to use the proceeds from selling surplus U.S. government war property to fund international exchange between the U.S. and other countries. With the crucial timing of the aftermath of the Second World War and with the pressing establishment of the United Nations, the Fulbright Program was an attempt to promote peace and understanding through educational exchange. The bill devised a plan to forgo the debts foreign countries amassed during the war in return for funding an international educational program.<ref name="The First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century">{{cite book|title=The First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century| isbn=9781574885873 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TkqISeBnQQYC&dq=fulbright+scholarship+repay+debt&pg=PA175 | last1=Arndt | first1=Richard T. | year=2005 | publisher=Potomac Books }}</ref> It was through the belief that this program would be an essential vehicle to promote peace and mutual understanding between individuals, institutions and future leaders wherever they may be.<ref name="Fulbright: The Early Years">{{cite web |title=Fulbright: The Early Years |publisher=U.S. Department of State |url=https://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/history |access-date=December 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507050103/http://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/history/early-years |archive-date=May 7, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 1946, Congress created the Fulbright Program in what became the largest education exchange program in history. The program was expanded by the [[Fulbright–Hays Act of 1961|Mutual Educational And Cultural Exchange Act of 1961]], known as Fulbright–Hays Act. It made possible participation in international fairs and expositions, including trade and industrial fairs; translations; funding for American studies programs; funds to promote medical, scientific, cultural, and educational research and development; and modern foreign language training.<ref>Martin J. Manning and Herbert Romerstein, ''Historical dictionary of American propaganda'' (Greenwood, 2004) p. 193.</ref>

The program operates on a bi-national basis; each country has entered into an agreement with the U.S. government. The first countries to sign agreements were China in 1947 and [[Burma]], the Philippines, and Greece in 1948.<ref name="Fulbright: The Early Years"/>

In March 2024, the Russian government declared the Institute of International Education (IIE) and Cultural Vistas as "undesirable" in Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-07 |title=2024-03-07 Institute of International Education |url=https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/report/2024-03-07-institute-of-international-education/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=Scholars at Risk |language=en-US}}</ref> This decision effectively ended the Fulbright Program, which had been established in the USSR during the 1973–74 academic year.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=James |first=William A. |date=1987 |title=A Promising Future: The Fulbright Program with the USSR |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1045063 |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=491 |pages=118–125 |jstor=1045063 |issn=0002-7162}}</ref>

In February 2025, the [[Second presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] initiated a funding freeze on State Department programs, including the Fulbright Program, disrupting financial support for thousands of scholars.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Patel |first=Vimal |date=2025-03-07 |title=Study Abroad Funding Is Paused, Leaving Some Students Stranded |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/us/study-abroad-programs-funding-trump-fulbright-gilman.html |access-date=2025-03-08 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>   This suspension has left 19,000 participants <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-09 |title=Scholars stranded in America and abroad amid funding freeze of State Department programs |url=https://apnews.com/article/fulbright-scholars-stipends-frozen-indefinitely-9da042b5e0bda70fb1c76105564c71f4 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> uncertain about their future, prompting educators to urge Congress to restore funding to these vital international exchange initiatives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patton |first=Alison |date=2025-03-07 |title=Many Fulbright scholars say they feel stranded after the Trump administration suspended their funding |url=https://woub.org/2025/03/07/fulbright-scholars-feel-stranded-trump-administration-suspends-funding/ |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=WOUB Public Media |language=en-US}}</ref>