Wednesday, Feb. 12, the U.S. State Department temporarily paused all disbursements to grant fund recipients for 15 days. The decision affected students in the Fulbright, Gilman and Critical Language scholarship programs, among others, who rely on scheduled grant payments to support their work in the United States and abroad.
Payments did not return to normal after Feb. 27 for thousands of scholars across the globe. Some received smaller amounts than expected and others received nothing at all, with little to no clarification from the State Department for weeks.
Jill Allen Murray, deputy executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, confirmed in a press release March 12 that most grant funding has still not been reinstated since Feb. 27.
“While some funding does appear to be moving in various programs, the vast majority (85 percent) of pending funding has not been paid,” Murray wrote.
She called for the immediate restoration of all grant funding by the State Department.
“The fact remains that the freeze hasn’t been lifted and this is still a huge problem for participants and the programs that support them, with major long-term ramifications for the U.S. economy and national security,” Murray wrote.
Aubrey Lay ’23 has worked as an English teaching assistant in a school for Ukrainian refugees in Estonia since 2023. His work is funded by the Fulbright Program, which is overseen by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The program offers American students the opportunity to teach English as a second language or conduct research in a foreign country, with the goal of strengthening international collaboration and solidarity while uplifting local students in need.
As a Fulbright scholar, Lay receives scheduled grant payments from the federal government which cover his living expenses and support his mission as an educator.
Tuesday, March 4, Lay was alerted to these changes when he and the six other Fulbright scholars in Estonia received only a fraction of their normal salaries.
“It was around midnight on Tuesday, that we got a mysterious, unexplained payment to our accounts from the administering organization that usually pays us,” he said. “But instead of being the scheduled payment which was supposed to be covering us for the next three months or so, it was only a week’s worth of pay. Significantly less. So that raised some alarms.”
Despite high stress and uncertainty, Lay went into work the next morning. He shared that the school relies on his contributions to educate their students, whose families are navigating precarious circumstances after being forced to leave a war-torn Ukraine.
“We have a relatively small English department, and I think that the school has been counting on me being there to help out with classes, to provide other programming after school with students, to help students prepare for their exams,” he said. “So the prospect of pulling that out from under everybody in the school, I felt really frustrated that I might be forced to let everyone down in that way.”
The following day, the Institute of International Education, which administers payments for all seven Fulbright scholars in Estonia, informed Lay that the remainder of his salary was on an indefinite hold due to federal funding changes.
“IIE reached out to us and told us that because of the funding freeze and the way it’s affecting their ability to pay us, they were authorized to send us a one-week payment and they would get back later with more information,” Lay said. “They couldn’t tell us any more information, could not tell us when we would see the rest of the money, or really even if we would see the rest of the money.”
Early last week, Lay received the rest of his three-month salary from the IIE. However, the organization’s decision to furlough a large portion of their staff, effective March 14, casts doubt on both his future grant payments and the Fulbright program as a whole.
“I didn’t really think that I might be stuck as an American citizen in a foreign country, in a placement that my government is supposed to be supporting me to work in, and left without pay and news for a week,” Lay said. “And now, once again, left in the dark about what’s happening. It’s been such a rollercoaster, and I definitely did not anticipate anything being this chaotic.”
Friday, March 14, the IIE sent out another email to Fulbright Scholars informing them that their administrative contacts within the organization may no longer be reachable following the mass layoff.
“Therefore, effective March 14, your regular IIE advisory may not be available to answer your questions,” the Fulbright team wrote. “We will inform the U.S. Embassy in your host country of this update. Please continue to work with your U.S. Embassy contacts.”
Lay is still unsure whether he’ll be paid the remaining amount of his grant.
“As IIE receives State Department funding, you will receive your subsequent stipend(s) in accordance with your Fulbright Grant Authorization Document/Terms and Conditions,” Fulbright’s website said in a Friday update.
Lay expressed his gratitude toward IIE’s staff for everything they’ve done for him and other scholars and hopes that Fulbright’s mission is not in permanent jeopardy.
“The folks who work at IIE have just been so supportive through my past year and a half on grant,” he said. “It breaks my heart that scores of people are being furloughed and have their futures hanging in the balance as well. Fulbright’s been going on for over 70 years, IIE has been going on for maybe even more than that. There’s a lot of legacy for these programs as well that just makes me really sad to see potentially wiped away.”
Lay remains hopeful that other students at the College of William and Mary will be able to experience the Fulbright Program as teachers or researchers in future years.
“My experience so far has been really life-changing, and I really hope that many more generations and many more cohorts of Americans and William and Mary students will have a chance to participate in programs like these,” he said. “I don’t know if that will be possible. I hope it will be.”
As of Wednesday, March 19, Fulbright has not clarified whether applicants for the 2025-26 academic year will be affected. Such an update depends on whether the State Department ultimately restores all grant funding for current and future scholars.
In 2024, 13 students at the College earned Fulbright scholarships. As a result, the State Department named the College a “top producing institution” for the program last month, becoming one of 130 higher education institutions nationwide to earn the distinction.
Audrey Thronson ’23 is a Fulbright scholar who has worked as an English teaching assistant at a school in Frankfurt, Germany since 2023. While her funding is covered mostly by the German government and was not hindered by the freeze, Thronson voiced her concern for grantees who suddenly lost crucial money for basic needs.
“My first concern was for the grantees themselves,” Thronson said. “I think there’s kind of a misconception from a lot of people that we’re just gallivanting around Europe, working part-time as teachers, even if that’s not necessarily what we want to do as a job. But we’re really getting paid the bare minimum. Many people are just making ends meet each month. Any time you see a Fulbrighter really traveling, that’s probably coming out of their own savings.”
Thronson expanded on complications that could arise for scholars who are navigating the unexpected loss of grant money from the State Department.
“Lots of grantees are in countries where they don’t speak the language or speak very basic, so I can’t imagine trying to explain to a landlord who probably doesn’t know English a complicated situation about the government or why you’re having difficulty making rent,” she said. “How are you supposed to get home if you’re supposed to pay for a last-minute flight?”
Thronson addressed the benefit of exchange programs like Fulbright for the United States’ relations with other countries and image on the world stage.
“I think there’s real value in having Americans have this experience abroad,” she said. “And coming back and helping with foreign policy in some way, having this more insider knowledge, and the respect you get for knowing the foreign language.”
Thronson also helped review Fulbright applications for the upcoming academic year. With final decisions coming out soon, she hopes that applicants can have the same experience she did as a scholar.
“I served as a reviewer this year for applications for students for next year, so my heart also goes out to them, reading these applications that they worked really hard on,” Thronson said. “This has been their dream for years, and there’s real uncertainty. Even if they get the acceptance letters in May, is the grant funding going to be there when they start in August?”
Thronson hopes the State Department will soon provide more clarity and transparency on the future of grant funding for programs like Fulbright.
“I would really like to see the State Department not seesawing on these issues,” she said. “I think that’s created just so much uncertainty and panic, and really makes me question the country’s values as well.”
