J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board

J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board

Seal of the U.S. Department of State
Agency overview
Parent department	U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Website	https://www.state.gov/fulbright-foreign-scholarship-board/

The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board was established by the United States Congress for the purpose of supervising the Fulbright Program and certain programs authorized by the Fulbright-Hays Act and for the purpose of selecting students, scholars, teachers, trainees, and other persons to participate in the educational exchange programs.

Appointed by the President of the United States, the 12-member Board meets quarterly. The Board establishes worldwide policies and procedures for the Program and issues an annual report on the state of the Program. The Board maintains a close relationship with both the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the executive directors of all the binational Fulbright Commissions.

Current Board

The majority of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigned on June 11, 2025, claiming that the Trump administration "usurped the authority of the Board and denied Fulbright awards to a substantial number of individuals who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year." In response, an official from the State Department contended the resignations were nothing "but a political stunt attempting to undermine President Trump." ^[1]

Current Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Members ^[2]

Name	Hometown	Occupation	Member since	Note
Carmen Estrada-Schaye	Los Angeles	President of Historic Homes Association	2022	Only member after June 2025 resignations.

First board

• Philip Willkie, attorney, Rushville, Indiana
• Francis S. Smyth, dean, Medical School, University of California
• Helen C. White, professor of English, University of Wisconsin
• Martin R. P. McGuire, professor of Greek and Latin, Catholic University of America
• Charles S. Johnson, president, Fisk University
• Frederick L. Hovde, president, Purdue University
• Col. John N. Andrews, personal representative of the administrator of Veterans Affairs
• Walter Johnson, chairman, Department of History, University of Chicago
• Russell L. Riley, director, International Educational Exchange Service
• Samuel M. Brownell, U.S. commissioner of education
• Francis J. Colligan, executive secretary of the Board of Foreign Scholarships
• Donald B. Lourie, undersecretary of state for administration
• J. William Fulbright. U.S. Senator from Arkansas
• Joseph B. Phillips, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs. ^[3]

Notable past members

• Birch Bayh, former U.S. Senator (D-IN), (1995–2007) ^{[4] [5] [6]}
• James Costos, former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and Principality of Andorra, (2022–2025) ^[7]
• Jen O'Malley Dillon, former political strategist, (2024–2025) ^[8]
• David Price, President of the American Institute for Economic Research, (2023–2025) ^[9]
• Vinay Reddy, speechwriter, (until 2025)
• Louisa Terrell, lawyer, (until 2025)

References

1. "Board overseeing State Department program resigns in Trump protest". Newsweek. 2025-06-12. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
2. "Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
3. "Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville: FULBRIGHT PROGRAM EXHIBIT". libraries.uark.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
4. "President Clinton Names Birch Bayh to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board". The White House. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011.
5. "Former Indiana Sen. Birch Bayh dies at 91". POLITICO. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
6. "President Clinton Names Birch Bayh to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board". clintonwhitehouse5.archives.gov. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
7. "Lowell native, former ambassador joins Fulbright Scholarship Board to invest in 'next generation'". Lowell Sun. 2022-07-18. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
8. "Jen O'Malley Dillon | Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs". eca.state.gov. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
9. "David Price | Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs". eca.state.gov. Retrieved 2025-08-06.