The Fulbright Board Resignations Are a Loss for America

Nearly the entire Fulbright board resigned this week. These public servants did not step down lightly. They quit because the White House interfered in selecting Fulbright scholars, turning a merit based program into something political.

When I served as U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, I saw what Fulbright makes possible. I met American Fulbrighters teaching in Czech towns, often living abroad for the first time. They were curious and humble and eager to learn. I met Czech Fulbrighters studying in the U.S., working on public health and climate science and music. One went on to build a nonprofit. Another joined the Czech foreign ministry.

I met Czech university leaders like Milena Králíčková, a Fulbright alum who became rector of Charles University in Prague. Martin Bareš, rector of Masaryk University in Brno, is also a Fulbright alum. These leaders are shaping the future of their country. Fulbright played a part in that.

I met Americans in government and research and civil society who traced their careers back to a Fulbright experience.

Senator J. William Fulbright created the program in 1946. He believed educational exchange could help prevent future wars. He wanted to replace suspicion with understanding. That idea matters as much now as it did almost 80 years ago.

Fulbright builds real relationships. It says that exchange between people matters. That academic freedom matters. That we gain something when we listen to each other.

When politics takes over this program, we lose something. We turn away the very people who want to engage with us. We damage how others see us.

This never should have happened. The board members who resigned stood up for what the program was meant to be. They were right to do so.

We should be protecting Fulbright, not weakening it.