Funding Cuts Threaten the Fulbright Program

By Gary Selnow, Ph.D.

A Personal Essay

WiRED International’s origins are deeply linked to the prestigious Fulbright Program, which has facilitated scholarly exchanges between the United States and 160 countries for nearly 80 years. The Fulbright Program aims to foster mutual understanding, advance knowledge and promote international goodwill. Over the years, Fulbright has provided opportunities for more than 400,000 students and scholars to teach, study and conduct research abroad.

In 1997, as a Fulbright scholar teaching at the University of Zagreb, I experienced firsthand the lingering devastation of the war in the former Yugoslavia, just two years after the Dayton Peace Agreement. At the request of the American embassy, I visited Vukovar, a war-ravaged town on the banks of the Danube River in Eastern Croatia, to assist schools in establishing internet access.

That experience in Vukovar sparked a decades-long mission to provide technology-based health education in low-resource environments. I witnessed how the Internet could supply a teaching platform in remote areas and how it could reconnect people isolated by war. This inspiration led to the formation of WiRED International.

Today, our non-profit provides technology-based core training and continuing medical education — without cost — to community health workers, positively impacting communities across Africa, Latin America, and other underserved regions.

The WiRED initiative serves as a compelling illustration of the Fulbright Program’s broader influence, extending beyond customary academic exchanges. While Fulbright’s contributions to international collaborations and the development of influential leaders are well-established, it also catalyzes innovative programs that significantly enhance the lives of millions.

Recent Trump Administration funding cuts to the State Department have severely impacted the Fulbright Program. Since February 2025, funds have been frozen, directly affecting some 8,000 students and teachers within U.S. universities and abroad. This funding suspension has disrupted program operations and planned initiatives, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the future of this incredibly successful and valuable program.

The potential loss of the Fulbright Program would represent a significant setback for academic collaborations and for the creation of impactful spin-off initiatives like WiRED. Fulbright’s low-cost, high-impact design has fueled numerous contributions to health, research and education, benefiting populations both at home and around the globe. Further, the Fulbright Program has had a profoundly positive impact on U.S. soft power, demonstrating the abiding goodwill of the American people. I have great concerns that without Fulbright, we would lose much of this along with future initiatives like WiRED International that may never emerge.