When walking into Balfour-Hood, one may notice the blue panels hanging on the balcony above the Atrium. These are lists of names of both current and past Wheaton students who have received high scholarship honors like the Fulbright and T.J. Watson Scholarships.
Established in 1946 by William J. Fulbright, the scholarship aims to foster “mutual understanding” according to the scholarship’s website with over 150 countries through abroad programs, bringing both students through the American college/university system and international students partnered with the organizations. Funded through the U.S. Department of State, roughly 2,200 students are given an opportunity to form international relationships through individual projects focused on filmmaking, teaching, and other topics and mediums.
A display of Watson Fellows mounted on the walls of the Balfour Atrium.
The Watson Fellowship is similar, created in 1968, offers the ability to travel internationally for 12-consecutive months, allowing for a trip aiming for those to grow and reflect on “personal insight, perspective and confidence.” Annually, the board limits the number of winners to 35 among 41 high-ranking institutions across the country, from the University of Puget Sound in Washington, to Wheaton here in Norton — even reaching as far as Bar Harbor, Maine, home to the College of the Atlantic.
Wheaton itself boasts an impressive number of winners of both Fulbright Scholars and Watson Fellows; over 107 Fulbrights and over 27 Watson Fellowships. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the school supported two winners, a Watson Fellow and a Fulbright Scholar.
Ajahni Jackson ‘25 was the winner for the Watson Fellowship, an award he will use to travel to Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Chile, and Ireland to learn about different aspects of conservation and how to persuade people to learn more about them. These different aspects include a government-focused approach, zoo management, ecotourism, and several others.
Erin Billinger ‘25 was the recipient of the 2024-2025 Fulbright Award, where they will be teaching English in Germany as a teacher’s assistant after a successful time abroad earlier in their college career. Connecting with German roots, Erin hopes to bring their love for the German language and culture with them into the teaching field.
Watson Fellows are awarded roughly $40,000 in aid, allowing them to not worry about finances for their year abroad.
Fulbright Scholars are awarded between $3,000-$4,000 monthly, depending on where they are for the duration of their program. Not included in this is health insurance and in some cases, a flight that is paid for.
However, many believe that recent budget cuts to the State Dept. may cause problems in allowing students to both return back to the United States after their trip, or scholarship programs even running and accepting students. The Fulbright-Hays scholarship, a closely associated program similar to the general Fulbright, was fully cut for the 2025 year. The administration shared in a statement that they needed to reassess if it fit the goal of it. Included in those cuts, the entirety of the International and Foreign Language Education Office staff, who oversaw the program.
A display of Fulbright Grantees mounted on the walls of the Balfour Atrium.
The administration has also threatened the Fulbright Committee with budget cuts to at least half of the State Department’s budgeting, including backing for the Scholarship. As a result of that, all 12 members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board quit in protest.
Several recipients of the award have also noticed the cuts; assets being frozen, termination of current programming, and even a rejection of mainly STEM-based programs like agroforestry, conservation, or invertebrate research. These cuts also potentially threaten and weaken international diplomacy and relations with future allies or partners in trade and knowledge currently.
According to the Harvard Crimson, there has also been a significant impact of these budget cuts with the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program (FVSP) on the university. FVSP, the inverse of the Fulbright Scholarship (in which non-U.S. citizens have the opportunity to teach in U.S. institutions), students and teachers alike are worried about the implications of this.
In response to the several factors plaguing the Fulbright Committee and the program itself, the higher-ups believe that there is still hope to be had with the future of the program. Walter R. McCollum, Ph.D., who acts as the president and chair of the Fulbright Association National Board of Directors, wrote in a letter to the public about how having hope is always positive
“The White House’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget blueprint proposes deep cuts—nearly $700 million—to U.S. educational and cultural exchange programs, including Fulbright,” McCollum wrote in his letter.
“Alongside this the longstanding Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) has been disbanded.”
“Yet even in the face of these challenges, our community remains undaunted,” McCollum said, ending it on a positive note.
The future of the Fulbright is uncertain; and opinions are mixed on whether the program is likely to continue in the future or not. This includes others like the Gilman or Pell Grant programs who are also threatened by administrative budget cuts. Hopefully, the program will be financially supported in the future, but only time can tell.