The U.S. State Department froze funding indefinitely for thousands of students participating in scholar programs such as the Fulbright Scholars, causing several thousand students to be stranded outside their home countries without much of their promised grant money.
Marina Porto is a graduate student from Colombia studying public affairs at University of Missouri, and she is one year in to a two-year program as a Fulbright Scholar. She said she is unsure how she'll be able to stay as an MU student next year because of recent cuts to stipends.
"I need to figure out what I'm going to do in the next year," Porto said. "But of course, I'm worried. I'm really worried about it. You're alone, you don't know where to go, and you just rely on Fulbright. This is the truth."
The University of Missouri is currently home to 31 Fulbright students and four visiting Fulbright scholars, according to spokesperson Travis Zimpfer.
Zimpfer confirmed that some MU Fulbright students and scholars have been affected by the cuts.
Following the federal funding decision, the university issued a statement on Fulbright Scholars.
"The University of Missouri remains committed to its mission of teaching, research and engagement," the university said in an emailed statement. "Mizzou’s International Student and Scholar Services has been in touch with our Fulbright students and scholars, some of whom received partial payment of their monthly stipend as a result of the funding freeze. The university is working with affected students and scholars to ensure they have resources and support as they navigate this emerging situation. We continue to monitor the situation and provide support to our students and scholars."
Fulbright Scholars are given stipends by the International Institute of Education, which administers funding to house over 7,400 Fulbright students and faculty at U.S. universities. There are also over 12,500 American students and faculty currently or planning to go abroad with Fulbright, including several professors at MU.
Stipends cover living expenses not included in tuition for both visiting students and faculty. That includes Halyna Morozova, a Fulbright grant recipient teaching at Southern Illinois University in Evansville.
Morozova, originally from Ukraine, said her usual monthly payment of $750 was cut by IIE to $187.50, or one week's worth of pay, because of the federal freeze.
"We didn't get our stipends. Our supervisors told us, 'Don't worry, don't worry, that stipend may be delayed.'" Morozova said. "But on the 28th of February, we received an email saying that the the funds were frozen, and here is a quarter of your monthly stipend."
This left her to dip into her personal savings in order to afford food and other living expenses. Despite the lack of pay, Morozova said she is still working full time.
"We did not stop working even though we stopped receiving the funds," Morozova said. "This program, they bring the brightest minds from all over the world to the U.S."
But the future of the program internationally is up in the air, as Fulbright Scholars across the globe hope they can stay in their programs.
"I think that the University of Missouri, especially in my program, they have a lot of opportunities," Porto said. "If Fulbright continues, that would be awesome to me, because of course it would be easier for me to continue here."
