Editor’s Note: The University of Wisconsin-Madison was notified Sept. 11 funding for the program was canceled.
Nearly 70 years ago, in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth, and U.S. national defense strategy would never be the same. It led to a massive increase in military expenditures and a significant boost in education spending through the 1958 National Defense Education Act.
The legislation greatly increased funding for students in higher education to study in fields deemed critical to the nation’s security, including math, science and engineering, and foreign languages.
In the decade that followed, the law was modified and resulted in the creation of two highly successful programs that continue to the present: Title VI of the 1965 Higher Education Act, which supports foreign language and area studies, and the Fulbright-Hays program, which builds advanced knowledge in strategic languages and world regions.
Understanding geopolitics helps us respond to aggression
Today, we find ourselves once again encountering an expansive Russian state with unsettling ambitions in Europe as well as armed conflicts in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Yet rather than doubling down on our efforts to prepare young people who understand geopolitics and speak the languages of our friends and foes, the legacy of these highly successful programs is in jeopardy.
Congressionally-appropriated funding for Title VI and Fulbright-Hays is in limbo: The Department of Education has neither terminated nor released funding, and, if not immediately released, hundreds of university students across the country who have already been selected to receive Title VI-funded Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships will have to withdraw from their studies or find other ways to pay their tuition and living expenses for the upcoming academic year. This includes more than 50 students planning to study at UW-Madison.
This situation is not only tragic for these students, but it is also dangerous for our country. Title VI and Fulbright-Hays support comprehensive training in every world region to ensure that we have a sufficient pool of experts who know critical languages, understand regional politics, and can help the U.S. government protect our national security through defense and diplomacy.
Other federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer Program, the Department of Defense, and ROTC, rely on the Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs to meet their needs for language and area studies experts at home and around the world. There are countless examples of such graduates from UW-Madison, with one standout having served as a U.S. Consulate General, a director at the U.S. Department of State, and is now Deputy Chief of Mission at a U.S. Embassy.
It is not only national defense but also national economic competitiveness that demands expertise in foreign languages and area studies. The findings of a 2024 National Business Needs Survey show that corporate leaders overwhelmingly report a severe shortage in multilingual employees and expect their businesses to grow when their teams have international expertise.
Businesses need multilingual employees to compete
Our own state of Wisconsin has a significant stake in global trade. In 2024 alone, Wisconsin firms exported $27.5 billion worth of products worldwide, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Wisconsin ranked 21st among the 50 states in global exports, with some of our leading producers in industrial and electrical machinery, medical and scientific instruments, plastic products, and vehicles and parts. Our top trading partners — Canada, Mexico, China, Germany, and Australia—underscore just how deeply connected our state economy is with the rest of the world.
These figures make clear that international engagement is not an abstract concept but an economic imperative. For our Wisconsin businesses to thrive, we need a workforce that knows the languages of our partners, navigates cultural differences, and excels in building global partnerships.
This is where Title VI and Fulbright-Hays make a profound difference — not only by supporting students and scholars at UW–Madison but also by strengthening Wisconsin’s economic position and our nation’s security through defense and diplomacy.
The Wisconsin Idea holds that education should improve lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Title VI and Fulbright-Hays embody this vision of public service by equipping our students with the knowledge, skills, and networks they need to address global challenges, spark economic growth, and ensure our state and nation remain prosperous and secure.
To jeopardize these programs is to risk undermining the very foundation of our future workforce and our welfare. For the sake of students, state, and nation, Congress and the Department of Education must act now to release these funds.
Frances Vavrus is the vice provost and dean of the International Division at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 50 students hoping to study at UW-Madison caught in limbo. We need answers. | Opinion
Reporting by Frances Vavrus / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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