NEW YORK, June 11 (Xinhua) -- All 12 members of the board overseeing the Fulbright scholarships resigned on Wednesday in protest of what they call the Trump administration's meddling with the selection of award recipients for the international exchange program.

A statement published online by the board members said that the administration usurped the board's authority by denying awards to "a substantial number of people" who already had been chosen to study and teach in the United States and abroad.

Another 1,200 foreign award recipients who were already approved to come to the country are undergoing an unauthorized review process that could lead to their rejection, the board members said.

"To continue to serve after the Administration has consistently ignored the Board's request that they follow the law would risk legitimizing actions we believe are unlawful and damage the integrity of this storied program and America's credibility abroad," the statement read.

"The actions come as President Trump and his top aides seek to bend academic institutions to their ideological beliefs," said The New York Times in its report about the move. "The administration is trying to withhold federal funding, mainly for science research, from several universities and in some cases is demanding changes to departments."

U.S. Congress established the Fulbright Program nearly 80 years ago to promote international exchange and American diplomacy. The highly selective program awards about 9,000 scholarships annually in the United States and in more than 160 other countries to students, scholars, and professionals in a range of fields.