The number and proportion of international (foreign-born) faculty on American campuses have increased over the last thirty years, with little research available on their experiences within the campuses where they work. The social and geographical dynamics of international participation in American higher education are of particular interest given recent changes in United States immigration policy following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This doctoral dissertation research project examines the experiences of what are termed "international faculty" and the factors that improve or impair their opportunities at institutions of higher education in the United States. The study population will consist of foreign scholars and scientists who pursue careers in geography in American colleges and universities. The doctoral candidate will compare and contrast the experiences of international faculty with their domestic counterparts within the discipline of geography. Recent research seems to indicate that international scholars often have different professional needs and concerns regarding teaching, research, and service than do their native-born counterparts. While using the discipline of geography as a case study, the research findings will have applicability to other disciplines that hire foreign-born scientists as much or more than geography. The project applies the tools of geographic and survey analysis to understanding the professional experiences of international faculty, the cultural problems they confront in the United States, and the policy and institutional changes that might be made to support them. The study will use a mixed-method research design combining focus-group interviews, web-based surveys, and follow-up interviews to examine the experiences, abilities, attitudes, and concerns that foreign-born faculty face during the critical early-career period (the time between the doctorate and tenure), when many professional and personal decisions are made about continuing in academic life. These data will be compared to similar information collected about domestic early-career faculty. The student also will interview administrators (deans and department chairs) to address the perspectives of the hiring and employing institution. The study will be informed by current commentaries on higher education, both nationally and internationally; research on faculty development; and the growing body of literature-still often informal-written about the experiences of international faculty and their American students.
The study makes a contribution to development of institutional strategies that support international faculty, particularly those early in their careers. Such strategies are important from the perspective of both maintaining a highly qualified scientific workforce and diversifying the United States professoriate. It will also offer findings relevant to debates about the impact of changing immigration policies on American higher education and contribute to discussions regarding the global concerns about academic mobility. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.
