Integration of Foreign-Born Faculty in Academia: Foreignness as an Asset.

Abstract

Each year, the U.S. invites thousands of foreign-born and foreign-educated professionals as immigrants and on temporary visas, including academicians. In some academic programs such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics, these foreign-born professionals represent an imposing mass, while in others, they are relatively invisible. This review of literature explored issues of obstacles and opportunities for foreign-born faculty to become fully integrated in academia, particularly in programs that do not traditionally attract international scholars. In addition to the literature review, e-mail and telephone interviews were conducted with a group of eight foreign-born faculty and administrators to further explore the role of foreign-born faculty in internationalizing and globalizing U.S. campuses. Recommendations are offered for a) institutions of higher education to alleviate the insularity of their campuses and for b) the foreign-born faculty themselves to use their foreignness as an asset.