Foreign-born academic leaders in U.S. higher education.

Abstract

This qualitative narrative study is the first attempt to examine the experiences, motivations, and career pathways of foreign-born academic leaders who serve as deans at U.S. research universities. We interviewed 13 foreign-born deans from 10 different countries representing six disciplines. Participants in our study did not follow a predetermined career path and did not intentionally seek leadership roles but when they were presented with opportunities they rose to the occasion and seized the momentum. As they claimed and embraced their leadership identity, they received endorsement and support from people around them. The leaders in our study were deeply grateful for encouragement and support they received from mentors and close colleagues who often saw their potential even before they themselves did. Their ability to not "dwell" on the vulnerabilities and challenges and "work harder," "show greater productivity," "prove it wrong," "be mentally prepared to sacrifice," and accept the burden of proving that they belonged was a consistent theme among the participants. The study highlights the success stories of foreign-born leaders in the U.S. who are grateful for the opportunities they have encountered and sheds light on their contributions as leaders in academia, a largely missing piece in their story.

Expatriate academics: what have we known for four decades? A systematic literature review

“…Hassan and Hashim (2011) introduced another element of organisational support – organisational justice – which has a different impact on local and foreign academics. While some studies underlined the supportive role of expats' supervisors (Wahba et al ., 2021) or mentors (Mamiseishvili and Stuckey, 2022), extensive offerings of organisational support can be insufficient if the existence and specific benefits of the support are not adequately communicated (Trembath and Hansen, 2019). Ramalu et al.…”

“…Hassan and Hashim (2011) introduced another element of organisational supportorganisational justicewhich has a different impact on local and foreign academics. While some studies underlined the supportive role of expats' supervisors (Wahba et al, 2021) or mentors (Mamiseishvili and Stuckey, 2022), extensive offerings of organisational support can be insufficient if the existence and specific benefits of the support are not adequately communicated (Trembath and Hansen, 2019). Ramalu et al (2018) noticed that both personal (cultural intelligence) and organisational resources (POS) are found to be important determinants of academics' work engagement and satisfaction of psychological needs, which is important for quality service delivery.…”