International Faculty Development in U.S. Higher Education

Introduction

A review of the literature shows that United States continues to grow the largest number of international students compared to other developed countries. In 2013-14, a total of 886,052 international students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions, which was a 2.1% growth compared to the previous year (Open Doors, 2015). To reflect the racial diversity and thought process of international students, higher education administrators are pressured to recruit more diverse faculty members, including international faculty to support this student population (Collins, 2008). In addition, the growth of international graduates in U.S. higher education institutions has also triggered an increase of international faculty due to more teaching and research opportunities in the U.S. (Lin, Pearce, & Wang, 2009; Marvasti, 2005). Similarly, the emphasis of internationalization across U.S. higher education institutions has prompted the institutions to recruit more international faculties to help with the initiative. Research shows that the international faculties are great assets to U.S. higher education because aside from their teaching, research, and service responsibilities, they have the potential to enrich the university campus and community with their cultures and world perspectives (Alberts, 2008; Mamiseishvili, 2010). For example, international faculty members often serve as advisors for their respective cultural organizations. Throughout the year, the faculty collaborates with students in hosting cultural events or international forums to bring cultural awareness and diversity across campus. In addition, international faculty members help to strengthen research collaboration initiatives between their native country and the U.S. especially in science and technology (Corley & Sabharwal, 2007; Marvasti, 2005).

Despite international faculty’s increased role in research, teaching, and services in U.S. higher education institutions, there is limited research that focuses on their development as a faculty member. For example, many research studies have focused on the acculturation, productivity, and job satisfaction issues that international faculty face in U.S. higher education institutions (Alberts, 2008; Collins, 2008; Corley, 2007; Lin et al., 2009; Mamiseishvili, 2010; Mamiseishvili & Rosser, 2010; Marvasti, 2005; Sabharwal & Corley, 2009; Webber, 2012). More specifically, these studies indicate that international faculty are prone to encounter severe acculturation issues due to cultural and language differences (Collins, 2008; Howe, 2008; Mamiseishvili & Rosser, 2010).

Even though international faculty members are very productive with their research and publication, there has been a significant lack of efforts in the career development for international faculty in U.S. higher education institutions. Consequently, many international faculty members are not satisfied with their faculty career when compared to U.S.-born faculty (Corley & Sabharwal, 2007; Mamiseishvili & Rosser, 2010). Some common factors of those dissatisfactions include, but not limited to salary gap, job security, job autonomy, and tenure and promotion opportunity (Corley & Sabharwal, 2007; Marvasti, 2005). In addressing the retention and job satisfaction issues of international faculty, institutional administrators, and department chairs need to have a better understanding of the roles, impacts, and challenges that international faculty experience on an everyday basis. Additionally, they need to learn the types of support services that their departments and institutions can offer to support and retain international faculty. This chapter will provide reviews and guidelines for the administration to support international faculty in U.S. higher education institutions.