Imported talents: demographic characteristics, achievement and job satisfaction of foreign born full time faculty in four-year American colleges

Abstract

The information-based economy globalizes the competition for talents and has changed the nature of international migration in recent decades. The rise of America has historically benefited from imported talents, and higher education has played a crucial role. By using 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF04), this research tries to reexamine the roles of foreign born faculty in four-year American colleges after September 11. Descriptive statistics and discriminant analysis demonstrate that foreign born faculty occupy a special niche in the American four-year colleges. We argue that American higher education still needs imported talents, especially in the areas of pure and applied sciences.