This article highlights the findings from two studies about faculty productivity in the United States that were discussed at the American Educational Research Association's annual conference in San Diego this month. The first paper, titled "International Faculty: Experiences of Academic Life and Productivity in U.S. Universities," found…

For decades, college coaches in many sports have been recruiting internationally to stock their teams with the best players they can find. American universities in the NCAA's Division I gain competitive advantages with gifted young athletes from overseas, and the proportion of foreign players in many Division I sports has doubled since the…

Security restrictions imposed since 2001 have unnecessarily constrained university researchers, and those controls should be loosened in order to enhance the nation's economic and strategic competitiveness, says a report issued by the National Research Council of the National Academies. The report's authors, a committee of high-ranking officials…

Paul Snowden's appointment as a dean to the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University was considered so unusual that he compared it to the first moonwalk. Snowden's new position was the highest position reached by a non-Japanese at Waseda, Japan's top private university. Waseda's embrace of foreigners is still considered an…

Over the past quarter-century David Petrie, a 56-year-old Scotsman has attended, in the capacity of plaintiff or interested observer, at least 80 court hearings at various levels of the Italian and pan-European judicial systems--all in cases of alleged job discrimination by Italian universities. In the process, Mr. Petrie has become the public…

Exclusions of foreign visitors to the United States for ideological reasons allowed under the McCarthy-era McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 have been altered, although some may still be excluded. Some feel the effects of the previous law on limiting visiting scholars was substantial. (MSE)

In 18 years, over 260,000 Chinese students have left China to study abroad, and only about one-third have returned. Their flight is compounding the devastation of China's knowledge and talent pool that began with Mao Ze-dong. China is encouraging study abroad, to rectify the loss of a generation of academics, and is most interested in science and…

College students around the world confer by computer in the International Communications and Negotiation Simulation. The simulation is offered by schools within the curriculum or as an extracurricular activity, with faculty as coordinators. Student teams are given scenarios and country assignments, prepare a position paper, and participate in the…

Data on foreign scholars at United States research institutions include information on leading countries and regions of origin, the 12 institutions with the most foreign scholars, gender distribution, leading fields of specialization, and their scholarly activity (research and/or teaching) in the United States. (MSE)

Fearing security problems, a congressional committee on Chinese espionage recommends that foreign students and other foreign nationals be barred from using supercomputers at national laboratories unless they first obtain export licenses from the federal government. University officials dispute the data on which the report is based and find the…

Foreign scholars at United States research universities increased by 2.3% in 1995-96, after two years of decline. A large majority are doing research; others are teaching. Almost 42% came from Asia, with the largest number from China. The number from Russia rose 84%. Most are in the medical, physical, or life sciences and engineering, and are…

A growing number of small colleges and large public universities are following the lead of private universities in seeking donations from foreign alumni. Electronic communications have facilitated the cultivation of such relationships, but face-to-face contact is still preferred. This trend comes as foreign enrollments in the United States are…

A national survey shows that total minority enrollment in colleges is at an all-time high at 20.6 percent of overall enrollment. Despite this, minority groups continue to be underrepresented in college student populations. Enrollments by state indicate wide geographic variation in percentages of students from ethnic and racial minorities. (MSE)