2023 Valley Talks #2: International Scholars in RI
On January 22 at 1:30 p.m. was the second presentation via Zoom in the 2023 Valley Talks series hosted by the Museum of Work & Culture in Woonsocket, RI. Leading the presentation was Alex Hold, the Executive Director of International House of Rhode Island, and Andrea Flores, the Vartan Gregorian Assistant Professor of Education at Brown University.
Early International Students
Flores gave a historical overview of scholars’ migration to the United States, explaining that growth in the number of international scholars was initially slow. Alexander Hamilton was among the earliest international students, as he came from Nevis to get a college degree from Columbia, then called King’s College. Yung Wing came to the United States in 1854 and was the first Chinese student to graduate from Yale. In 1872, he started the Chinese Educational Mission with the goal of bringing Chinese men to the USA to study. He brought 120 Chinese students, with 18 studying at MIT, the second largest destination after Yale. Unfortunately, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 brought an end to this venture.
20th Century International Students
At the turn of the century, only 16% of Americans had a high school diploma, while 3.3% had a college degree, yet the number of international students in the USA was up to 8,000 in the 1920s. Several programs arose in the mid 20th century after World War II. During the 1930s, the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation helped Jewish refugees like Albert Einstein came to the USA. In contrast, Operation Paperclip allowed over 1,600 Nazi scientists to come in 1945. The Fulbright program began in 1947 to exchange young scholars and build a post-war scholarly community.
As the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also called the Hart Celler Act, opened up more immigration spots to non-Europeans, scholars from around the globe could more easily come to the USA. To aid the growth of economies in East African countries, the African Airlift program during the early 1960s brought about 250 scholars, including Barack Obama, Sr. The demographics of international students shifted in the late 20th century. The formation of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) brought scholars from Iran and other oil rich countries to engineering schools.
International Students Today
Today, the USA now finds itself in competition with Canada and the UK when it comes to offering education for international students, as the other countries have become cheaper options. Throughout the early 21st century, significant events have caused dips in international students, such as 9/11 and the Patriot Act, the global financial crisis, executive orders from the Trump Administrations, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these barriers, around 950,000 international students currently study in the USA, with 54% in STEM, health, and business class, and 40% in graduate school. China and India are leaders in sending students abroad. The number of postdoctoral scholars is around 85,500, with 81% in STEM, and Harvard hosts most of these scholars at about 3,200. In Rhode Island, 2.6% of the student population at University of Rhode Island (URI) are international, while 15% of Brown University students are international.
International House
Holt explained the importance of universities having immigration coordinating officials, language centers, and welcome weeks to assist students in feeling at home and breaking down cultural barriers. International House was among first supports for these scholars. The organization was founded in 1963 as a multipurpose multicultural center with a mission to promote cross-cultural understanding. Located on 8 Stimson Avenue of Providence, RI in an historic building, the space serves two main purposes. International scholars, along with spouses and children, live on the second and third floor, while the first floor is a multipurpose community center with events and programming throughout the year for both international scholars and community members, including English classes, dinners, concerts, lectures, affinity groups, and the Friendship Program. Local residents interested in learning about other cultures invite international scholars into their home for holidays like Thanksgiving.
Visas
Many international scholars are eager to study and later work in the USA, as they feel this is the only way to advance in their chosen field. The process of getting into an American school is tricky, with tons of paperwork and an interview with the embassy or consulate. Different visas pertain to different types of students and workers, along with their families. Students are sometimes detained or put in the wrong visa status by officials who do not believe they going to study. Once arriving at the university, some advisors and departments force vulnerable students to work weekends or take credit for their work by threatening to take away their visa. Even with studies completed in their desired field, international scholars must get any job available to maintain their visa despite strongly prefer a different occupation. Scholars who overcome these challenges may decide to stay after enjoying school, getting a good job, meeting a future spouse, or having a child. The connections they make with other international scholars and American friends are crucial to their decisions to remain in the country.