The Rise of Chinese American Leaders in U.S. Higher Education is a collection of personal stories and reflections of 36 prominent Chinese American leaders from diverse academic, professional and personal backgrounds. This publication arrives during a period of rapid political change, evolving cultural values and global economic and geopolitical tensions in America. It provides valuable insights into the inner workings of the complex system of the US higher education industry, as well as great lessons from a group of pioneers and trailblazers who shattered glass ceilings individually and collectively in a very complex and highly competitive industry.
The authors of this volume come from remarkably diverse backgrounds even though they all are members of the Chinese American community. While some are descendants of the first-generation immigrants from Taiwan, Hong Kong and other Asian countries and grew up in the USA, the majority of these leaders are first generation immigrants from mainland China, arriving in the USA in the 1980s and 1990s after China opened its doors for the first time in many years. Their academic backgrounds also vary widely, including engineering, computer science, medicine, nursing, English, business and law. Many are highly accomplished scholars before embarking on their administrative and leadership journeys, publishing numerous articles in top journals, and winning major research grants. Their leadership paths also varied, but most of these leaders rose through the ranks over the long tenures of their academic and administrative careers, assuming roles from faculty to department chairs, deans, vice presidents. A few eventually rose to the very top of their institutions, becoming university presidents and chancellors.
In this review, I will elaborate on two paradoxical themes emerging from the writings of these leaders and offer my analysis and comment on the challenges facing US higher education currently, and the implications for the next generation of Chinese American leaders.
The role of Asian/Chinese cultural values in our leadership journey: burden or blessing?
As pointed out by a few contributors in their chapters, even though Asian Americans make up roughly 13% of faculty members in higher education institutions in the USA (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024), they are still disproportionately underrepresented in the leadership ranks, as only 2.7% of college presidents in this country are Asians as of 2022 (American Council of Education, 2022). While this is almost 100% increase since 2011 (1.5%), one must wonder why there have not been more leaders with Asian background in US higher education given the large “base” of Asian faculty members in this sector. Is it because most Asian faculty do not consider administrative positions appealing for some reason? Or are there systematic barriers that prevent more Asian faculty from pursuing leadership positions? Do the Asian/Chinese cultural background/values play a role one way or the other?
As acknowledged by quite a few authors in this book, there are some sharp differences between traditional Chinese values and the American values, and these differences could have played a “negative” role in the early days of their administrative careers. Frank Wu, President of Queens College in New York City, even titled his chapter “Everything My Asian Immigrant Parents Taught Me Turns Out to Be Wrong.” In this very personal reflection of his journey, Dr Wu reflected on his early years growing up in Detroit in the 1970s and the struggles he had trying to balance what he was taught at home by his Chinese immigrant parents and what was expected of him in the wider American society. As he pointed out, Asian cultures, with their collectivist orientation, put emphasis on the society’s expectation of conformity, deference to one’s elders, fidelity to tradition, etc. and are sharp contrasts to the American values reflected in statements such as “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. Unfortunately, being a leader in the American society requires one to be assertive and aggressive, which can be challenging to someone who is so deeply emersed in the traditional Chinese culture that places so much value on obedience and conformity. Perhaps this contrast in cultural values can explain to some extent why fewer Asian leaders rose from the faculty ranks to upper management positions – perhaps they simply have less desire or drive to be leaders in a highly competitive environment, or maybe they just did not have enough role models along the way to show that they can be successful leaders in a society that places high values on the qualities so different than their own?
For Asian women, it can be even more difficult to assume leadership roles in the USA, as pointed out by Ching-Hua Wang, President, Samuel Merritt University: “It is never easy for an East Asian American to become a senior leader, especially for an Asian American woman. It is almost against our nature installed by our native culture to do so. To break out from it, one needs to be intentional and conscientious about it.” (p. 226)
Of course, one can also argue that what is to blame partly here might not be the Asian/Chinese cultural values and their sharp contrast to the American counterparts, but the stereotypes or the “boxes” in which Asian/Chinese Americans are usually placed by the American society because of such differences. As pointed out by Leslie Wong, President Emeritus, San Francisco State University, “American culture can picture us as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and counselors. But this culture has a tough time picturing us as CEOs, head coaches, generals, and military commanders” (p. 279). The “model minority” image of the hard- working and rule-obeying Asian Americans somehow do not align with the image of top leaders that require assertiveness and decisiveness, among other qualities.
However, as a few other authors argued, even though the Asian/Chinese cultural values these leaders bring with them could be barriers or burdens on the initial steps of their leadership journey in the USA, they can become a blessing once they embark on the journey, as they are sources of wisdom for these individuals when they meet challenges in communication, problem solving, and conflict resolution. In her chapter, “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leadership,” Ding-Jo Hsia Currie (President, Lingnan Foundation; Former Chancellor, Costa Mesa) elaborated on how Confucian teaching helped her navigate the complex institutional environment and challenges inherit in the job of a college president. To Hsia, the ancient wisdom from her Chinese heritage provided guidance in understanding loyalty, self-cultivation and other-oriented services, conflict resolution and more. Several other authors also shared how the perseverance, resilience, and servant leadership, among other qualities highly valued by the traditional Chinese culture, served them well in their journey to leadership in the USA.
Perhaps, the Chinese cultural values can be both a burden and a blessing on the journey to become leaders in the USA. To succeed as a leader in a society that values individualism, personal achievements and assertiveness, Chinese Americans do have to “break away” from their traditional cultures that put higher value on deference and conformity, but once they are courageous enough to take that critical first step on the leadership journey, their deeply held traditional wisdom can become sources of strengths in many aspects of their new roles.
So, the question becomes: how do we take that first step? Is leadership accidental, or should it be a planned journey?
Leadership: accidental or planned journey?
The second seemingly paradoxical theme is whether leadership should be a planned journey or can it be “accidental.” Everyone’s leadership journey is unique, but what roles planning and preparation play in one’s path to leadership positions is something worth discussing.
Quite a few contributors acknowledged that their paths to leadership was not planned, rather, they were “accidental” in nature. As stated earlier, most of these leaders started as scholars/researchers with solid academic and professional track record, the idea of becoming a leader in their organization was not something they planned for when such opportunities were presented to these individuals. Perhaps they never thought of themselves as “leadership materials” because of the stereotypes they encountered or biases they experienced in the system. In this sense, their leadership journeys were indeed “accidental” as they never went out their way to seek these opportunities. But if we dig deeper, we can see that their paths to leadership were results of years of dedication, hard work, commitment and professional preparation. All the roles they played (from research center director to committee chair, from senate president to department chair, and everything in between), skills they acquired and enhanced and relationships they cultivated along the way, were great preparations and built solid foundations for the leadership roles they happened to find themselves in later in life.
Hopefully, with more Chinese American leaders succeeding in the higher education institutions and becoming role models, they are paving ways for the next generation of Chinese American leaders in the community. As a result, for the next generation of Chinese American leaders in US higher education, their journey will no longer be “accidental,” but are results of designed, planned, persistent and resilient effort of their professional careers.
The challenges facing next generation of Chinese American leaders
The remarkable achievements of these distinguished Chinese American leaders in higher education are no doubt results of their hard work, dedication, wisdom, and support from their family, friends, and mentors along the way. But the role of the US higher education system in their success cannot be under-stated. Many authors commented on the “life-changing impact of an American education” on their own lives and the lives of their students. With its world-class research facilities, extensive financial support from both public and corporate sources, and collaborations across borders with many equally excellent institutions around the world, universities and colleges in the USA are major forces in scientific discoveries, technological innovations, economic development, and societal changes. As Wallace Loh (former president, University of Maryland) eloquently stated in his chapter, “My personal story is of no consequence other than as a story of the importance of education and the promise of America.” (p. 188)
However, the “promise of America” is now facing major threats from policies and practices of the Trump administration. Among many moves introduced during Trump’s second term that are challenging the survival of the universities, the drastic reductions in research funding and restrictions of international students are the most concerning. Trump’s efforts in curtailing immigration – not just illegal immigration, but the type of immigration of highly skilled, well-educated young people from other countries like the ones featured in this book, will no doubt diminish the pool of talented immigrants who pursue their American dreams through education in the USA. These policies and practices will threaten the country’s continuing ability to attract the best and the brightest around 1881 the world. As a result, the USA will risk losing its competitive edge over other countries that have been doing everything they can to attract these individuals who have so much to offer. This changing landscape also means that the pathway to leadership positions might become narrower and more challenging for people from diverse cultures, which makes the lessons shared in this book from the predecessors even more valuable.
The Rise of Chinese American Leaders in US higher education makes a vital contribution to our understanding of the US higher education system. It provides a glimpse of the many opportunities this vast and complex system provides for aspiring leaders with diverse academic/professional backgrounds and cultural heritages. It shares inspiring insights from a group of amazing leaders who overcame great obstacles to achieve remarkable success individually and collectively. I hope the stories and reflections featured in this book will help to inspire more scholars and students of higher education to take on the challenge and become academic leaders, for “there is no better job than serving learners from all walks of life” (Joanne Li, Chancellor, University of Nebraska, Omaha, p. 150).
