2026 International Scholars Workshop

Since 2019, the ASHE Council for International Higher Education (CIHE) has offered an annual International Scholars Workshop for students and scholars to share their insights and experiences of maintaining a research agenda, navigating between and within various identities that could extend beyond their nationality, maintaining their well-being, and dealing with complex and politically-charged immigration and visa policies. As conveners, we recognize that these factors guide post-graduation career choices and academic career success in the United States (Peri et al., 2016; Zong & Batalova, 2018). Above all, as panelists and participants share about their experiences, struggles, hopes, and fears, the ISW opens space to hear one’s struggle as part of a larger thread; we hope and aspire for creating and maintaining this space exactly for generative thinking and healing—a collective success.

As international students and scholars, we strive to provide meaningful contributions while we also strive to survive with our legal status, our academic and career opportunities, and our well-being. Thus, we ask: How can we bring our whole selves into our scholarship, teaching, and career pursuit, in academia and in the job market? How do we provide meaningful works to humanize higher education in international context? How do we deal with the visible and invisible walls that aim to limit our success? How do we center our lived knowledge and our Othered ways of knowing to unsettle the abyssal thinking in institutions of higher education and in our scholarly fields?

To benefit from the virtual format of the International Scholars Workshop, we invite scholars, practitioners, and students from national and international contexts to participate and engage in the six sessions of this workshop as they see fit to their individual scholarly goals and career objectives. These topics are listed below in the detailed schedule and include topics relevant to student success for those early in their studies, to topics relevant to those who are on the job market, as well as early career faculty and those who are up for promotion.

Who should attend:

• International students, international faculty, and any scholars who are interested in and who are from international backgrounds/community
• Faculty, chairs, and academic programs to participate in this workshop as they seek for ways to better support international scholars (doctoral students, post-docs, visiting or adjunct faculty, and faculty) they work with under the unique circumstances and current political terrain

While the program is proposed under the umbrella of CIHE, it is important to acknowledge that not all international students and international faculty are affiliated with research related to international issues and topics. Hence, the recruitment for participation in this program should focus on members of CIHE, members of ASHE community, as well as diverse scholars and international scholars who are not part of ASHE community.

Learning/Program Outcomes

1. Engage in the facilitated discussions and professional development activities with the speakers whose research centers on academic and professional success of international students and scholars.
2. Network with other scholars from international backgrounds.
3. Build navigational capital in the areas of graduate studies, legal constraints, and short- and long-term career advancement.
4. Develop individual strategies of personal well-being.
5. Become a member of the larger community that supports international students and scholars.