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The following open letter was written by the nextGEN community and distributed on October 15, 2019:
Dear Scholars in Rhetoric, Composition, Literacy, and Technical and Professional Communication:
The members of nextGEN—an advocacy community for graduate students and those who actively support graduate students—would like to draw attention to discriminatory hiring processes against international graduate scholars on the job market.
U.S. higher education institutions state their support for diversity, equity, and inclusion. At the same time, some of these universities are bound or seem to be bound by hiring restrictions that hamper their ability to align job market practices with these commitments. Because the fields of rhetoric, composition, literacy, and technical and professional communication express commitment to social justice, we hope to raise the attention of hiring committees to the constraining nature of posting jobs with requirements such as “US citizens only” or “legal residents only.” Since citizenship requirements restrict international scholars from being potential candidates for job openings, such requirements cause economic difficulty and harm for international applicants, while also contributing to a cultural climate that is hostile to immigrants.
Some institutions also exclude international scholars through the online application requirement to indicate whether applicants would need work visa sponsorship. We understand that institutions often collect such data for statistical purposes, some of which are to ensure principled job market practices that extend from a university’s and search committee’s commitment to inclusive hiring (practices as expressed in CCCC Best Practices for Hiring International Candidates). However, the experiences of some international graduate scholars—experiences in which universities have an inflexible, unstated policy to not sponsor work visas and have consequently withdrawn job offers—gives us reason to question claimed inclusive hiring practices.
Of course, there are HR rules and regulations that may be beyond the understanding and/or control of search committees. We recognize these frustrating constraints—constraints that can seriously hamper the ability to align job market practices with our commitments to equity and justice. At the same time, we must do whatever we can to uphold our principles against injustice.
In a field that prides itself on its commitments to social and racial justice, we find these institutionalized barriers to international scholar employment alarming, and we hope members of hiring/search committees will feel the same. It is for this reason that we seek support from all concerned scholars to understand that such barriers not only exist in hiring, but also present us with the challenge to live up to our expressed commitments and principles by identifying, resisting, and dismantling these structures of injustice. After all, with these hiring barriers against international scholars, institutions systematically sustain intersectional oppression against already marginalized scholars.
We, the members of nextGEN, therefore call for all scholars (who serve as search committee chairs, members, and beyond) to advocate for international scholars and against discriminatory policies impacting them.
We understand that many faculty and search committees might not be fully aware of the extent to which international graduate scholars already experience emotional, psychological, and intellectual burdens. Neither do they aim to take part in a discriminatory hiring process based on nationality and citizenship status. We also hold firm to the belief and hope that a coalitional network of scholars at various stages in their careers can and will rise to the challenge of injustice and raise awareness of this serious problem to members in their local institutions, departments, programs, and search committees. To help build this coalition and its power, we offer some resources for understanding the financial context in employing international scholars as well as other resources for inclusive hiring. We hope the following resources could be useful as guidelines, reminders, and advocacy documents for faculty, administrators, and hiring committees to take up, circulate, and implement within their home institutions:
- CCCC Policy: https://cccc.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions/faculty-hiring
- USCIS Page: https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-first-preference-eb-1
- Kristen Moore’s Inclusive Interview: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hD0LJMB1EwlBAtsAK4rNzbSmYTFueMKuIUPxfZzeuZA/edit
- Example of a University Policy: https://isso.columbia.edu/content/visa-sponsorship-policy-scholars-professors-researchers
With all this in mind, we call for coalitional action initiated by the rhetoric and composition, writing studies, and technical/professional communication community. We call for faculty, scholars, organizations, and other various collectives to find and implement mechanisms of pressure on and advocate at departmental and institutional levels. We call for advocacy in pursuit of the rightful diversity and inclusion that is necessary in academia.
In the end, we believe that individuals, organizations, and institutions committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion will reject border walls in all forms.
In Hope & Solidarity,
nextGEN
Endorsements of Coalitional Action
- Sweta Baniya, Purdue University
- Kyle Larson, Miami University
- Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq, Utah State University
- Katelyn Lusher, University of Cincinnati
- Nupoor Ranade, North Carolina State University
- Kayla A. Sparks, Texas Christian University
- Estee Beck, The University of Texas at Arlington
- Asao B. Inoue, Arizona State University
- Steve Parks, University of Virginia
- Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition, Advisory Board
- Women in Technical Communication, steering committee
- Digital Black Lit and Composition (DBLAC)
- The WPA-L Reimagining Working Group
- Eileen E. Schell, Syracuse University
- Linh Dich, Miami University
- Salma Kalim, Miami University
- Gavin P. Johnson, The Ohio State University
- Bibhushana Poudyal, The University of Texas at El Paso
- Katherine Randall, Virginia Tech
- Daniel Hocutt, University of Richmond
- Veronica House, University of Colorado Boulder
- Virginia Schwarz, University of Wisconsin Madison
- Krystin Gollihue, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Pritisha Shrestha, Syracuse University
- Iswari Pandey, California State University, Northridge
- Bo Wang, California State University, Fresno
- Shyam B. Pandey, Purdue University
- Rachelle A.C. Joplin, University of Houston
- Kailyn Shartel Hall, Purdue University
- Abbie Levesque, Northeastern University
- Cara Marta Messina, Northeastern University
- Jason Tham, Texas Tech University
- Whitney Lew James, Texas Christian University
- Bailey Poland, Bowling Green State University
- Jason Collins, The Ohio State University
- Chen Chen, Winthrop University
- Gabrielle Kelenyi, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Savannah Paige Murray, Virginia Tech
- Lauren Brentnell, University of Northern Colorado
- Les Hutchinson, Boise State University
- Kelli Gill, Texas Christian University
- Ashanka Kumari, Texas A&M University - Commerce
- Will Chesher, Ball State University
- Charles Woods, Illinois State University
- Megan Schoettler, Miami University of Ohio
- Ryan McCarty, University of Michigan
- Suban Nur Cooley, Michigan State University
- Matthew Homer, Virginia Tech
- Kefaya Diab, Indiana University
- James Eubanks, University of Alabama
- Vyshali Manivannan, Rutgers University
- Amanda Presswood, Florida State University
- Kyle Stedman, Rockford University
- Halcyon Lawrence, Towson University
- Daniel Floyd, University of Cincinnati
- Sara Doan, Kennesaw State University
- Lauren Cagle, University of Kentucky
- Kristen Wheaton, Idaho State University
- Saveena Veeramoothoo, University of Minnesota
- Liz Miller, The Ohio State University
- Chad Iwertz Duffy, Bowling Green State University
- Wilfredo Flores, Michigan State University
- Cassandra Goff, University of Utah
- Allison Dziuba, University of California, Irvine
- Hillary Weiss, Wayne State University
- Ryan M. Murphy, Purdue University
- Kate Highfill, University of Houston
- Jason Markins, Syracuse University
- Ruth Osorio, Old Dominion University
- Sarah Snyder, Arizona Western College
- Jacqueline Schiappa, University of Minnesota
- Santosh Khadka, California State University Northridge
- Victoria L. Braegger, Purdue University
- Jennifer Nish, Texas Tech University
- Kevin Brock, University of South Carolina Columbia
- Shyam Sharma, Stony Brook University, New York
- Alison Cardinal, University of Washington Tacoma
- Clancy Ratliff, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Bernice Olivas, Salt Lake Community College
- Maria Conti Maravillas, The University of Southern Mississippi
- Patricia Fancher, University of California Santa Barbara, CFSHRC Director of Outreach
- Joshua Barsczewski, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Amy J. Wan, Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNY
- Bridget Gelms, San Francisco State University
- Lindsey Macdonald, Purdue University
- Jenn Fishman, Marquette University
- Lisa Mastrangelo, Centen
- Angela M. Haas, Illinois State University
- Alexis Priestley, Virginia Tech
- Geoffrey Clegg, Midwestern State University
- Stephanie L. Kerschbaum, University of Delaware
- Jay McClintick, University of Arizona
- Phil Bratta, Oklahoma State University
- Manako Yabe, Building Healthcare Collectives
- Sara Kelm, Texas Christian University
- Cody Jackson, Texas Christian University
- Christina Rowell, Kent State University
- Brooke Hotez, The University of Arizona
- Dana Comi, University of Kansas
- Emma J. Rose, University of Washington Tacoma
- Jacqueline Rhodes, Michigan State University
- Alexandria Hanson, Syracuse University
- Audrey Hollis, Purdue University
- Caitlin Ray, University of Louisville
- Lauren Obermark, University of Missouri-St. Louis
- Melanie Yergeau, University of Michigan
- Megan Faver Hartline, Trinity College
- Lee W. Hibbard, Purdue University
- Kristin Arola, Michigan State University
- Charlotte Asmuth, University of Louisville
- Kristen R. Moore, University at Buffalo
- Marisa Pesa, University of Arizona
- Allegra W. Smith, Purdue University
- Eda Ozyesilpinar, The University of Texas at El Paso
- Amy Vidali, University of California, Santa Cruz
- J. Michael Rifenburg, University of North Georgia
- Melanie Kill, University of Maryland
- Keith Grant-Davie, Utah State University
- Jacob Richter, Clemson University
- Patricia Dunn, Stony Brook University
- Allison Hitt, Ball State University
- Marohang Limbu, Michigan State University
- Yeqing Kong, North Carolina State University
- Alonzo Smith, Texas Christian University.
- Dana Aicha Shaaban, Texas Christian University
- Emily N. Smith, Penn State University
- Jason Helms, Texas Christian University
- Nathanael O’Reilly, Texas Christian University
- Brad Lucas, Texas Christian University
- Sean McCullough, Texas Christian University
- Jongkeyong Kim, Texas Christian University
- Patti Poblete, Henderson State University
- Verena Theile, North Dakota State University
- Staci M. Perryman-Clark, Western Michigan University
- Nancy Bou Ayash, University of Washington
- Florianne Jimenez, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Kate Vieira, University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Brice Nordquist, Syracuse University
- Dora Ramirez, Boise State University
- Jim Ridolfo, University of Kentucky
- Renee Ann Drouin, Bowling Green State University
- Beck Wise, University of Queensland
- Hem Paudel, University of Iowa
- Eunjeong Lee, Queens College, City University of New York
- Tony Silva, Purdue University
- Jessie Male, The Ohio State University
- Bruce Kovanen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Kathleen Kryger, University of Arizona
- Jane Greer, University of Missouri, Kansas City
- Sharon Mitchler, Centralia College
- Caroline Gottschalk Druschke, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Rebecca Lorimer Leonard, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Seth Kahn, West Chester University of PA
- Tony Cimasko, Miami University
- Tika Lamsal, University of San Francisco
- Jennifer Grouling, Ball State University
- Lisa Melonçon, University of South Florida
- Amelia Chesley, Northwestern State University of Louisiana
- Jason Palmeri, Miami University
- Ashok Bhusal, The University of Texas at El Paso
- Melissa Hannah, North Carolina State University
- Dustin Edwards, University of Central Florida
- Cristina Sanchez-Martin, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
- Heather Listhartke, Miami University of Ohio
- Francis Macarthy, Jamestown Community College
- Patricia Sullivan, Purdue University
- Bruce Horner, University of Louisville
- Laura Gonzales, University of Florida
- Michele Simmons, Miami University
- Anita Long, Miami University
- Charlotte Hogg, Texas Christian University
- Josie Walwema, Oakland University
- Timothy R. Dougherty, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
- Laurie McMillan, Pace University
- Elizabeth Saur, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Samantha Clem, Utah State University
- Hillary Coenen, Midwestern State University
- Ana Roncero-Bellido, Gonzaga University
- Laura Micciche, University of Cincinnati
- Natasha N. Jones, Michigan State University
- Kristina Lucenko, Stony Brook University
- Heidi McKee, Miami University
- James E. Porter, Miami University
- Joy Santee, University of Southern Indiana
- Lisa King, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Leigh Elion, Oxford College of Emory University
- Matthew Vetter, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
- Caleb L. González, The Ohio State University
- Daniel Libertz, University of Pittsburgh
- Michelle McMullin, North Carolina State University
- José Luis Cano, Texas Christian University
- Christa J. Olson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Christina V. Cedillo, University of Houston-Clear Lake
- Jordan Hayes, University of Pittsburgh
- Ana María Cortés Lagos, Syracuse University
- Amanda Sladek, University of Nebraska at Kearney
- Hua Zhu, Miami University
- Michael Trice, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Joshua Rea, University of South Florida
- Ehren Helmut Pflugfelder, Oregon State University
- Jeremy David Johnson, University of the Pacific
- Vanessa Kraemer Sohan, Florida International University
- James Chase Sanchez, Middlebury College
- Sreemoyee Dasgupta, University of Pittsburgh
- Sarah E. Austin, Texas Tech University
- Candice Rai, University of Washington-Seattle
- Cruz Medina, Santa Clara University
- Sara Webb-Sunderhaus, Miami University
- Mara Lee Grayson, California State University, Dominguez Hills
- Jianfen Chen, Purdue University
- Sarah Mazun Stetson, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Avery Edenfield, Utah State University
- Jordan Loveridge, Mount St. Mary’s University
- Rebecca Walton, Utah State University
- Megan McIntyre, Sonoma State University
- Nathan R. Johnson, University of South Florida
- Brian Hendrickson, Roger Williams University
- Chris Lindgren, Virginia Tech
- Mike Palmquist, Colorado State University
- Karin Evans, College of DuPage
- Adam Hubrig, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Liza Potts, Michigan State University
- Margaret Price, Ohio State University
- Eric Lehman, University of Nevada, Reno
- Ryan Cheek, Utah State University
- Kylie Jacobsen, Grand Valley State University
- Jo Hsu, University of Arkansas
- Sarah Singer, University of Central Florida
- Amber Buck, University of Alabama
- Michael Martone, University of Alabama
- Stephanie Janania, Florida International University
- Jody Shipka, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Rebekah Sims, Purdue University
- Michelle F. Eble, East Carolina University
- Parva Panahi, Purdue University
- Dev Bose, University of Arizona
- Tiffany Rousculp, Salt Lake Community College
- Sara Movahedazarhouligh, University of Northern Colorado
- Silvia Correa-Torres, University of Northern Colorado
- Phuong Minh Tran, Purdue University
- Kenny Tanemura, Purdue University
- Amy E. Dayton, The University of Alabama
- Donna LeCourt, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Drew Holladay, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Sungae Kim, Purdue University
- Jared S. Colton, Utah State University
- Jason Swarts, North Carolina State University
- Regina McManigell Grijalva, Oklahoma City University
- Tina M. Iemma, St. John’s University
- Felicita Arzu Carmichael, Oakland University
- Aly Higgins, University of Arizona
- Kaydra Bui, Miami University
- Bethany Davila, University of New Mexico
- Lisa Arnold, North Dakota State University
- April Conway, University of Michigan
- Chris Manion, The Ohio State University
- Sritama Chatterjee, University of Pittsburgh
- Keli Tucker, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Annette Vee, University of Pittsburgh
- Lauren Rosenberg, University of Texas El Paso
- Amanda Fields, Central Connecticut State University
- Joyce Meier, Michigan State University
- Dan Melzer, University of California, Davis
- Karrieann Soto Vega, University of Kentucky
- Bethany Monea, University of Pennsylvania
- Melissa Stone, North Carolina State University
- Carrie Leverenz, TCU
- Shakil Rabbi, Bowie State University
- Don Unger, University of Mississippi
- Tessa Brown, Stanford University
- Kristin Prins, Cal Poly Pomona
- Kelin Loe, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Shui-yin Sharon Yam, University of Kentucky
- Logan Middleton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Catherine Prendergast, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Aparajita De, University of the District of Columbia
- Kaitlyn Millen, University of Northern Colorado
- Cherie Ann Turpin, University of the District of Columbia
- Analeigh Horton, University of Arizona
- Lesley Owens, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Neisha-Anne Green, American University
- Erica M. Stone, Texas Tech University
- Daniel P. Richards, Old Dominion University
- Celena Todora, University of Pittsburgh
- Annie Mendenhall, Georgia Southern University
- Laura Tetreault, University at Albany, SUNY
- Evelyn Dsouza, University of Minnesota
- Adrienne Jones Daly, University of Rhode Island
- Anna Zeemont, CUNY Graduate Center
- Michelle Grue, University of California, Santa Barbara
- monét cooper, University of Michigan
- Alexander Champoux-Crowley, University of Minnesota
- Chowaing Chagra Belekeh, University of Texas, El Paso.
- Katie Silvester, Indiana University
- Xiaobo Wang, Sam Houston State University
- Jessica Jorgenson Borchert, Pittsburg State University
- Cheryl Price-McKell, Arizona State University
- Evin Groundwater, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Krista Speicher Sarraf, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
- Lacy Hope, Washington State University
- Eduardo J. Mabilog, Nevada State College
- Richard Johnson-Sheehan, Purdue University
- Rachel Dortin, Wayne State University
- Rachel Bloom-Pojar, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Charlotte Kupsh, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Sherita V. Roundtree, Towson University
- Keith Lloyd, Kent State University Stark
- Steven Alvarez, St. John’s University
- Ashley Rea, Penn State University
- Suresh Lohani, The University of Texas at El Paso
- Jonathan L. Bradshaw, Western Carolina University
- Hui Wu, University of Texas at Tyler
- Xiaoye You, Pennsylvania State University
- Damián Baca, University of Arizona
- James Hammond, University of Michigan
- Jonathan Nehls, University of Texas at El Paso
- Anna Floch Arcello, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Rachael Shah, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Zachary Dwyer, Ball State Universities
- Nancy Small, University of Wyoming
- Glenn Hutchinson, Florida International University
- Naomi Silver, University of Michigan
- Joseph Bartolotta, Hofstra University
- Laxmi Prasad Ojha, Minnesota State University
- Sarah Warren-Riley, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
- Tarez Graban, Florida State University (Non-Western/Global Rhetorics SIG)
- Elena Kalodner-Martin, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Matthew V. Jacobson, University of Oklahoma
- Sara DiCaglio, Texas A&M University
- Ellen Cecil-Lemkin, Florida State University
- Jax Kinniburgh, Miami University
- Misty D. Fuller, Louisiana State University
- Ashley Bradley, University of Michigan
- Joanna Chromik, Indiana University
- Beau Pihlaja, Texas Tech University
- Emily Ramser, Texas Woman’s University
- Shannon Baughman, Texas Woman’s University
- Shannon Simmons, Texas Woman’s University
- Salena Parker, Texas Woman’s University
- Andrea Olinger, University of Louisville
- Zaynab Wazeer, Texas Woman’s University
- Philip Choong, Indiana University
- Thir B. Budhathoki, University of Arizona
- Caitlyn McKay, Ball State University
- Tina Puntasecca, Michigan State University
- Paul Feigenbaum, Florida International University
- Iris D. Ruiz, UC Merced
- Ashley Canter, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Sarah Ruffing Robbins, TCU
- Ruby Pappoe, University of Texas at El Paso
- Lee Nickoson, Bowling Green State University
- Elizabeth L. Angeli, Marquette University
- Sweetland Digital Rhetoric Collaborative
- Simone Sessolo, University of Michigan
- Brian Urias, Bowling Green State University
- Mya Poe, Northeastern University
- Jesse Rice-Evans, CUNY Graduate Center
- Xuan Jiang, Florida International University
- Katlynne Davis, University of Minnesota
- Maryana Boatenreiter, University of Colorado Boulder
- Heather Falconer, Curry College
- Vani Kannan, Lehman College, CUNY
- Jason Custer, Minnesota State University Moorhead
- Luke Shackelford, University of Minnesota
- Emily Gresbrink, University of Minnesota
- Madeleine Yount, Boise State University
- Qianqian Zhang-Wu, Northeastern University
- Mark McBeth, John Jay College of Criminal Justice & The Graduate Center/CUNY
- Carlos Hernandez, The University of Texas at El Paso
- Bethany Meadows, Ball State University
- Sean Kamperman, Valparaiso University
- Yebing Zhao, Miami University
- Rich Shivener, York University
- Bri Lafond, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Terese Guinsatao Monberg, Michigan State University
- Aleashia Walton Valentin, University of Cincinnati
- Laura Rosche, Indiana University
- Asian / Asian American Caucus
- LuMing Mao, University of Utah
- Haivan Hoang, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Sarah Gunning, Towson University
- Isabel Baca, The University of Texas at El Paso
- Maria Prikhodko, DePaul University (Non-Western Rhetoric SIG)
- Paula Mathieu, Boston College
- Madhav Kafle, Rutgers University
- Ann Shivers-McNair, University of Arizona
- Eliza Gellis, Purdue University