International Research Collaborations: Perceptions of Risk by Faculty

• In Event: 283 - Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Paper Session. Work, Careers, Organizations, and Labor Markets in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Fields

Abstract

International research collaboration is increasingly part of academic science, particularly in internationalizing STEM fields. For knowledge advancement and innovation, scientists are often obliged to collaborate. At the same time, how international research collaboration fits within the contemporary academic recognition and reward system in American research universities is more ambiguous. We argue that faculty who engage in international activities feel that their international efforts are rewarded less and that they jeopardize their academic career progression through the tenure and promotion system, even when their institutions have taken on strategies to engage in “internationalization.” This perceived devaluation has produced a sense of risk around international collaboration, particularly when it comes to evaluation practices regarding merit, tenure, and promotion that focus on scholarly excellence. Furthermore, the sense of risk is amplified in the context of the academy’s American-centric perceptions that privilege national research, academics, and institutions, while casting the quality of research and researchers conducted outside of the United States into doubt. These risks, tied to individualized evaluative pressures, become particularly salient during the current era of global competition among institutions, when the stakes of assessment are becoming heightened and more rationalized. This construction of risk can lead to the perpetuation of inequalities among faculty in access to global science.

Authors

• Katrina Mary Uhly, Northeastern University

• Kathrin Zippel, Northeastern University