The Rise of Chinese American Leaders in U.S. Higher Education: Stories and Roadmaps

2025 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Honorable MentionThis book is a collection of stories and reflections that represent Chinese American leaders and depict their tortuous journeys in U.S. higher education that comes at a critical point in time. Many books have been devoted to academic leadership, but this volume uniquely focuses on subjects most relevant to Chinese Americans. We live at a time that not only witnesses an increase in Chinese American leaders on U.S. campuses but also mounting incidents of discriminatory treatment of this group. This book showcases 36 stories and reflections from past, present, and future leaders, including the five previously published stories. They represent leaders holding different ideological values in various academic fields, positions, stages of careers, professional trajectories, generations, Chinese ethnic groups, and geographical locations. The Rise of Chinese American Leaders in U.S. Higher Education makes a valuable contribution to the body of literature that has assisted countless academicleaders in navigating their careers, bringing to the forefront a distinct group of academic leaders who have been underrepresented.

About the Author

Dr. Honggang Yang served in 1999–2020 as dean for the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Nova Southeastern University. Earlier in the 1990s, he was on the McGregor School of Antioch University faculty, chairing the individualized graduate program in conflict resolution. He also had the honor of serving as Research Associate and Internship Coordinator for the Conflict Resolution Program at the Carter Presidential Center of Emory University. He served on the Editorial Boards of American Review of China Studies , Conflict Resolution Quarterly , and Lexington Book Series for Conflict Resolution and Peace Building in Asia . Dr. Yang is a senior advisory editor of Peace and Conflict Studies , past president and co-founder of the Council of Chinese American Deans & Presidents, and co-founder of NSU’s Council for Inclusion and Diversity. He received the 1997 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Department of Anthropology at USF, the 1998 SOCHE Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence from the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education, the 2002 NSU Academic Dean of the Year in Student Life Achievement, and the 2021 Innovative Leadership in Higher Education Award from the Florida Distance Learning Association. He co-edited with Dr. A. Wolfe Anthropological Contributions to Conflict Resolution . He was bestowed Dean and Professor Emeritus in 2021.