Yingyi Ma
Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost John Liu has recently announced the appointment of faculty member Yingyi Ma to serve as a Provost Faculty Fellow, focused on internationalization.
“We are incredibly fortunate that Professor Ma will be serving as a Faculty Fellow to provide leadership and expertise in international programs,” says Liu. “Her specific expertise will benefit Syracuse University’s international students, programs and partnerships in tangible ways.”
Ma is an associate professor of sociology and director of Asian/Asian American Studies in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She was the inaugural O’Hanley Faculty Scholar in the Maxwell School from 2014-2017. She is a sociologist of education and migration. She has published extensively in the areas of college major choices, international student mobility and higher education in China. Her new book, “Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese Undergraduates Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education,” was published by Columbia University Press in February 2020, and has been featured in national and international news media, such as The Washington Post and Times Higher Education.
Ma will work with Steve Bennett, senior vice president for international programs and academic operations and chief of staff for academic affairs on two simultaneous efforts. She will support Syracuse Abroad’s efforts to identify and create residential and online study options for international students who may be unable to return to Syracuse for the Spring 2021 or Fall 2021 semesters. She will also work with senior leadership and staff from the University’s schools and colleges, Syracuse Abroad, the Center for International services and faculty colleagues to develop and advance partnerships with international universities, particularly those in China.
“As we work to strengthen our partnerships with international universities, Professor Ma’s deep understanding of educational culture in China and the United States and the needs of exchange students is a huge asset to our efforts,” says Bennett.
Ma’s research has been recognized by the National Committee on US-China Relations, where she was appointed a Public Intellectual Fellow, and the Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Program in China Studies, where she currently serves on the National Advisory group.
She is the co-editor of “Understanding International Students from Asia in American Universities: Learning and Living Globalization” (2017) and has received grants from the National Science Foundation, Alfred Sloan Foundation and Association of Institutional Research. She received a Ph.D. in sociology from Johns Hopkins University in 2007.
