Abstract
Many early foreign graduates of US institutions went on to become heads of government, top academicians, or champions of business and industry, achievements that helped cement the elite status of American higher education. Kings, queens, emperors, shahs, prime ministers, and presidents around the world were sent to study in the United States for their degrees, preferably in an Ivy League school, to best prepare them for positions of power and influence. A review of the educational backgrounds of past and current heads of government and other influential world leaders identifies those educated in the United States, their institutional preferences, and fields of study. The most recent university rankings are provided, national and international, and the numerous monetary and ideological contributions that have sprung from wealthy alumni are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
House of Saud, Available at: https://houseofsaud.com/king-salman-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud/.
- 2.
Teresa B. Bevis, Higher Education Exchange between America and the Middle East in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016): 127–129.
- 3.
Ibid.
- 4.
Donn M. Kurtz II, “Oxford and Harvard: The World’s Political Universities,” Foreign Policy Journal (May 9, 2010).
- 5.
World Scholarship Forum, Available at: https://worldscholarshipforum.com/50-notable-alumni-of-yale-university-usa/.
- 6.
100 Notable Alumni of the Graduate School, Princeton University, Available at: https://www.princeton.edu/~paw/archive_new/PAW00-01/08-0124/features3.html.
- 7.
Columbia Alumni Association, Available at: https://alumni.columbia.edu/; also see Wikipedia, List of Columbia University Personnel, Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Columbia_University_people.
- 8.
Cornell University Alumni, Available at: alumni.columbia.edu; also see Wikipedia Cornell University, Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cornell_University_alumni.
- 9.
Wilfred Byron Shaw, The University of Michigan (Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1920); also see University of Michigan Alumni, Available at: http://alumnus.alumni.umich.edu/notable-alumni/.
- 10.
University of California, Berkeley, Available at: www.berkeley.edu; also see Wikipedia, Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_California,_Berkeley_alumni_in_politics_and_government.
- 11.
University of Southern California, Available at: www.alumni.usc.edu; also see Wikipedia, Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Southern_California_people#Presidents_and_prime_ministers.
- 12.
Georgetown University Alumni, Available at: www.georgetown.edu/alumni; also see Wikipedia, Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Georgetown_University_alumni#Heads_of_state_and_government.
- 13.
New York University Alumni, Available at: https://www.nyu.edu/search.html?search=alumni%20; also see Wikipedia, Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_York_University_alumni.
- 14.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2019). Available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2019/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats.
- 15.
Ibid.
- 16.
U.S. News & World Report (2019). Best Colleges. Available at: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges.
- 17.
Ibid.
- 18.
Nian Hu, “The Culture Behind Asian Donations to U.S. Universities,” Harvard Political Review (November 5, 2014); also see Alvin Powell, “$350 M Gift to Tackle Public Health Challenges,” The Harvard Gazette (September 8, 2014).
- 19.
Ibid.
- 20.
Jason Chow, “Hong Kong Tops List of Foreign donors to U.S. Schools,” The Wall Street Journal (September 22, 2014).
- 21.
Ibid.
- 22.
Shujie Leng, “Are Chinese Donations to American Universities Unpatriotic?,” Foreign Policy (September 9, 2014).
- 23.
Mimi Leung and Yojana Sharma, “Caltech Gift Tops Year of Generous Chinese Giving to HE,” University World News (December 15, 2016). Available at: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161214160658320&query=california+institute+of+technology.
- 24.
Ibid.
- 25.
Clarice Feldman, “From the Muslim World, Big Donations to American Colleges?” (May 16, 2011). Available at: https://pjmedia.com/blog/from-the-muslim-world-big-donations-to-american-colleges/.
References
Bevis, Teresa B. 2016. Higher Education Exchange in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Chow, Jason. 2014. Hong Kong Tops List of Foreign Donors to U.S. Schools. The Wall Street Journal, September 22.
Feldman, Clarice. 2011. From the Muslim World, Big Donations to American Colleges, May 16. https://pjmedia.com/blog/from-the-muslim-world-big-donations-to-american-colleges/.
Hu, Nian. 2014. The Culture Behind Donations to American Universities. Harvard Political Review, November 5. http://harvardpolitics.com/harvard/culture-behind-asian-donations-u-s-universities/.
Kurtz, Donn M., II 2010. Oxford and Harvard, the World’s Political Universities. Foreign Policy Journal, May 9.
Leng, Shujie. 2016. Are Chinese Donations to American Universities Unpatriotic? China Daily, December 24. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2016-12/24/content_27758089.htm.
Leung, Mimi, and Yojana Sharma. 2016. Caltech Gift Tops Year of Generous Chinese Giving to HE. University World News, no. 441, December 15. http://www.universityworldnews.com.
Shaw, Wilfred Byron. 1920. The University of Michigan. Harcourt, Brace and Howe.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings. 2019. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2019/worldranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bevis, T.B. (2019). World Leaders with American Degrees. In: A World History of Higher Education Exchange. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12434-2_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12434-2_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12433-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12434-2
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)