Chrystal A. George Mwangi

Director for the Higher Education Program

Director, Graduate Programs

Professor

Structures of opportunity for historically underrepresented, immigrant, and international students moving into and through higher education; mobility, migration, and the internationalization of higher education; African and African Diaspora populations in higher education; race, diversity, and equity in higher education

Chrystal A. George Mwangi, PhD is a Professor in the Higher Education Program at George Mason University. She also serves as Director of the Higher Education Program and Director of the School of Integrative Studies Graduate Programs. Her scholarship centers on (1) structures of opportunity and inequity impacting the trajectories of racially minoritized students into and through college; (2) (in)equity in higher education internationalization and the use of higher education as a tool for international mobility/migration; (3) African and African Diaspora populations in higher education, emphasizing the impact of race, racism and coloniality. Some of her recent research projects examine the educational experiences of Black immigrant collegians; the role of family and local community in college access and success; the racialization of international students; and diversity, equity, and inclusion goals within global higher education.

Dr. George Mwangi is a recipient of NAFSA’s Innovative Research in International Education Award and has also received a Comparative & International Education Society (CIES) Study Abroad and International Student SIG Best Article Award. Her work has been published in journals including Harvard Educational Review, Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, and Teachers College Record.

Dr. George Mwangi is a Senior Associate Editor for the Review of Higher Education and has served on multiple editorial boards including for the Journal of College Student Development and Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. She has served in leadership and service positions with the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), American Educational Research Association (AERA), and Comparative & International Education Society (CIES). Prior to becoming a faculty member, she worked for a number of years as a college administrator including positions in undergraduate admissions, multicultural affairs, student conduct, and academic advising.

Selected Publications

George Mwangi, C. A. & Onyewuenyi, A. C. (2025). Hidden in Blackness: Being Black and being an immigrant in U.S. schools and colleges. Teachers College Press.

George Mwangi, C. A. & Ruíz Santana, Y. (Eds.) (2025). (Re)Framing college access by and with communities of Color: Our knowledge, our process, our choice. SUNY Press.

George Mwangi, C. A., Yao, C. W., Harshe, G., & Corso, A. (2025). It’s just too much: Narratives of international educators navigating COVID-19. The Journal of Higher Education,96(5), 857-881.

Carpenter, A., Feraud-King, P., Lewis, T., Stephens-Peace, K., Chinkondenji, P., Stanislaus, E. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2024). Rage in (and out) the cage: Black students’ negotiation of safety. Journal of Black Studies, 55(5), 375-399.

Yao, C. W., George Mwangi, C. A., Corso, A., & Harshe, G. (2024). Balancing compliance and student support: The multiple roles of international educators in the U.S. Journal of College Student Development, 65(6), 645-662.

Fox, A., George Mwangi, C. A., Pachucki, M., Wells, R., Dasgupta, B., Thoma, H., Dunton, S., Kimball, E. (2023). Rethinking backbones in collective impact: Examining a broadening STEM participation program as a feminist matrix organization. Innovative Higher Education, 48, 925-947.

George Mwangi, C. A., Malcolm, M., & Thelamour, B. (2023). Our college degree: Familial engagement in the lives of diverse Black collegians. Race Ethnicity and Education, 26(7), 872-891.

George Mwangi, C. A., Bettencourt, G. M., Wells, R. S., Dunton, S. T., Kimball, E., Pachucki, M. C., Dasgupta, N., & Thoma, H. S. (2023). Demystifying the magic: Investigating the success of university-community partnerships for broadening participation in STEM. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 29(1), 87-109.

George Mwangi, C. A., Feraud-King, P., Chen, L., Tejada, M., Brause, C., Stephens, K. J., Scippio-McFadden, J. M., Edelstein, J. & Wells., R. S. (2023). Racial equity in transfer incentive policies: A critical mixed methods analysis. Community College Review, 51(1), 75-102.

Yao, C. Y. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2023). The imperative for supporting Asian international students in (post)COVID times. CIES Perspectives, Winter 2023, 17-19.

Expanded Publication List

Books

George Mwangi, C. A. & Onyewuenyi, A. C. (2025). Hidden in Blackness: Being Black and being an immigrant in U.S. schools and colleges. Teachers College Press.

George Mwangi, C. A. & Ruíz Santana, Y. (Eds.) (2025). (Re)Framing college access by and with communities of Color: Our knowledge, our process, our choice. SUNY Press.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

George Mwangi, C. A., Yao, C. W., Harshe, G., & Corso, A. (2025). It’s just too much: Narratives of international educators navigating COVID-19. The Journal of Higher Education,96(5), 857-881.

George Mwangi, C. A., Malcolm, M., & Thelamour, B. (2023). Our college degree: Familial engagement in the lives of diverse Black collegians. Race Ethnicity and Education, 26(7), 872-891.

Bettencourt, G. M., George Mwangi, C. A., Green, K. & Morales, D. (2022). But do I need a college degree?: College-going perceptions of students enrolled in a career and technical high school. Innovative Higher Education, 47, 453-470.

Friedensen, R., Lauterbach, A., Kimball, E., & George Mwangi, C. A. (2022) Examining the role of family in the development of pre-college STEM aspirations among students with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, 1(3), 13-31.

Friedensen, R., Lauterbach, A., Kimball, E., & George Mwangi, C. (2021). Students with high incidence disabilities in STEM: Barriers encountered in postsecondary learning environments. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 34(1), 77-90.

George Mwangi, C. A., Johnson, J. M., & Malaney Brown, V. (2021). Family & community engagement among college students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 27(4), 35-57.

George Mwangi, C. A., Mansour, K., & Hedayet, M. (2021). Immigrant identity and experiences in U.S. higher education research: A systematic review. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 23(2), 45-69.

Thelamour, B. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2021). “I disagreed with a lot of values:” Exploring Black immigrant agency in ethnic-racial socialization. International Journal of Interculutral Relations, 85, 26-36.

Green, K., Morales, D., Bettencourt, G., George Mwangi, C. A. (2020). (Responding to) Youth epistemologies to create a third space: A reclamation of learning in an English language arts classroom. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 19(3), 303-316.

Bettencourt, G. M., George Mwangi, C. A., Green, K. & Morales, D. (2020). High school-university collaborations for Latinx student success: Navigating the political reality. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 24(1), 17-34.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2019). Navigating two worlds: Exploring home-school dissonance in the college going process of immigrant families. Harvard Educational Review, 89(3), 448-472.

George Mwangi, C. A., Cabrera, A. F. & Kurban, E. (2019). Connecting school and home: Examining parental and school involvement in readiness for college through SEM. Research in Higher Education, 60(4), 553

Thelamour, B., George Mwangi, C. A., & Ezeofor, I. (2019) “We need to stick together for survival”: Black college students’ racial identity, same-ethnic friendships, and campus connectedness, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 12(3), 266-279.

George Mwangi, C. A., Daoud, N., Peralta, A., & Fries-Britt, S. (2019). Waking from the American dream: Black immigrant college students’ engagement in racial justice. Journal of College Student Development, 60(4), 401-420.

George Mwangi, C. A., Changamire, N., & Mosselson, J. (2019). An intersectional understanding of African international graduate students’ experiences in U.S. higher education. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 12(1), 52-64.

George Mwangi, C. A., Latafat, S., Thampikutty, C. & Van, J. (2019). Examining university response to the DACA rescission: A critical discourse analysis. Innovative Higher Education, 44(4), 249-265.

Yao, C., George Mwangi, C. A., & Malaney Brown, V. (2019). Exploring the intersections of transnationalism and critical race theory: A critical race analysis of international student experiences in the U.S. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 22(1), 38-58.

Daoud, N., George Mwangi, C. A., Griffin, K. A., & English, S. (2018). Beyond stereotypes: Examining the role of social identities in the motivation patterns of Black immigrant and Black native students. American Journal of Education, 124(3), 285-312.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2018). “It’s different here”: Complicating concepts of college knowledge and first generation through an immigrant lens. Teachers College Record, 120(11).

George Mwangi, C. A., Bettencourt, G. M., & Malaney, V. K. (2018). Collegians creating (counter)space online: A critical discourse analysis of the I, Too, Am social media movement. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 11(2), 146-163.

George Mwangi, C. A., Latafat, S., Hammond, S., Kommers, S., Thoma, H., Berger, J. & Blanco-Ramirez, G. (2018). Criticality in international higher education research: A critical discourse analysis of higher education journals. Higher Education, 76(6), 1091-1107.

George Mwangi, C. A., Thelamour, B., Ezeofor, I., & Carpenter, A. (2018). “Black elephant in the room:” Black students contextualizing campus racial climate within U.S. racial climate. Journal of College Student Development, 59(4), 456-474.

Johnson, J. M., Jones, G. M., George Mwangi, C. A., & Garcia, G. A. (2018). Resisting, rejecting, and redefining the professoriate: Faculty of Color in higher education. Urban Review, 50(4), 630-647.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2017). Partner positioning: Examining international higher education partnerships through a mutuality lens. Review of Higher Education, 41(1), 33-60.

George Mwangi, C. A., Daoud, N., English, S., & Griffin, K. A. (2017). Me and my family: Ethnic differences and familial influences on academic motivations of Black collegians. Journal of Negro Education, 86(4), 487-493.

Bettencourt, G., Malaney, V., Kidder, C., & George Mwangi, C. A. (2017). Developing a scholar-practitioner identity: Peer-led communities of research in higher education preparation programs. Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education, 2, 95-113.

George Mwangi, C. A. & English, S. (2017). Being Black (and) immigrant students: When race, ethnicity, and nativity collide. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 19(2), 100-130.

Morales, D., Bettencourt, G., Green, K. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2017). “I want to know about everything that’s happening in the world:” Enhancing critical awareness through youth participatory action research with Latinx youth. The Educational Forum, 81(4), 404-417.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2016). Exploring sense of belonging among Black international students at an HBCU. Journal of International Students, 6(4), 1015-1037.

George Mwangi, C. A., Fries-Britt, S., Peralta, A. M., Daoud, N. (2016). Examining intra-racial dynamics and engagement between native-born and foreign-born Black collegians in STEM. Journal of Black Studies, 47(7), 773-794.

Griffin, K. A., Cunningham, E. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2016). Defining diversity: Ethnic differences in Black students’ perceptions of racial climate. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 9(1), 34-49.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2015). (Re)Examining the role of family and community in college access and choice: A meta-synthesis of literature. Review of Higher Education, 39(1), 123-151.

Fries-Britt, S., George Mwangi, C. A. & Peralta, A. M. (2014). Learning race in the U.S. context: Perceptions of race among foreign-born students of color. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 7(1), 1-13.

Fries-Britt, S., George Mwangi, C. A., & Peralta, A. M. (2014). The acculturation experiences of foreign-born students of color in physics. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 51(4), 459-471.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2014). Complicating Blackness: Black immigrants & racial positioning in U.S. higher Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis, 3(2), 1-27.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2013). The impact of state financial support on the internationalization of public higher education: A panel data analysis. Higher Education in Review, 10, 61-77.

Editor-Reviewed Articles

Yao, C. Y. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2023). The imperative for supporting Asian international students in (post)COVID times. CIES Perspectives, Winter 2023, 17-19.

George Mwangi, C. A., (2020). Black international student lives matter. International Higher Education, 104, 6-8.

George Mwangi, C.A. (2020). Keeping pace and pushing forward: Power, (in)equity, and transformation in international education research. NAFSA Research Symposium Series (Vol. 4), 2-10.

Aguilar-Smith, S. and Flores, A. with Flores Lopez, D., Hall, K., Lambaren Sanchez, C. A., Lopez, S. L., Pajaro, K., Rosas, O., George Mwangi, C.A., Gonzales, L.D., Jones Boss, G., Marquez Kiyama, J., Martinez, E., & Satterfield, J.W. (2020). Intergenerational Lessons to and from Higher Education Educators of Color. About Campus, 25(2), 20–23.

George Mwangi, C.A., Latafat, S., & Thoma, H. (2019). Improving diversity and inclusion in international education research: Holding academic journals accountable. NAFSA Trends & Insights, 1-4.

Bettencourt, G., Malaney Brown, V., Kidder, C., & George Mwangi, C. A. (2018). Developing the “scholar” in scholar-practitioner: How peer-led communities of research promote agency and growth for student affairs masters’ degree students.

George Mwangi, C. A. & Bettencourt, G. (2017). A qualitative toolkit for institutional research. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2017(173), 11-23.

Yao, C. W. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2017). Role of student affairs in international student transition and success: Editorial. Journal of International Students, 7(4), i–iii.

George Mwangi, C. A. & Fries-Britt, S. (2015) Black within Black: The perceptions of Black immigrant collegians and their U.S. college experience. About Campus, 20(2), 16-23.

Book Chapters

George Mwangi, C. A., Chen, J. H., Chinkondenji, P. (2021). Exploring geopolitics in U.S. campus internationalization plans. In J. J. Lee (Ed.) U.S. power in international higher education. Rutgers University Press.

George Mwangi, C. A. & Yao, C. W. (2021). U.S. higher education internationalization through an equity driven lens: An analysis of concepts, history, and research. In L. W. Perna (Ed.) Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (vol. 36, pp. 549-609). Springer.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2020). Forward. In S. Kommers & K. Bista (Eds). Inequalities in study abroad and student mobility: Navigating challenges and future directions (pp. xxiii-xxvi). Routledge.

Yao, C., George Mwangi, C. A., & Malaney Brown, V. (2020). Exploring the intersections of transnationalism and critical race theory: A critical race analysis of international student experiences in the United States [Invited Reprint]. In L. M. Berger (Ed.) Social justice and international education: Research, practice, and perspectives (pp. 245-266). NAFSA.

Griffin, K. A. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2020). Similar, but not the same: Considering the intersections of race, ethnicity, and nativity in the lives of Black students. In R. T. Teranishi, B. M. D. Nguyen, C. M. Alcantar, & E. R. Curammeng (Eds.) Measuring race: Why disaggregating data matters for addressing educational inequality (pp. 103-118). Teachers College Press.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2019). Working with diverse student populations. In J. D. Mathis, R. M. Rall & T. M. Laudino (Eds.), Fundamentals of college admission counseling: A textbook for graduate students and practicing counselors (5^th). NACAC.

George Mwangi, C. A. & Green, K. (2019). Dialectical engagements & intersectional identities of Black women educators and Latino students in an urban high school classroom. In S. Y. Evans & D. Domingue (Eds.) Black women and social justice education: Legacies and lessons. SUNY Press.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2018). A family affair: Examining the college-going strategies of sub-Saharan African immigrants in the U.S. through funds of knowledge. In J. Kiyama & C. Rios-Aguilar (Eds.) Funds of knowledge in higher education: Honoring students’ cultural experiences and resources as strength (pp. 106-124).

Griffin, K. A., George Mwangi, C. A., & Patterson, S. M. (2017). Moving in and moving through: The experiences of Black immigrant women transitioning into college. In L. Patton & N. Croom (Eds.), Critical perspectives on Black women and college success (pp. 101-112).

George Mwangi, C. A., Peralta, A. M., Fries-Britt, S. & Daoud, N. (2016). Academic motivation and experiences of international students of color in STEM. In K. Bista & C. Foster (Eds.), Exploring the social and academic experiences of international students in higher education (pp. 197-211). IGI Global.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2014). Working with diverse student populations. In J.D. Mathis, R. M. Rall & T. M. Laudino (Eds.), Fundamentals of college admission counseling: A textbook for graduate students and practicing counselors (4^th, pp. 234-250). NACAC.

Commissioned Reports

George Mwangi, C. A. (2021). Not all Black people are African American (But many are). Spencer Foundation.

Bagdonis, J., Guison-Dowdy, A., & George Mwangi, C. A. (2015). A multi-case evaluation of four higher education partnerships: Applying the HED Theory of Change in a retrospective regional evaluation of Albania, Croatia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. USAID.

George Mwangi, C. A. & Bagdonis, J. (2015). Using the HED Theory of Change to conduct a meta-analysis of regional impact assessment findings. USAID.

Book Reviews

George Mwangi, C. A. (2015). Diaspora studies in education: Toward a framework for understanding the experiences of transnational communities [Review of the book]. Teachers College Record, ID Number: 18213.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2013). Family, community and higher education [Review of the book]. Journal of College Orientation and Transition, 20(3), 16-18.

Grants and Fellowships

2025 - 2026, Principal Investigator - Bridge Funding for Advancing Collaborations for Equity in Marine & Climate Science. Spencer Foundation, Kapor Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation ($19,241)

2025, Research Consultant - Uninterrupted Higher Education: An Ecosystem Approach to Supporting Students with Precarious Immigration Statuses. William T. Grant Foundation ($150,000)

2023-2025, Principal Investigator - Advancing Collaborations for Equity in Marine and Climate Science (ACE-MCS). National Science Foundation ($2,308,247)

2023-2025, Senior Personnel - BRinging together Allies In Diversifying Climate and Marine Careers (BRAID-CMC) Alliance Workshop. National Science Foundation ($141,142)

2021-2022, Co-Principal Investigator - From ‘Cash Cows’ to ‘Yellow Peril’: Examining the Positioning of Asian International Students in the United States in Contentious Times. Spencer Foundation ($44,293)

2019-2020, Principal Investigator - Researching diversity, inclusion, and student success: Towards a global campus climate framework. Worldwide Universities Network (£24,048)

2018-2021, Co-Principal Investigator - Examining collective impact in a community-university partnership to broaden girls’ participation in science from middle school to high school graduation. National Science Foundation ($299,267)

2014-2015, Principal Investigator - Foreign-born Black collegians learning race in a U.S. context. NASPA Foundation ($2,500)

Courses Taught

HE 706: College Access & Student Success

HE 606: Cultural Pluralism in Higher Education

HE 610: Research Design in Higher Education

HE 645: The Contemporary College Student

HE 702: Contemporary Issues and Fundamental Theories in Higher Education

HE 710: Leadership in Higher Education

HE 711: Policy Analysis in Higher Education

HE 713: The Internationalization of Higher Education

HE 722: Organization and Administration in Higher Education

Recent Presentations

Keynote Speaker

George Mwangi, C. A. (2024, December). (Anti)Blackness everywhere. Keynote Speaker for Anti-Black Racism in a Global Context event, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2023, December). (Re)Setting the foundation: An equity-driven lens for research with international students. Keynote Speaker for Research with International Students Conference, Manchester, United Kingdom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5x_I96USIM

George Mwangi, C. A. (2022, October). Transforming global learning practice: What has changed? Keynote Speaker for 2022 Conference on Global Learning, American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), Virtual.

George Mwangi, C. A. (2019, April). Keeping pace and pushing forward: Revealing discourses of power and (in)equity in international education research & practice. Keynote Speaker for NAFSA Research Symposium, Loyola University, Chicago, IL.

In the Media

Interviewed by Oluwadiya, B. (2024, Februrary 23). Exploring sense of belonging among Black international students. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) USA LinkedIn Live. https://www.linkedin.com/events/7160355576852463616/comments/

Research quoted by Levy, B. (2023, June 19). A new definintion of internationalization of higher education. GlobalEd.

Research quoted by Fischer, K. (2022, March 21). The administrators who feel erased by COVID. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-administrators-who-feel-erased-by-covid

Research quoted by Sawahel, W. (2022, January 8). U.S. international HE ‘reinforces racism,’ study finds. University World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2022010810042948

Quoted by West, C. (2021, November 2). Social justice pedagogy: A conceptual framework for all international educators. International Educator. https://www.nafsa.org/ie-magazine/2021/11/2/social-justice-pedagogy-conceptual-framework-all-international-educators

Interviewed by Walker, N. (2020, November 4). Dialogue on International Programs. Dignity and Respect in Action: The Podcast. https://anchor.fm/umass-equity-inclusion/episodes/The-UMass-International-Programs-Office-featuring-Kalpen-Trivedi-and-Chrystal-George-Mwangi-em9v14

Interviewed in Leal, F. (2020, September 8). Para além do discurso acadêmico dominante sobre internacionalização da educação superior: Extratos de entrevista com Chrystal George Mwangi, Professora Associada da University of Massachusetts Amherst, Estados Unidos. Iberoamerica Social. https://iberoamericasocial.com/

Quoted in Loo, B. (2019, March 26). International students and experiences with race in the United States. World Education News + Reviews (WENR). https://wenr.wes.org/2019/03/international-students-and-experiences-with-race-in-the-united-states

George Mwangi, C. A. (2019, February 21). Seeing a theme come to life. NAFSA Blog. http://network.nafsa.org/blogs/shanna-saubert/2019/02/21/guest-blog-post-george-mwangi-seeing-a-theme

Interviewed in West, C. (2018, November/December). Research spotlight: Chrystal George Mwangi recipient of the 2018 NAFSA Innovative Research in International Education Award. International Educator.

Onyenekwu, I. & George Mwangi, C. A. (2017, November 27). “Who counts as a Black student” is not a new debate. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/views/2017/11/27/debate-about-who-counts-black-student-not-new-essay