Ron Hira Ph.D., P.E. is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Howard University. Ron is also a research associate with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC. Prior to joining Howard, Ron served on the faculty of the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Hira has written widely on offshoring, high-skilled immigration, innovation, employment relations, and the decline of the middle class. He recently co-edited the book Engineering Globalization Reshoring & Nearshoring: Management & Policy Issues (World Scientific, 2018). Hira is co-author of the book, Outsourcing America (AMACOM 2005; 2nd edition 2008), a finalist for best business book in the PMA's Benjamin Franklin Awards. The Boston Globe called Outsourcing America an "honest, disturbing look at outsourcing." The Washington Post described the book as a "thorough and easy to grasp primer on the wrenching outsourcing debate."
Hira has testified numerous times before the U.S. Congress about high-skilled immigration and offshoring. Previously, Ron worked as a control systems engineer and program manager with Sensytech, NIST, and George Mason University.
Ron completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University's Center for Science, Policy, and Outcomes. He holds a Ph.D. in public policy and M.S. in electrical engineering from George Mason University, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University. He is a licensed professional engineer and a senior member of IEEE.
Public Policy
George Mason University
2002
Electrical Engineering
George Mason University
1991
Electrical Engineering
Carnegie-Mellon University
1988
I am recognized as an expert on offshoring, STEM and engineering workforce policy, and high- skilled immigration.
2017-18 IEEE Congressional Fellow, $80,000.
Consultant to National Science Foundation grant, “Pathways to S&E Professions: Investigating Persistence and Career Choice for Bachelor's and Master's Graduates,” awarded to Rutgers University, PIs Hal Salzman and Michelle Van Noy. Award No. 1561687. Award date: April 12, 2016.
PI for NSF grant of $87,658 to organize workshop on Engineering Globalization. Completed May 2012.
Rochester & the Innovation Economy Lecture Series, organized with Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, ~$10,000 (RIT internal organizations), 2010.
RIT Immigration Policy Lecture Series, organized with communication professor Andrea Hickerson, $9,000 (internal and external sponsors) 2011-12.
Commissioned two immigration policy papers, Economic Policy Institute, $23,000.
Commissioned book chapter, Alliance for American Manufacturing, $25,000.
Co-PI for “Globalization and the National Interest,” funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation through Economic Policy Institute, ~$300,000.
Commissioned paper, Science & Engineering Workforce Policy, Commission on Professionals in Science & Technology, $13,500.
Consultant to U.S. House of Representatives‟ Committee on Science & Technology, $20,000.
Provost’s Learning Innovation Grant, with James Winebrake and Margaret Bailey, $6,250.
Sloan Industry Centers Grant to study “Printing Industry Offshoring,” approximately $20,000, during calendar year 2005.
Read: Newsweek | China Welcomes Foreign Tech Workers as US Increases H1-B Visa Fee
Read: The Financial Express | ‘H-1B visa holders are average-grade labour’: Indian-origin howard professor sparks debate
Read: NPR | Trump's new $100K fee on H-1B visas will hurt the tech companies trying to woo him
Read: The New Yorker | Why the MAGA Fight Over H-1B Visas Is Crossing Party Lines
Read: PBS | Here's why experts think Trump took 'a sledgehammer' to the H-1B visa worker program
Read: The Washington Post | Trump administration to get tough on companies that misuse the H-1B visa
This multi-volume set covers a wide range of topics on innovation, which are all of great interest to academics, policymakers, university administrators, state and regional economic development officials, and students. Two unique features of the volume are the large body of global evidence on innovation presented and its consideration of the following timely and important topics in innovation: cybersecurity, open innovation, the globalization of R&D, and university technology transfer. Innovation is a topic of great importance in many fields in business administration, such as management, strategy, operations management, finance, marketing, and accounting, as well as in numerous social science disciplines, including economics, sociology, political science, and psychology. This volume fully reflects such interdisciplinary approaches.
Volume 2 is focused on the managerial and public policy implications of the globalization of R&D. This set is essential reading for those who wish to have a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents and consequences of innovation.
Outsourcing America: The True Cost of Shipping Jobs Overseas And What Can Be Done About It
One of the most controversial topics in the news is the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries. Outsourced jobs have extended well beyond the manufacturing sector to include white-collar professionals, particularly in information technology, financial services, and customer service. Outsourcing America reveals just how much outsourcing is taking place, what its impact has been and will continue to be, and what can be done about the loss of jobs.
STEM Workforce: STEM Education and the Post-Scientific Society
An assumption is often made that STEM shortages can be remedied by either increasing the number of STEM graduates or enlarging STEM labor supply through immigration. Yet in some STEM fields, there are classic signs of adequate supply or even oversupply. The issue is further complicated by nonlinear career dynamics and rapidly evolving international pressures. The goals of this special issue are to summarize the research, and more importantly, to go beyond the current debate to identify critical policy issues in preparing individuals for STEM careers that are personally satisfying and meeting the needs of industry and the public sector. A common theme is that broader skill sets will be required that span STEM and non-STEM fields. However, political and other expedient considerations have continued to shape workforce policies.
Outsourcing STEM Jobs: What STEM Educators Should Know
The paper reviews the theories about which jobs will be vulnerable to outsourcing and the empirical data. It describes the political and policy discussion about STEM outsourcing and how it has been coupled with the STEM workforce shortage debate. Lastly, it explores the implications for STEM educators, workers, and students.
In this episode of Moment of Truth, Nick sits down with Dr. Ron Hira, a Howard University professor and expert on skilled immigration, to unpack the broken H-1B visa system and its impact on U.S. workers. Dr. Hira exposes how the program’s random lottery—flooded by outsourcing giants—prioritizes cheap labor over merit.
