Higher Ground: My American Dreams and Nightmares in the Hidden Halls of Academia

When Linda Katehi was six years old, growing up in war-ravaged Greece, she turned to her mother and said, "I do not want to be poor!" Her mother replied: "Then go to school and be a good student. This is the only thing that can save you."

She relentlessly pursued the dream that was born that day, overcoming sexism and xenophobia to graduate college as one of two women in her class and become a highly respected innovator in the male-dominated field of engineering. It was an American Dream, e...