I really noticed this when reading the page for a grad school at a nearby university, maybe one of the students on any of the research teams in the department were American.
I think this is more likely caused by grad school being a poor investment for the average American but a great investment for a foreign student looking to get a job in America.
Yeah this was my initial thought as well. In fairness, the program was also somewhat niche.
Were they not American or did they not have traditionally white Anglo-Saxon names?