Every time Dr. Larry Shinagawa teaches his "Introduction to Asian American Studies" course at the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park, he finds that 10 to 20 percent of his students are adoptees. Among other things, they hunger to better comprehend the social and political circumstances overseas leading to their adoption. In…

Even as a little girl, Dr. Nitasha Sharma aspired to become a college professor like her parents, whose careers let the family spend entire summers or longer in either her mother's native Brooklyn, New York, or her father's native India. She dreamed of long vacations as a grown-up and going home for lunch on weekdays. But during a stay in India…

When Dr. Chia Youyee Vang arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee five years ago, numerous Hmong students along with community residents called for more courses specifically examining their life experiences. Now, her university offers a certificate in Hmong diaspora studies. It's part of a growing tide within Asian American studies--more…

The author reports on the growing debate among educators on whether the umbrella Asian Pacific Islander label conceals disparities among Asian American students or provides political power in numbers. Nationally, experts say that support services aimed at not only Southeast Asians, but all Asian Pacific Islander students, remain scarce in higher…

This article describes the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston which complements students' career tracks and engages them in the surrounding Asian American community. For many educators, large numbers of graduates are not only a bragging right, but a goal. However, those involved in the Asian American…

For years, New York health-care providers have treated Asian-Americans afflicted by serious, even life-threatening illnesses with ever-increasing frequency. Many doctors in the nation's largest city agreed that Asians seemed particularly at risk for specific health problems, but there was neither research nor statistics supporting physician…

Since its inception in 2000, Pan-Asian American Community House's (PAACH's) education mission has bridged Asian-American studies to student life. PAACH initiatives have helped spread Asian-American diaspora to thousands of students at the University of Pennsylvania. They have also helped students determine for themselves what it means to be a…

This article reports on the popularity of golf, which grew in Seoul after it held the 1988 Olympics, and the emergence and competitiveness of Korean golfers in which U.S. college coaches are now witnessing. According to Dr. Kyeyoung Park, an associate professor of anthropology and Asian American studies at the University of California, Los…

Many efforts have helped increase the number of women and ethnic minorities in college presidencies the past two decades, but Asian Americans have not kept pace with other historically underrepresented demographics. In fact, Asian American presidents are barely replacing themselves on the national landscape as they retire. This fact appears even…

This article discusses the initiatives of Purdue University President France Cordova in boosting minority and female representation among administration and students and in improving overall undergraduate performance. Dr. France Cordova is by no means the first college president to declare increasing the presence of women and minorities on campus…

Asian American college students are often stereotyped as immersed in math clubs or networking groups for future engineers or doctors. However, the campus groups that Asians most commonly join are actually Christian fellowships, educators say. In fact, Asian membership in the ministries has exploded in recent years and is most striking at the most…

Historically, the absence of Asian-Pacific Islanders (APIs) from college sports has been due largely to the lack of role models in professional and amateur leagues. For years, coaches on the recruiting trail overlooked Asian athletes, often dismissing them as too small, too slow and too wrapped up in their studies. API parents, meanwhile, often…

As Butler University President Bobby Fong was reviewing applications a few years ago for a national fellows program that grooms future leaders of higher education, he casually asked how many Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) were under consideration. None. The reason was that not one applied. A disappointed Fong urged the American Council on…