This dissertation explores the transregional impacts of the 1949 Chinese communist revolution on diasporic Chinese students and scholars in Cold War Asia and Asian America. It argues that higher education was a key site of contestation in the U.S.-China Cold War tensions of the 1950s, where American efforts to contain and isolate communist China…

This study explored the experiences and contributions of South Asian Americans actively engaged in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the realm of higher education. The research question that framed this study was: What are the lived experiences of South Asian American DEI educators in higher education? Supporting…

As a panethnic label, "Asian American" represents over 20 national origin groups as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau (Budiman & Ruiz, 2021). Although Pilipina/x/os are one of the largest Asian American groups in the United States, they have been misunderstood within Asian America due to their colonial history as well as East…

In this study, I investigate how the rhetoric used in university responses to anti-Asian violence maintained institutional status quos to protect whiteness in higher education. Using whiteness as futurity as a theoretical framework, I employed document analysis to analyze 54 statements in response to the tragic mass shooting in Atlanta in March of…

Despite increasing undergraduate enrollment, Asian Americans remain disproportionately underrepresented in leadership positions across professional fields. This highlights the importance for higher education institutions to critically examine their role in preparing students for both personal growth and navigating career pathways beyond the…

Research concerned with race in higher education often utilizes terms like Asian American, AAPI, API, APA, and APIDA interchangeably, with a limited grounding in theories of racial formation and panethnicity. Without adequate conceptual grounding, haphazard uses of such terms can lead to imprecise scholarship; and worse, perpetuate a form of…

The purpose of this study is to understand how Asian American Women (re)conceptualize leadership given their racialized and gendered experiences with oppression within higher education. Asian American Women leaders' stories are not represented in the traditional leadership theories dominated by white male heteronormative perspective that creates a…

Purpose and Method of Study: The purpose of this study is to delve into the bicultural heritage and educational experiences of East Asian American women, exploring their path to leadership roles. Using qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews, the investigation sheds light on the unique challenges and opportunities faced…

In the United States, Asian American students in higher education fields are regarded as members of a "model minority" group for their perceived high levels of educational attainment and household income. Even though many scholars have developed a growing interest in understanding and identifying the ever-changing and evolving racialized…

Asians and Asian Americans in the USA have long been a part of a contentious racial history, yet the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted discriminatory stereotypes and beliefs. As revealed through this discourse analysis, Asian international students were simultaneously positioned as scapegoats, bearers of disease, cash cows, and political pawns, all…

This critical hermeneutic phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of Asian American women leaders in higher music education, in order to address their historic and ongoing underrepresentation in leadership roles. Asian Americans comprise a large percentage of students in schools of music and are represented at higher numbers…

In one of the most diverse states in the nation, it is not surprising that public college students in California are incredibly diverse--71% of the student body is racially/ethnically diverse, with nearly half (45%) of students identifying as Latinx and only about one in four (23%) identifying as white. Unfortunately, that diverse representation…

Research has shown that Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students face higher education challenges that go unnoticed due to the Model Minority Myth (Chang et al., 2007; Chang, 2011; Maramba, 2008a; Maramba, 2008b; Maramba & Palmer, 2014; Museus, 2009; Museus & Chang, 2009; Museus & Kiang, 2009; Museus & Maramba, 2011;…

This study sought to address the dearth in literature on South Asian fraternities and sororities by exploring the ways in which Desi/South Asian students in Asian American Greek-letter organizations (AAGLOs) experience belonging at AANAPISIs. While Accapadi's (2005) seminal study found that Desi/South Asian fraternities and sororities create…

This qualitative research study is an endarkened narrative inquiry that tells the stories of how endarkened collegiate women know themselves as leaders or worldbuilders, trace their lineage as leaders or worldbuilders, and hope to (re)member themselves as leaders or worldbuilders. Featuring endarkened storywork, the findings honor the narrative…