Description
Association for Asian American Studies
Recommendation for Discretionary Grant of $50,000 to the Association for Asian American Studies for its AAAS 2030 initiative.”
The Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS), established in 1979, is the primary research and teaching hub for Asian American Studies, an interdisciplinary field born out of the 1960s movements for racial justice, third world liberation, and student activism. Despite its crucial role in promoting understanding of issues related to Asian American and Pacific Islander populations, AAAS is hindered in its ability to fully carry out its mission largely because it is an under-resourced organization that operates with a small volunteer staff. In 2021, Luce provided emergency support to AAAS in the wake of the tragic shootings in Atlanta, enabling the hiring of part-time staff for enhanced outreach and the revamping of the Association’s website to make its collective expertise more publicly accessible.
Beginning at the Association’s 2023 annual conference in Long Beach, CA, I had multiple conversations with AAAS President Pawan Dhingra (Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty at Amherst College), board members, and faculty representatives to explore strategies for strengthening AAAS capacity to better serve its membership and the broader field. The results of these discussions are reflected in this proposal now submitted to Luce and the Asian American Foundation, aiming to envision a more robust AAAS by 2030. Pending approval from our respective leaderships, this project marks the first joint funding endeavor, with contributions evenly divided between Luce and TAAF.
The proposed initiative includes the Association’s first ever self-study to identify priorities and establish a sustainable operating model to better support the production and dissemination of knowledge on Asian America. In addition, Luce funding will enable AAAS to launch a year-long mentorship program, commencing with a full-day, in-person professional development symposium at the 2024 annual meeting in Seattle. This program, tailored for up to 25 tenure-track faculty, prioritizes those newer in their positions and from under-represented disciplines within AAAS, such as K-12 education, public policy, psychology, political science, and the arts. The remaining portion of TAAF support will cover costs for AAAS to assist in a TAAF-commissioned landscape report on Asian American & Pacific Islander Studies in Higher Education.
This grant would advance the Asia Program’s Goal 3 to enrich public discourse about Asia and about Asian American and Asian diaspora experiences in the U.S., and encourage dialogue between and among U.S., Asian, Asian American and Asian diaspora publics.
Submitted by Yuting Li
