AAAS Self Study: THE FUTURE STARTS NOW

Dear AAAS members:

We currently live in disturbing times. At a moment when ethnic studies and critical race studies have been institutionalized in the academy, the current political climate has threatened their future existence. As part of the collective political and educational efforts toward equity and justice, AAAS is committed to continue its work despite these challenges. In order to respond to our struggle to maintain, strengthen, and expand Asian American Studies, the association is conducting a self-study in order to have a clearer view of the wishes, needs, and aspirations of our members. In order to pursue our future plans, we need to grasp the current state of the association in order to plan for its future particularly in terms of grants, fund-raising, and most importantly, adequately and sensitively responding programmatically to the membership.

In the coming months, our consultants Eric Wat and Sarah Chee will lead a series of listening sessions and key stakeholder interviews, leading to a survey to our general membership in the fall. We need input from everyone in order to solidify our findings and our resolve. We appreciate your timely response to keep moving this work forward. The Association strongly encourages you to participate in the activities in the next coming months. This is not just one of those mindless surveys, it is the basis for the future continuance and growth of AAAS’s mission. 

If you have any questions about the self-study, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. 

Sincerely,
Martin F. Manalansan IV
President