Letter of Support for Ethnic Studies concentration at Brown University

Letter of Support for Ethnic Studies concentration at Brown University
We write as Members of the Board of Directors of the Association for Asian American Studies.
The Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) was founded in 1979 with two aims in mind: to
advance the highest professional standard of excellence in teaching and research in the field of Asian
American Studies, and equally to educate American society about the cultural, economic, political, and
social history of Asian Americans. The AAAS sponsors professional activities to facilitate increased
intellectual exchanges and scholarly collaboration among scholars, researchers, teachers, students, and
community leaders in the field of Asian American Studies.
As members of AAAS, we recognize that student activism around racial inclusion has been fundamental
to the establishment of our field of study. In 1969, student demands for Ethnic Studies programs at San
Francisco State University inspired students across the nation to call for Asian American Studies
programs. As a result, there are more than 50 Asian American Studies departments and programs today.

As faculty, students, and staff in Asian American Studies, we write to
• support students at Brown University and elsewhere who are pressing their colleges and
universities to create a more racially inclusive and just campus climate
• endorse students, faculty, and staff demands for structural and institutional reforms and resources
directed toward the hiring and retention of additional personnel whose research and specialization
focuses on race, gender, and other marginalized social categories
• support the recruitment and retention of more underrepresented students in our colleges and
universities, including Black, Latino, Native American, and Southeast Asian Americans
• commend the positive response of college and university presidents, such as Brown University

President Chris Paxson, who have begun a positive and open dialogue on their campuses to
address student concerns related to racial and ethnic exclusion and discrimination.

Sincerely,

Linda Trinh Vo (President)
Professor
Department of Asian American Studies
University of California, Irvine

Cathy Schlund-Vials (President-Elect)
Associate Professor
English and Asian/Asian American Studies
Director, Asian and Asian American Studies Institute
University of Connecticut, Storrs

Board Members:
Madeline Y. Hsu
Associate Professor, Department of History
Director, Center for Asian American Studies
The University of Texas at Austin
Daniel Y. Kim
Associate Professor
English and American Studies
Brown University
Daryl Maeda
Chair and Associate Professor
Department of Ethnic Studies
University of Colorado Boulder
erin Khue Ninh
Associate Professor
Department of Asian American Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
LeiLani Nishime
Associate Professor
Department of Communication
University of Washington, Seattle
Ray San Diego
Ph.D. Student
Culture and Theory Program
University of California, Irvine
Nitasha Tamar Sharma
Associate Professor
African American Studies and Asian American Studies
Northwestern University
Grace Wang
Associate Professor
American Studies Program
University of California, Davis
Janelle Wong
Professor
American Studies
Director, Asian American Studies
University of Maryland, College Park