Dear President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Provost Persis Drell, Vice Provost Sarah Church, and Dean Debra Satz,
As leaders of the Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club (SAPAAC), we are following up on an issue of high importance for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community: support for Asian American Studies. Over the past year, our community has been wrongfully blamed for the coronavirus pandemic, Asian-owned businesses have faced economic devastation, and more than 3,800 hate incidents have been reported nationwide. The meteoric rise in racially-motivated incidents underscores the need for Asian American Studies—a field of study that makes visible our community’s contributions and concerns. Asian American Studies affirms that we are an integral part of America’s narrative.
In May 2020, the SAPAAC Board of Directors wrote an open letter to Stanford’s leadership expressing concern about the diminished state of Asian American Studies. The same month, the Asian American Activities Center (A3C) supported a widely circulated petition signed by over 200 alumni to fund a multi-year, full-time lectureship in Asian American Studies. We were pleased to learn that these advocacy efforts contributed to the University’s recent commitment to fund a 3-year lecturer position. However, Asian American Studies still requires basic resources to become a thriving academic program on par with those at peer institutions and befitting a world-class university.
One year later, we continue to hear from AAPI students and alumni deeply concerned about Stanford’s lack of progress in strengthening Asian American Studies since its inception in 1997. The program has experienced strong student demand, yet struggles to offer core courses consistently—a problem linked to lack of full-time faculty and funding. We were also shocked by the recent decision to cut Cantonese language instruction—an allied program serving the AAPI community. Leland Stanford’s fortune was built on the backs of Cantonese railroad workers, and numerous students and alumni view courses in both Asian American Studies and Asian languages as vital to accessing our cultural heritage, building a shared community, and advancing equality and inclusion.
We applaud Provost Drell’s commitment to diversity through the IDEAL initiative and President Tessier-Lavigne’s recent statement in support of the AAPI community. While these are important steps, we hope the University will take concrete action beyond statements of concern to address our community’s needs. Specifically, we ask the University leadership to consider and act on the following:
Establish in perpetuity several tenured faculty roles dedicated full-time to the Asian American Studies program. These faculty would advance education, research, and development of the program’s vision.
Ensure “Introduction to Asian American Studies” and a broad array of other core and elective courses are offered every year, with a commitment to fund the associated teaching faculty and staff in perpetuity.
Restore the Cantonese language program to its previous status of four courses per quarter, every year, taught by a salaried lecturer with benefits. Continue offering a variety of Asian & Pacific Islander language courses—including Filipino/Tagalog, Hawaiian, Hindi, Punjabi, Taiwanese, Tibetan, and Vietnamese among others—to reflect the diversity of the Stanford AAPI community.
Consult SAPAAC as a representative of AAPI stakeholders. Engage with us in longitudinal discussions that include senior University leadership to develop a flourishing set of programs that enhance the Stanford AAPI experience.
Asian American alumni are the largest ethnic group of color among Stanford graduates. We care deeply about Stanford and ensuring it remains a leader in an increasingly diverse society. As past and present elected representatives of the AAPI alumni community, we welcome an ongoing dialogue with you to share how the hopes and aspirations of our community can be actively incorporated into Stanford’s vision—and recognized as integral to a truly inclusive campus. We look forward to your response.
With warmest regards,
Kevin Hsu ‘09 Asian American Studies Coalition (AASC) Chair & former SAPAAC President
Lan Le ‘10 SAPAAC President
Crystal Zheng ‘11 SAPAAC Advocacy Committee Chair
Ron Nakao ‘78 AASC Coordinating Committee Member
Nancy Tseng ‘00 AASC Coordinating Committee Member
Irene H. Yen ‘85 AASC Coordinating Committee Member
On behalf of the SAPAAC Board of Directors & Asian American Studies Coalition
Interested alumni can show your support for this letter by signing your name here
Kathleen Ko Chin, Economics '80, alumni Multi-Cultural Hall of Fame inductee
Marsha Fong, Psychology '77, former SAPAAC Board Member, Co-Chair 2017 Stanford Asian Pacific Alumni Summit
Doug Chan, '76, President, Chinese Historical Society of America
Gloria S Kim, Chemistry '79, Director of Educational Programs at the Stanford Center for Asian Healthcare Research and Education (CARE)
Jacob Wang, Psychology '72, SAPAAC Board Member
Dr. John Chang, Human Biology '93, SAPAAC Board Member
Van Anh Tran '13, M.A. '14, former SAPAAC Treasurer and Board Member
Linda Tran, Asian American Studies '06, M.A. Sociology '07, former SAPAAC President
Mo-Yun Lei Fong, Chemical Engineering '95; M.A. Education '96, former SAPAAC Board Member
Katie Gee Salisbury, Interdisciplinary Humanities '07, M.A. Sociology '08, Chinese Language minor
Thuy-Van (Tina) Hang (formerly Duong) Asian American Studies & Biology '12
Judy Tzu-Chun Wu American Studies '92, A.M. History '93, Ph.D. History '98
Hope Nakamura, Economics '83
Takeo Rivera, CSRE '08, M.A. Modern Thought & Literature '09
Maria Deloso, Earth Systems '15, Stanford Alumni interviewer
Leslie Kim, English '98, Stanford staff
AnQi Yu, Film & Media Studies '21
Calvin Cheung-Miaw, Interdisciplinary Humanities '03; Phd Candidate, Modern Thought and Literature
Andrea Yung, Biology '12
James Li, Computer Science '19, M.S. Computer Science '19
Cynthia Liao Asian American Studies, M.A. Sociology '09
Roger W. Tang, Communications/Geology, '79
Ravi Chandra, MD
David J. Lam, PhD Psychology '70
Viet-Co Tran, History, '17
John W. Young, M.S. Statistic '86, PhD Education '89
Manoj Waikar, Biological Sciences '91
Jacqueline Ramos, Urban Studies '18
Vanuyen Pham, History '18
Melinda Su, MBA '95
Jude Leung, Psychology '02
Jeannie Shu, Psychology
Sabrina Yuan, M.S. GSB '16
Nina Loh, MD '93
Amy Chen, International Relations '01
Jean Lee, Urban Studies '93
Risa Shimoda, General Engineering / Product Design '77
Chester Day, Computer Science '00, Asian American Studies '00
Angela Zhang, International Relations, '16
Joanna Chan, MD
Elsa Tsutaoka, Biology '87
Aya Yagi, French, Music '14
Stanley N Shikuma, Biological Sciences '76
Kenneth Chiang, Political Science '84
Brian Cheu, Psychology '85
Evan Kratzer, JD '20
Sophia Kuo, PhD Cancer Biology
Prof. Jamie Tam, Biology, '10
Jason Pu, Psychology '95
Vivian Gee, '02, M.S. '02
Austyn Toshihiro Lee, Psychology '18
James C. Fong, M.S. EES '72
James Yan, PhD Chemistry '18
Munson Arthur Kwok, Mechanical Engineering '62, M.S. Aero & Astro '63, PhD Aero & Astro '67
Kenneth J. Hong, Anthropology '89, M.A. Sociology '90
Alan Chiu, M.S. GSB '11
Madeleine Lu Wang, Economics '95
Kathryn Han, Sociology '98
Masaru Oka, Physics '10
Steven Chen, Human Biology '95, MD '00
Michael Liu, East Asian Studies '83
Christopher Yeh, Computer Science '19, M.S. Computer Science '19
Meg Chan Feitelberg, Economics, '85
Yvette Yeh Fung, Psychology '82, JD '88
Ellen Lee '91
Colleen Jiang, East Asian Studies '11, International Relations, '11
Kairen Wong, MCS '12; M.S. Statistics '16
Dr. Kalei Inn, PhD Sociology of Education '75
Naoko Fujii, East Asian Studies '85
Amber Wong, Human Biology '77, M.S. Civil Engineering '78
Rosalyn Mahashin, '02
Jeremy Wang, '94
Gina Wei, Economics '16, M.A. Education '17
Jamie Kwan, Art & Art History '11
Joseph Huang, General Engineering '85, M.S. Aero Astro '86, M.S. Civil/Environmental Engineering '92
Karen Kurosawa '20
Elsa Tsutaoka, Biology '87
Emily Burton, M.A. Education '05
Shaw Yean Lim, Mathematics '07, M.S. MS&E '07
Girard D. Lau, Economics '81
Bernadette Cay, Management Science & Engineering '10
Bo-Gay Tong Salvador, Psychology '71
Rose Chan, Communications/International Relations '82
David Wang, Symbolic Systems '15, M.S. Computer Science '17
Nicel Mohamed-Hinds, Physics '19
Yang Lor, Sociology '08
Elizabeth Wong, M.A. Education '12
Sylvia Fan, Mechanical Engineering '92, MSME ‘94
Bill Shen, Public Policy '98
David Yoon, MBA '00
Kyle James Abraham, Asian American Studies '15
Niki Nguyen, Political Science, CSRE minor '21, M.A. Sociology '21