To: President Marc Tessier-Levigne, Provost Persis Drell, Vice President Howard Wolf, Dean Mona Hicks, and Dean Debra Satz
We, the Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club (SAPAAC) Board, write to share our enthusiasm for two Fall Quarter developments at the University:
We celebrate the appointment of Linda Tran as the new Director of the Asian American Activities Center (A3C) and Associate Dean of Students. We are extremely proud that the A3C brings together diverse students from all years, empowering them to make new friends, engage in organizing and advocacy, and share their distinct cultures. The A3C hosts numerous interns, whose projects engage our Asian American community. It serves students as a home away from home, with spaces for meeting, socializing, learning, and simply hanging out—particularly critical as we recover from the isolation of the pandemic. Linda has an exemplary record of leadership in our community, from her days as a Stanford student to her past role as SAPAAC President. We have already seen positive results from her first quarter at Stanford, welcoming students back to campus and hosting events during New Student Orientation (NSO), a speaker series on “Finding Your Place” and campus resources, and Sib Family events. We look forward to many more years with the A3C in the care of Linda, and her dedicated A3C staff members Dr. Jerald Adamos and Latana Thaviseth.
We also extend a warm welcome to Dr. Thaomi Michelle Dinh, the new Associate Director of the Asian American Studies (AAS) Program. The Program offers core AAS courses for Stanford students of all backgrounds to explore the wide-ranging history and present-day experiences of Asian Americans, from the struggle for political and social inclusion to creative contributions in art and literature. We are particularly excited about Dr. Dinh’s interest in enhancing the undergraduate academic experience through expanded AAS course offerings. We are confident that the AAS program will continue to grow through the leadership of Dr. Dinh and the program director, Professor Steve Sano.
With the appointments of Associate Dean Linda Tran and Dr. Michelle Dinh, Stanford is renewing its commitment to maintain crucial resources for the Asian American student community. We applaud this maintenance, and call on Stanford to work with students, alumni, faculty and staff to explore how the University can expand support to Asian American students with concrete actions and dedicated resources.
Sincerely,
The SAPAAC Board
Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club
Kevin Fan Hsu, ‘09 and MS ‘11 (Secretary, SAPAAC)
Josephine Lau, ’02 and MA ‘04
Caroline Lee, PhD ‘09
Evelyn Mei, MS ‘17
Shizu Munekata, MA ’83
Jin Park, ‘91
Katie Gee Salisbury, ‘07
Risa Shimoda, ‘77
Connie Chan Wang, MA ‘05
Jennifer Xiong, ‘22
Cyndy Yu-Robinson, ‘87 (President, SAPAAC)
Catherine Zhao, MA ‘17
Crystal Zheng, ’10 and MA ‘11 (Chair, Advocacy & Education)