About & Background

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May 19th, 2019 SEA Grad (Southeast Asian Graduation), Pauley Ballroom

May 19th, 2019 SEA Grad (Southeast Asian Graduation), Pauley Ballroom

AAPISC Launch Event: "Twenty Years Later" Report, November 3, 2021, Tilden Room

AAPISC Launch Event: "Twenty Years Later" Report, November 3, 2021, Tilden Room

A group of students and staff around a campfire making smores
10/4/18: "National (In)Security: Japanese American Incarceration, the Muslim Ban, and the Deportation of Southeast Asians" Lec

"National (In)Security: Japanese American Incarceration, the Muslim Ban, and the Deportation of Southeast Asians" Lecture at 100 Boalt Hall on October 4, 2018

A class photo with guest lecturer Dr. Paige Lee of CAPS during the Spring 2016 AAADS 146 course

A class photo with guest lecturer Dr. Paige Lee of CAPS during the Spring 2016 AAADS 146 course

A big group of students in front of an orange wall
A group of students at a park

Our journey towards becoming an AA & PI Thriving institution involves critical investments, including the creation of the Director of Engagement for AA & PI Thriving Strategies role in Spring 2022.

Guided by essential queries, we’re actively sculpting a thriving campus ecosystem for our AA & PI community.

Guiding questions for becoming an AA & PI Thriving institution include:

  • What are the historical legacies we have inherited that shape the institutional experiences of AA & PI communities at UC Berkeley?

  • What are the current spaces and places – physical and metaphorical – where the needs of AA & PI communities are being articulated, addressed, and redressed?  

  • What could a collaborative, intentional, and intersectional campus ecosystem of belonging look like for AA & PI undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni?

AA & PI Community Legacies at UC Berkeley: An Overview

Below please find a listing of additional Asian American and Pacific Islander “institutional milestones” that have led us to this moment, and will continue to serve as the foundation for AA and PI Thriving strategies for our campus moving forward.

  • April 7, 2023: UC Berkeley is designated by the U.S. Department of Education as an “AANAPISI eligible” institution. 
  • Fall 2022: The Filipinx Faculty and Staff Association (FFSA) was created.
  • May 6, 2022: Chancellor Carol Christ endorsed AAPISC’s recommendation that the campus pursue federal designation as an AANAPISI institution. Vice Chancellors Dania Matos (Equity and Inclusion) and Steve Sutton (Student Affairs) agreed to co-create a new staff position dedicated to developing and supporting AA and PI thriving frameworks and strategies for the campus.
  • Fall 2021: The report, “Twenty Years Later: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at UC Berkeley,” was released.
  • Spring 2021: The report, “Pacific Islander Students at Cal,” was released.
  • 2020: The Asian American Research Center was launched.
  • Fall 2019: Chancellor Carol Christ, the Division of Equity and Inclusion, and the Pacific Islander Initiative hosted a town hall with members of the PI campus community and the community at large. 
  • May 2019: The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion hosted the first meeting of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Standing Committee (AAPISC).
  • Spring 2018: The first course dedicated to Hawaiian culture and language at UC Berkeley, “Navigating Hawaiian Language and Culture” DeCal, was created and taught.
  • May 2018: Vice Chancellor of Equity & Inclusion Oscar Dubón agreed to serve as the executive sponsor of an inaugural advisory body of AA and PI students, staff, and faculty dedicated to increasing awareness about and addressing the diverse and complex needs of AA and PI campus communities.
  • 2018: The UC Berkeley Critical Pacific Islands Studies Library Research Guide was created.
  • 2003: The Pacific Islander Commission was established.
  • May 2001: The Campus Advisory Committee for Asian American Affairs summarized, analyzed, and published the proceedings from the 1999 “Asian Pacific Americans at Berkeley: Visibility and Marginality” conference in “Visibility and Marginality, Asian Pacific Americans at Berkeley: A Report to Chancellor Robert Berdahl.” 
  • 1999: The Campus Advisory Committee for Asian American Affairs hosted an inaugural conference for 350 students, staff, faculty, and alumni in October 1999 entitled, “Asian Pacific Americans at Berkeley: Visibility and Marginality.” 
  • 1989: Asian American students, staff, and faculty created the Campus Advisory Committee for Asian American Affairs.
  • May 1989: The Advisory Committee on Asian American Affairs published the first comprehensive report about the status of Asian Americans at UC Berkeley entitled, “Asian Americans at Berkeley: A Report to the Chancellor.”  
  • Fall 1987: Chancellor Ira Heyman appointed Janice Koyama and Dr. Yuan T. Lee as Co-Chairs of the Advisory Committee on Asian American Affairs.
  • 1969: The Department of Ethnic Studies was established at UC Berkeley. 

If you have additions, we invite website edit requests. 

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Asian American & Pacific Islander (AA & PI) Thriving Initiatives topic page