Ritu Jha–
Hundreds of higher education leaders, administrators, faculty members from various colleges, universities, and students attended the first-ever Education Leadership Summit focused on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPIs) and hosted by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Held at the University of California, Berkeley on April 2; though the Vice President could not attend, Erika L. Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Senior Liaison at the White House read the letter from Kamala Harris that said: “The President and I are working to end disparities in educational outcomes for AA and NHPI youth and students of all ages.
“We are also committed to advancing educational equity. That is why we have invested over $6 billion in Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander serving institutions, and we have taken new steps to lower costs and make higher education more accessible. Additionally, we have forgiven nearly $144 billion in student debt for almost four million Americans.”
Harris also highlighted on the growing hate crime against the Asian community said: “We are also working to ensure that all people across our Nation can live free from violence, hate, and fear.”
Caroline Goon, director of external affairs of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, told indica on the sidelines of the conference, “It’s an honor for us to be able to convene on a national scale to talk about policy issues, and focus on professional and leadership development for these folks who work in the Higher Ed space because we want to think about the future of our workforce. These breakout sessions are designed to equip and train the next generation of leaders who can be on the stage next time we do this.”
On Indian American and international students facing a lot of challenges, including mental health issues, Goon said: “We have been going around the country doing listening tours at different campuses. We were at the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus, and at Queen’s College. We’re hoping to be able to go to a few more universities this year. We started the listening tour late last year. When we’re there, we do listening sessions with students to better understand what is happening on their campus, and what needs to be done. We bring our colleagues from other parts of the federal government with us so that we can really hear from the students, faculty, and staff. We are trying to do what we can in Higher Ed.”
Santa Ono, president of the University of Michigan, and a speaker at the conference, feels that in the higher education sector, Asian American leadership is the most underrepresented. “These gatherings where people can mentor each other and share best practices and experiences are extremely important. I’m very grateful to the Biden administration for organizing this event,” Ono told indica.
“It’s incumbent upon not only the university but also the nation and the state to do everything they can to support international students. We have many international students from India, incredibly bright and very resourceful. We have to do everything we can to make their acclimatization easy and to be supportive of them because many of them end up staying in the US,” Ono said.
Ajay Nair, President of Arcadia University, during a panel with Ono on Effective leadership in Higher Education, shared his life story with the audience.
“My story begins when my mother came to the US from India. She was already married to my father and had given birth to my older brother. She made her way to the Middle East and then eventually to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I was born and raised. She was separated from my father and older brother for several years. She didn’t have a college degree but had the technical training as a nurse. And there was a high demand for healthcare workers in the 60s. Unfortunately, when I was 10 years old, she passed away. She was the founder and breadwinner in our family and a source of inspiration for me even today. I share this story because for me, being in education, and higher education in particular, is in many ways to pay tribute and
to honor her legacy of courage and ambition, all the things that we love about our mothers. I carry that forward, and it’s part of who I am,” Nair said.
Karthick Ramakrishnan, professor of public policy at UC Riverside and the founder and executive director of AAPI data attended as well and talked to indica about a myth surrounding Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “One thing we always try to combat is the model minority myth that Asian Americans and Pacific islanders are all succeeding, and they all go through the educational system in a certain way, that they don’t need any kind of special attention and support. But we know that many members of our community do need that. Immigrant students and, people who come from refugee backgrounds, especially with the pandemic, suffer from mental health issues, like any other young person. On top of that, language, and access for parents to be effective in terms of interfacing with the educational system. There are a lot of needs and challenges there. This summit recognizes the importance of special needs and challenges that Asian and other international students face and being able to support them,” Ramakrishnan told indica.
“At the college level, mental health support is needed, and support for students of different immigrant statuses. Especially at the community college level. In California, there are more Asian American students in the community college system than in the Cal State and the UC system. That’s why it’s really important for us to pay attention to the community.”
Vikash Reddy, vice president of research of a non-profit Campaign for College Opportunity expanded on the model minority myth told indica, “The model minority myth says that all Asian Americans are high-performing. But there’s a lot of variation within the community. You’ve got to think about different waves of migration that Asian Americans coming during the Vietnam War and Korean War era, come with a very different social capital than Asian Americans arriving previously. We need a system that people know about and understand and one that can support students from different backgrounds.”
Galvin Deleon Guerrero, President, Northern Marianas College, also on leadership panel told indica: “It’s really important that more attention is being drawn to the experience of AA and NHPIs in higher education, because it’s one of the fastest growing populations, but it’s one of the least funded groups. We find ourselves constantly having to assert ourselves to remind everyone that we are part of the American political family.”
Pallavi Guha, assistant professor of journalism at Towson University, an attendee at the conference, feels that “it’s very important that we start having these conversations focusing on the Higher Ed industry. Journalism is a small part of Higher Ed challenges and issues that we are facing here. I learned so much at the conference about funding that can be given to support institutions that are minority-serving. I belong to an institution that is a majority-minority institution, but I haven’t come across any funding that is for Asian American students or populations. I think all of these conversations would only help Asian American students. There are Asian American students who are interested in STEM, in business a lot. After having taught for almost a decade in journalism in different universities, I don’t see still a lot of Asian Americans in my classrooms. I hope that is also a conversation that we continue to have as a community.”
Another attendee, Khydeeja Alam, Community Leader and Executive Director, the California Commission on APIA Affairs, also felt that the South Asian representation at such conferences should improve. “There needs to be more South Asian representation in these events.
And that starts with taking the initiative to be more thoughtful about having representation from our communities,” Alam told indica. She also feels that mental health is an issue, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. “Mental health issues are across the board for all communities and they need to be tackled. What I’ve been hearing from our communities is hate is on the rise as well. Freedom of speech on campuses is really important, especially what our Arab American community is going through in light of the developments in Israel and Palestine. I urge our leaders to be mindful that they’re being equitable in their response and are listening to students and faculty on how to best represent and be mindful of how they can support a lot of these communities. Convening people is one thing we should be doing more of. When you bring such an amazing group of people together, there are bound to be sparks and aha moments that folks can take back to their own institutions.”
[Photos courtesy: Indica and Brandon Alexis Sanchez Mejia (University of California, Berkeley)]
