CMSI Releases New Guide on Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
Philadelphia, Pa., June 11, 2019— To commemorate a decade of the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) designation and call attention to the research associated with these institutions, the Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) has published a guide that provides an overview on scholarship related to AANAPISIs.
In response to the diverse needs of underserved and underrepresented Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, the AANAPISI designation was introduced in 2007 by the U.S. Department of Education. Since its establishment, these institutions have been scarcely explored. The guide titled, “Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions: A Resource Guide,” encourages readers to engage in work related to AANAPISIs and further investigate how these institutions are uplifting and supporting AAPI communities.
“We hope this guide will inform the growing foundation of work on AANAPISIs,” says Thai-Huy Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Education at Seattle University, CMSI Senior Research Associate, and one of the authors of the guide.
The guide, a resource that spotlights the current literature on AANAPISIs, is intended to be a point of entry for scholars interested in further exploring these institutions. Using foundational questions to organize the content, the guide also provides references that readers can utilize as starting points to propose new inquiries related to the designation.
One of the lead authors and a graduate student in the Student Development Administration program at Seattle University, Willa M. Kurland shares “This was truly a collective endeavor and represents the power of collaboration and knowledge-sharing among scholars, practitioners, and administrators. The resource guide has allowed us to elevate the often misunderstood and misrepresented narrative of AANAPISIs and the students they serve.”
In addition to underscoring the scholarship related to AANAPISIs, the guide concludes with recommendations for future research and a call to action. Researchers and administrators are urged to consider how the designation impacts not only students but institutional identity, infrastructure, and initiatives.
“Being an Asian American, working on this guide has been critically significant to my academic journey. It has allowed me to feel both seen and heard. And if I feel that, I know there are others who also feel that," says Nicolas W. K. S. Lee, one of the guide’s lead authors and a graduate student in the Student Development Administration program at Seattle University.
The guide comes free of charge and is readily available on our website. Full copies of the guide can be found here.
About The Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions
The Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions brings together researchers and practitioners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions. The Center’s goals include: elevating the educational contributions of MSIs; ensuring that they are a part of national conversations; bringing awareness to the vital role MSIs play in the nation’s economic development; increasing the rigorous scholarship of MSIs; connecting MSIs’ academic and administrative leadership to promote reform initiatives; and strengthening efforts to close educational achievement gaps among disadvantaged communities. For further information about the Center, please visit www.gse.upenn.edu/cmsi.
