Columbia Asian American Initiative

Asian Americans have long been left out of our national narrative. More than half of Americans cannot name a famous Asian American or identify a significant event or policy related to Asian Americans. The invisibility of Asians in the American imagination is a reflection of the invisibility of Asian Americans in our curricula. Only two percent of four-year U.S. colleges and universities have a program in Asian American Studies. Yet the American project cannot be fully or accurately understood without Asian American narratives.

The Asian American Initiative (AAI) aims to remedy these omissions by making the experiences of Asian Americans central to our understanding of America. Leveraging Columbia’s extraordinary convening power to stimulate research and foster interdisciplinary dialogue, Columbia will create the premier program in Asian American Studies.