Rutgers Asian American Studies

October 15, 2008

Dear Rutgers Administration,

We, the undersigned, believe that Rutgers University needs to establish an Asian American Studies program as a part of its undergraduate education curriculum. Although Rutgers already offers the Asian Languages and Cultures program, it does not substitute for Asian American Studies. The former concerns Asian studies in a foreign context while the latter relates to these studies in an American context. By offering Asian American Studies as a major and/or minor, Rutgers will not only acknowledge the programвs demand and importance as a separate discipline from Asian Languages and Cultures, but will also find opportunities to strengthen its eminent status as a research university within this field.

For an institution whose undergraduate enrollment make-up, as of 2007, comprises 23\% of students who identify themselves as Asian, the absence of an Asian American Studies program is striking. It is true that the prominence of Asian students as a minority group is not necessarily indicative of the demand for Asian American Studies nor is the discipline intended to cater only to this group. For instance, Michigan State University, a public institution like Rutgers, offers Asian Pacific American Studies even though the Asian/ Pacific Islander representation makes up only 5\% of its 2007 undergraduate population. The large attendance in Rutgers, however, certainly urges the need to acknowledge and understand the history and presence of Asians in America and such resources should be available to any interested student. This program should be instilled as a gesture of recognizing a minority group whose contributions to the building of America, whose legal discrimination in history, and whose current participation in the American community are largely overlooked.

As for research, Asian American Studies provides fecund opportunities for scholarly publications. UCLA, a fellow member of the Association of American Universities, displays this promise through its reputation as a leading research institution in the arena of Asian American Studies. Although UCLA is one of many universities and colleges that include Asian American Studies in its undergraduate education, this institutionвs success and expansion of the field reveals the fertile potential of this discipline. Since 1971, one year after its inception, the faculty involved in this department published over 200 books in the field as well as works in various leading scholarly journals such as Amerasia Journal. By investing in Asian American Studies, Rutgers will be able to attract faculty who are specifically interested in this newly developed department. These members may contribute to the widening of the universityвs already impressive breadth in research, thereby increasing the prestige of the university.

The addition of Asian American Studies will be able to serve as a repository department for the Asian American courses which are already offered. The department will allow for greater visibility of these current courses and will hopefully expand to meet the pressing demands of the students and staff. The inclusion of Asian American Studies in the undergraduate education enhances the curriculum by acknowledging the history and presence of Asians in America, providing these resources for all students, expanding the universityвs research opportunities, and attracting promising faculty who may bolster the prestige of Rutgers University.