1970s
-The Asian American Alliance was established; it disbanded
several years later.
-The Korean Undergraduate Student Association (KUSA, now KASA)
was founded.
1983
-The Vietnamese Students Association was established.
1985 - 1986
-The Asian American Association was founded, with Assistant
Dean Yuki Llewellyn as its first sponsor.
1987 - 1988
-The first Midwest Asian American Students (MAAS) Conference
was held at the University of Illinois.
1990 - 1991
-The Asian Pacific American Coalition to Combat Oppression,
Racism, and Discrimination (ACCORD) was formed to promote
APA community needs and concerns. ACCORD is credited for first
initiating and promoting the need for an APA Cultural Center
at UIUC.
-The Taiwanese American Students Club was formed.
1991 - 1992
-In the spring, Anthropology Professor Nancy Abelmann taught
Anthropology 298 Korean Diaspora, Koreans in the United
States, Japan, Soviet Union, and China: Ethnicity, Class,
and Gender.
1992 - 1993
-A new coalition continued ACCORD's petition drive to pursue
the creation of a cultural center; a petition for the center
was presented to university Administration.
-The Asian American Artists Collective (publishers of Monsoon
Literary Journal) was formed.
-The Asian American Alumni Association (AAAA), Hindu Students
Council (HSC), and Asian American Pacific Islander -Law Students
Association (AAPILSA) were established.
-Anthropology Professor Clark Cunningham and other invited
guest lecturers taught the first semester of Sociology/Anthropology
287 Asian American Experiences.
1993 - 1994
-The Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) was formed.
-The new APA Cultural Center proposal was presented to university
Administration.
-In April, Sociology Professor John Lie and Nancy Abelmann
co-organized the SSRC conference, "Transnational Korea,"
at the U of I.
1994 - 1995
-The first Asiantation, an Asian Pacific American
new student orientation was conducted.
-The Asian Pacific American Resource Board (APARB, now APARC)
was formed as a result of dialogue between students and Chancellor
Michael Aiken.
-The Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU) Conference
was held at U of I.
-In the spring, initially developed as a discovery course,
Professor Pallassana R. Balgopal taught the first semester
of what would become Social Work 297 Asian Families in
America.
-Graduate students Anne Tanaka and Tai Chang co-taught LAS
110 Introduction to Asian American Literature.
1995 - 1996
-The first APA Teach-in on lack of APA studies
was held; Northwestern University and Illinois State University
students also attended.
-The first three-day APA Film Festival with Asian and Asian
American directors at U of I was showcased.
-APA student leaders met with university administration, in
particular, Assistant Provost David Liu, to discuss the establishment
of an APA studies program.
-An ad-hoc APA studies committee was formed, chaired by Professor
John Lie.
-A UIUC Lambda Phi Epsilon colony chapter, an Asian fraternal
organization, was founded.
1996 - 1997
-Jonathan Ying was hired as the first Assistant
Dean of Students for APA student affairs.
-APAC and APA students rallied to increase awareness of hate
crimes following a series of racist incidents on campus.
-Political Science Professor Wendy Tam was hired.
1997 - 1998
-The Asian American Studies Committee (AASC)
was reorganized with Professor George T. Yu appointed as chair
and -Clark Cunningham appointed as vice-chair.
-AASC Staff Associate Lena Choe was hired.
-English Professor Juliana Chang was hired for the following
academic year.
-The first AASC student interns selected -- Anita Banerji,
James Bui, and Mohammad Faisal Hadi.
-The brown bag seminar series in Asian American studies was
established.
-Faculty searches in anthropology and social work were begun.
1998 - 1999
-The Asian American Studies Executive Committee's
second year members included Professors George Yu, Pallassana
R. Balgopal, Clark Cunningham, Nancy Abelmann, doctoral candidate
Debjani Mukherjee, and undergraduates Jim Albovias and Mohammad
Faisal Hadi. Undergraduates Sam Shin and Alice Cho served
as interns for the program.
-Anthropology Professor Martin Manalansan, EPS Professor Yoon
Pak, and Psychology Professor Sumie Okazaki were hired for
the following academic year.
-Notable events for the year included a keynote address by
Prof. Gary Okihiro (Cornell), the spring film series, and
council meetings on ethnic studies and student involvement
in Asian American Studies.
-Work on a minor program in Asian American Studies continued,
headed by Professor Chang's Courses & Curriculum subcommitee.
1999 - 2000
-Graduate Assistant Ida Fadzillah was hired.
-Jim Albovias and Faisal Hadi left the Executive Committee
after graduation, undergraduate Paula Kim was appointed to
the committee along with Professor Chang. Undergraduates Mai
Dinh, Monica Zarazua, and Sophoan Khoen served as interns
for the committee.
-Staff Associate Sharon Lee was hired during the spring semester.
-History Professor Augusto Espiritu, Sociology Professor Moon-Kie
Jung, and Theatre Professor Esther Kim were hired for the
following academic year.
2000 - 2001
-The AASC became an ethnic studies program
under the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the program
began developing an interdisciplinary minor.
-Notable events for the year included a Working Paper Series
highlighting new works in Asian American Studies, a film series
co-sponsored with the Asian Educational Media Service and
invited filmmaker Regge Life, a lecture on the Wen -Ho Lee
case by Ling Chi Wang (UC Berkeley) and the Spring Council
meeting which featured Shamina Singh, former executive director
of the White House Commission on API Affairs.
-The AASP also hosted the first ever meeting of Asian American
Studies programs in the Big Ten System, co-hosted with the
Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC).
-Graduate Assistant Yoo Jung Kong was hired for spring semester.
Interns for the 2000-2001 year included: Stephanie Lee Moy,
Emily Wu, Monica Zarazua (Fall 2000), Jennifer Lau (Spring
2001), and Michelle Yu (Spring 2001).
-A post-doctoral fellowship program began with one position
open for the 2001-2002 year.
2001 - 2002
-The program continued the work of developing
curricula and a minor. It welcomed its first post-doctoral
fellow Min Song from Boston College, new graduate assistant
Kapila Sankaran, a visiting scholar Susan Moynihan from Purdue,
and three new interns: Katherine Chuu, Frances Gestoso, and
Cate Macapagal for the 2001-2002 year.
-Events during the year include the first ever all-state conference
in conjunction with the Office of the Governor to discuss
Asian American Studies in Illinois in November 2001.
-Work on the moved AASP house continued.
2002 - 2003
-The AAS house was renovated and open to the public at 1208
W. Nevada.
-The minor in AAS was made available for students.
-Kent A. Ono, of U.C. Davis, was hired as the program's director.
-The internship was made available for independent study credits
under AAS 290.
