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Congressman Robert Underwood (Guam). Photo by The Associated Press.
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Bill to Designate APA Serving Institutions
APAs have often been overlooked due to ‘model minority’ stereotype
By Ji Hyun Lim
AsianWeek Staff Writer
Until recently, Asian Pacific Americans were often overlooked when it came to government funding in higher education, but now times are set to change. In the spring of this year, Congressman Robert Underwood (Guam) introduced H.R. 4825, a bill that authorizes the Department of Education to designate certain “Asian Pacific American serving institutions.”
If passed, universities that have an undergraduate APA population of at least 10 percent and make a concerted effort to provide higher education to APA communities will be designated for federal funding. This bill was introduced in light of data compiled by a team from the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Upon disaggregating the data concerning APAs, Underwood found that Southeast Asian Americans from low-income households were disproportionately underrepresented in universities. These ethnic groups were not acknowledged or included with other minority serving institutions.
Said Underwood: “Even though presumably Korean Americans, Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans all have good access to higher education, it became clear that institutions of higher education were not responding adequately to [Southeast Asian] communities. It was also clear that there was a need for a programmatic response.”
The designation, however, will not help individual students with need or merit-based scholarships. Rather, this bill will deem APA serving institutes eligible under a special category with other minority serving institutions. If the bill passes, APA serving institutions may qualify for priority when applying to existing programs and “Request for Proposals,” or RFPs, will instantly move to the top of the pile with other minority serving institutions.
Research also showed that for years, millions of dollars — congressionally mandated by the Executive Order from the White House — have been allotted to African American, Latino, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian and Native American designated institutions through federal agencies. Unlike other minority institutions, most APA groups were excluded in such funding.
Congressman Underwood held briefings and a Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Summit on the Higher Education Status of Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders in 2001 and subsequently introduced H.R. 4825 to the Congress. If passed, this bill would effect more than 300 institutions of higher education.
If not passed, proponents of APA serving institutions were concerned that federal agencies may opt to rule out initiatives for APAs. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Human Services could easily overlook APAs as a community with serious needs.
“It sends the message out that APAs are not the model minority, and they have needs,” said Lisa Hasegawa, the executive director of National Capacity Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development. “It’s not going to just benefit Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders. There are places where APAs are underrepresented.”
The bill hopes to pass next year as an amendment to Title III and V of the Higher Education Act. If reauthorized, the designation of APA serving institutions would give authority to the Department of Education to design specific criteria for institutions of higher education.
If met, other federal agencies can provide grants or prioritize APA institutes for programs such as research.
“It’s not perfect in terms of increasing access for APAs,” Hasegawa said. “It’s a mechanism to access existing programs such as increasing outreach to students. It will help all students. It will support APA programs and retention programs. Each school will be able to determine what their priority needs are.”
Indeed, H.R. 4825 would force institutions to remove barriers to access and force the institution to examine programmatically how they distribute scholarships and opportunities.
Through the incentive of making federal money available to start programs and draw attention to the APA community, institutions will start to recruit underrepresented students and encourage others to go in to different fields of studies where there is less proportional access, Underwood explained.
Supporters of the bill are hopeful of its outcome. Hasegawa pointed out the timely opportunity to introduce this legislation with the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act next year. She noted that previous proposals of minority institutions have passed under the same conditions.
There has been great support for H.R. 4825 by various legislators and community leaders. Frank Wu, a professor at Howard University, pointed out, “We must learn to address demographic changes in a constructive manner that help support these [changes]. We should have more funding for Asian American studies, language programs and training on cultural issues.”
Underwood added, “This is a very major opportunity to shape colleges and universities across the country, and I urge [readers] to take a close look at the legislation and urge congressional representatives to support it.”
Reach Ji Hyun Lim at jlim@asianweek.com.
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