API Thriving
UCI is an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). This federal designation aligns with UCI’s aspiration to be a national leader and global model of inclusive excellence. As a designated AANAPISI, UCI faculty, staff and students are eligible to apply for Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) grants, internships and partnerships.
Upcoming Events
Recent News
Milestones
| AY 2019-2020 | Milestones |
|---|---|
| Fall Quarter 2019 UCI hosts APIA Scholars Jump Start College Tour + Pathways to STEM Careers, a college access program that brought nearly 300 students and parents to campus (https://apiascholars.org/opportunities/programs/jump-start-college-tour/) |
| AY 2018-2019 | Milestones |
|---|---|
| Fall Quarter 2018 UCI presentation on “Uncovering the Diversity of AAPI Students” highlighted in Electronic Proceedings of 2017 Minority Serving Institution Convening. |
| AY 2017-2018 | Milestones |
|---|---|
| Spring Quarter 2018 UCI partners with Irvine Valley College and Coastline Community College to initiate Orange County AANAPISI Consortium. |
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| Winter Quarter 2018 UCI hosts APIA Scholars Jumpstart College Tour, de-mystifying higher education access for 400+ families. |
| AY 2016-2017 | Milestones |
|---|---|
| Spring Quarter 2017 Vice Provost for Academic Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Douglas Haynes announces establishment of campus-wide AANAPISI task force. View task force report here. |
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| Spring Quarter 2017 Advancing Inclusive Excellence: UCI as an AANAPISI: The Office of Inclusive Excellence hosts Akil Vohra, UCI alumnus and Director of Strategic Initiatives at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI). |
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| Fall Quarter 2016 UCI awarded AANAPISI Title III Part F grant for DECADE PLUS |
| AY 2015-2016 | Milestones |
|---|---|
| Winter Quarter 2016 UCI designated Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) |
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Achievements
UCI NEWS | Sherry Main is named vice chancellor of strategic communications & public affairs ★
Proven communications leader will guide effort to enhance UCI’s reputation
UCI PODCAST | Global indigeneity
With recent announcements of Native Americans eligible to have their UC tuition waived beginning this fall and adding Native Hawaiians to the heritage month that historically honored Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, we checked in with Assistant Professor Na’puti in the Department of Global and International Studies to help break down these massive identify groups and their cultures. Broadcasting from the island of Guam, Na’puti shares about her work with indigenous populations in the Pacific Islands and how that translates to better understanding of global indigeneity.
PBS | The Chinese Six Companies with Jeannie Lin, Henry Samueli School of Engineering
On May 28, 1900, San Francisco policemen formed a perimeter around Chinatown as officials diagnosed bubonic plague in the neighborhood and wanted to quarantine the nearly 20,000 residents.
As tensions flared, an influential group of merchants known as the Chinese Six Companies sprang into action.
UCI Podcast: What it means to be an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution
In UCI’s fifth year of being AANAPISI, Joseph Morales breaks down why this designation is important now
TikTok’s Nick Tran MBA ’11 Named Chair of Dean’s Leadership Circle
Nick Tran MBA ’11, global head of marketing for TikTok, is the newest chair of the Dean’s Leadership Circle (DLC). During his one-year term, Tran will provide vital support to the UCI Paul Merage School of Business by providing invaluable advice and direction during a time of disruption and innovation.
UCI Center for Critical Korean Studies receives two international grants
The Center for Critical Korean Studies at the University of California, Irvine has received two prestigious grants – one from the Academy of Korean Studies, the other from the Korea Foundation. They provide the UCI unit with more than $1 million for academic and programmatic developments, including a new faculty position.
UCI professor’s film earns Best Short Film prize at Anifilm
Fatimah Tobing Rony, professor and chair in UCI’s Department of Film and Media Studies, has won the Best Short Film prize for her animated film “Annah La Javanaise” at the Anifilm International Film Festival in Liberec, Czech Republic.
Erika Hayasaki awarded Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellowship
Erika Hayasaki, associate professor of English in UCI’s Literary Journalism Program, has been named a University of Michigan Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellow for the 2021-2022 academic year. She is among 11 journalists who will participate in a remote fellowship to pursue and publish in-depth reporting projects examining pressing public challenges.
In Their Own Words: Kayla Richardson
Kayla shares her story as a member of both the AAPI & Black communities.
Seven faculty members named 2021-22 Hellman Fellows
Seven assistant professors at UCI will receive $50,000 Hellman Fellowships, which are bestowed annually to support research by junior faculty. They join an elite group of 63 UCI Hellman Fellows since 2013, when the Hellman Fellows Fund established the program here. The program began in 1995 at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego and has since expanded organically to all UC institutions. In 2020, after 25 years of funding the Program, the Hellman family generously established an endowment to allow the program to continue in perpetuity across UC’s 10 campuses.
Resources
Faculty
Advocacy and Leadership
- Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE)
- APIA Scholars Elevating Leaders Summit
- Rutgers Center for MSIs: ELEVATE
Grant and Partnership Opportunities
Research
- Moving Past the Model Minority Myth: UCI as an AAPI Thriving Campus
- National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE)
- UCI Department of Asian American Studies
- UCI Southeast Asian Archive
- Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project at UCI
Staff
Advocacy and Leadership
- Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE)
- APIA Scholars Elevating Leaders Summit
- Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions
Grant and Partnership Opportunities
Research
- Moving Past the Model Minority Myth: UCI as an Asian American and Pacific Islander Thriving Campus (March 2016)
- National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE)
- UCI Department of Asian American Studies
- UCI Southeast Asian Archive
- Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project at UCI
Staff Organizations at UCI
Students
Advocacy and Leadership
- Asian American Pacific Islander Leadership Seminar
- Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE)
- Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Asian Pacific Student Association (APSA)
- APIA Scholars Elevating Leaders Summit
- CIEE Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship
- Southeast Asian Retention Through Creating Hxstory
- Southeast Asian Student Association (SASA)
- Southeast Asian Success Youth Conference
- SASA’s 5th Annual SEA Success Youth Conference
This conference aims to promote college access and cultural retention for Southeast Asian youth from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. - UCI Cross-Cultural Center
Research
- Moving Past the Model Minority Myth: UCI as an Asian American and Pacific Islander Thriving Campus (March 2016)
- National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE)
- UCI Department of Asian American Studies
- UCI Southeast Asian Archive
- Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project at UCI
Scholarships and Internships
- APIA Scholarship Program
- Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) grants, internships and partnerships for UCI faculty, staff and students
Selected Campus Organizations
- Alpha Kappa Delta Phi
- Anteaters Tzu Ching
- Asian American Christian Fellowship at UCI (AACF)
- Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA)
- Asian Pacific Student Association (APSA)
- Bhagat Puran Singh Health Initiative at UCI
- Cambodian Awareness Organization at UCI
- Câu Lạc Bộ Tiếng Việt - Vietnamese Language Club at UCI
- Chinese Association (CAUCI)
- Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA)
- Dragon Boat at UC Irvine
- Filipino Catholic Community - Liwanag
- Filipinos Unifying Scientist-Engineers in an Organized Network (FUSION)
- Hansori
- Hmong Student Association
- Hong Kong Student Union (HKSU)
- Indian Sub-Continental Club (ISC)
- Indonesian Students at UCI (ISUCI)
- Japanese Students Association (JSA)
- Jodaiko (Taiko Drumming Ensemble)
- Kababayan (Kaba)
- Kappa Zeta Phi
- Konnect: Korean Cultural Awareness Group
- Korean American Student Association (KASA)
- Korean Graduate Students Association
- Korean Health Association (KHA)
- Korean Job Search Club (KOJOBS UCI)
- Korean-American Campus Mission (KCM)
- Lamba Theta Delta
- Na `Opio O Ka `Aina - Hawai'i Club at UCI
- Pakistani Student Association
- Pilipino Pre-Health Undergraduate Student Organization (PUSO)
- Pilipino-Americans in Social Studies (PASS)
- Sikh Student Association at UCI
- South Asia Student Union (SASU)
- Southeast Asian Student Association (SASA)
- Taiwanese American Organization (TAO)
- Taiwanese Student Association
- Thai Club at UCI
- Tomo No Kai (Tomo)
- Vietnamese Graduation Committee (VGC)
- Vietnamese Student Association (VSA)
- Wushu Club at UCI
- Zamana at UC Irvine
Select Programs & Events
- AAPI Culture Nights (April – May)
- Cambodian Culture Night
- Cambodian Awareness Organization at UCI
- Chinese Culture Night
- Chinese Association (CAUCI)
- Hawai’i Lu’au
- Na `Opio O Ka `Aina - Hawai'i Club at UCI
- Hmong Culture Night
- Hmong Student Association
- Japanese Culture Night
- Tomo No Kai (Tomo)
- Korean Culture Night
- Konnect: Korean Cultural Awareness Group & Korean American Student Association (KASA)
- Korean Heritage Festival
- Konnect: Korean Cultural Awareness Group
- Thai Culture Night
- Vietnamese Culture Night
- Vietnamese Student Association (VSA)
- AAPI Graduation Celebrations
- Pilipinx Graduation Celebration
- Southeast Asian Graduation Celebration
- Vietnamese Graduation Celebration
General
Anti-Asian Discrimination
- Message on Anti-Asian Discrimination
- Resources from the Awaken’s webinar on Challenging Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia during COVID-19
- Community Impact of COVID-19
- PhotoVoice: An Exhibition and Presentation on the impact of COVID-19 on Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities
- Podcasts on Inclusivity in Difficult Times and Seizing Opportunities to Combat Xenophobia
- Southeast Asian Student Association Interview "Seizing Opportunities to Combat Xenophobia"
- Inclusive Excellence Certificate Program
- Report acts of intolerance
Capacity Building
- Materials on DACA and Supporting Undocumented Students
- AANAPISI.net
- Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE)
- Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF)
- Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions
Regional AANAPISI Partners
- Orange County AANAPISI Consortium ( Coastline Community College and Irvine Valley College )
- Mt. San Antonio College
US Department of Education
Grant Title III Funding
The AANAPISI Program provides grants and related assistance to Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions to expand their capacity to serve Asian Americans and Native American Pacific Islanders and low-income individuals
UCI holds an AANAPISI Title III, Part F grant for DECADE PLUS