COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ETHNICITY AND RACE

November 13, 2001

President Jennifer J. Raab
Office of the President
Hunter College, CUNY
695 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10021

Dear President Raab:

I'd like to herewith convey to you the importance [ attach to your Asian
American Studies Program at your excellent institution.

You might be surprised to know that the first Asian American studies
program (of sorts) outside of California was instituted at City College

by Professor Betty Lee Sung in the Asian studies department. Now, that
program is gone, but new programs have sprung up at New York University,
Hunter, and here at Columbia. The other program at Queens was active
during the 1990s but has since declined.

NYU has a well endowed, active program, and Columbia's is also
thriving. Here we have over forty undergraduate majors and
concentrators in our Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race that
houses both Asian American and Latina/o studies, and our faculty work
with about a dozen doctoral students in traditional departments with
fields in Asian American and Latina/o studies.

With your Professor Robert Ku at the helm of Hunter's Asian American
Studies Program, we've forged a collective agenda among programs at
Hunter, NYU, and Columbia. This has involved meetings around joint
public events, such as our upcoming spring conference on Asian and
Latina/o relations here at Columbia (co-sponsored by your Asian American
and Caribbean studies programs at Hunter), and possibly joint classes
where our students can take courses across the city at our respective
institutions. Professor Ku has been instrumental in leading these
discussions, and I anticipate more such joint endeavors will emanate

from this work.

Next fall, the Asian Pacific Amencans in Higher Education, a national

professional organization, will be holding its annual meeting here at ‘
Columbia University. [ anticipate inviting, among others, you, along

with the presidents of Columbia and NYU to speak to that gathering of

AFRICAN AMERICAN VTL OLES AYIAN AMERICAN STUDIES LATINO A STUDIES

424 Hamilton Hall Marl Code 2880 1130 msterdam Avenue New York. NY 10027 0 212-854-0507 Fax 212-484-0500


some 500 educators from across the country. Professor Ku sits on the
board of that organization, and he, along with Hunter's Asian American
Studies Program, will serve as hosts to the meeting.

Hunter has had a long and storied history with Asian American studies.
When Professor Shirley Hune, now an associate dean at UCLA, was at your
institution, she hosted the 1989 Annual Meeting of the Association for
Asian American Studies at Hunter. The meeting was the first outside of
California and the West Coast, and set a precedent for subsequent

meetings held at Cornell University and in Washington, D.C. In truth,

one of your junior faculty recently hired in sociology and Asian

American studies, Professor Margaret Chin, was a student assistant

crucial to the success of the 1989 conference.

I now write to urge you to continue to build on Hunter's pioneering
position in Asian American studies, both here in New York City and the
East Coast broadly and nationally by ensuring its vitality with faculty
and an effective director. Thanks so much for your kind attention.

Sincerely,

aX Okihir

Director
Professor of International and Public Affairs

cc. Acting Provost Ann H. Cohen
Acting Dean Robert Marino
Chair, English Department, Richard Barickman