UIC Asian American Milestones

• AASAP: Eli Vang joins the AASAP Office as an Academic Advisor and Program Specialist
• SO: Asian American Business Association is established

• AASAP: Viraj Patel is hired at the inaugural director of the Asian American Student Academic Program
• AARCC: Julian Ignacio is hired as Associate Director
• AARCC: Celeste Aguirre leaves the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center
• AASAP: Yunkyo Kim joins the AASAP Office as a Program Assistant
• AASAP: Celeste Aguirre joins the AASAP Office as an Academic Advisor and Program Specialist
• GLAS: First students to graduate with a B.A. in Global Asian Studies
• SO: Chinese Club is established
• SO: MIXED is established

• AARCC: Jeff Alton leaves AARCC to join University of Connecticut.
• AARCC: Celeste Aguirre joins AARCC as Program Director for the Asian American Mentor Program
• GLAS: Global Asian Studies is established as a major at UIC and begins offering the Major in the Fall
• SO: Sri Lankan Student Association is formed.

• AARCC: The Asian American Resource and Cultural Center moves over to Maxwell street with the celebration of its grand opening in April.
• AANAPISI: AARCC, GLAS, and OSSR are awarded the fourth AANAPISI and third Part A grant (2021-2026) for UIC for $1.5 million. New grant initiatives include starting an academic support unit within (the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Academic Programs (VPUAP) Division serving Asian American students, space enhancements for AARCC, Pacific Islander student outreach programs, a Pipeline to College program in GLAS, and Community Engagement curriculum in GLAS.
• GLAS:  Clare Kim joins UIC as a tenure track faculty with joint appointments in  Global Asian Studies (25%) and History (75%); Naomi Paik joins UIC through the Chancellor’s Diaspora Cluster Initiative as a tenured faculty with joint appointments in Global Asian Studies (50%) and Criminology, Law, and Justice (50%); Justin Phan joins UIC as a Bridge to Faculty postdoctoral scholar in Global Asian Studies
•  Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act was signed into law by JB Pritzker.

• AANAPISI: Corinne Kodama leaves UIC for Women Employed, Inc.
• GLAS: Lorenzo Perillo leaves the Global Asian Studies Program.

• AARCC: Alyson Kung is hired as permanent staff with the title of Assistant Director for Education and Outreach.
• GLAS: Fredy Gonzalez joins UIC as a tenured faculty in Global Asian Studies (GLAS) with a joint appointment in History (25%)
• SO: Bangladeshi Student Association (BSA) is formed to cater to the Bangladeshi community at UIC.

• AAAmonth: The UIC Center for Student Involvement takes over the coordination of AAAmonth.
• AANAPISI: The UIC AANAPISI Initiative receives $50,567.57 in supplemental funding from a competitive process through the U.S. Department of Education.
• GLAS: Radha Modi leaves UIC for a tenure-track position at Florida State University.

• AARCC: Elvin Chan leaves to join the staff of the UIC Office of Diversity.
• AARCC: Alyson Kung is hired as an extra-help employee with the title of Program Manager for Education and Outreach.
• SO: The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers(SASE) is established, competing against other engineering organizations nationally.

• AANAPISI: Corinne Kodama hired as AANAPISI grant evaluator.
• CCSAA: The first Asian American Congratulatory Ceremony is held.
• GLAS: Asian American Studies and Asian Studies merge to become the Global Asian Studies program.
• GLAS: Michael Jin joins UIC through the Chancellor’s Diaspora Cluster Initiative as a tenure track appointment (75% in GLAS and 25% in History) and a result of efforts by Asian American Studies and the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Asian Americans (CCSAA).
• GLAS: Radha Modi joins as post-doc faculty for the AANAPISI grant.
• SO: Delta Kappa Delta sorority is established.

• AARCC: Mark R. Martell becomes director of AARCC.
• AANAPISI: AARCC, ASAM, and OSSR successfully gain the second AANAPISI Part A grant for $1.5 million. OSSR, ASAM, and AARCC launch The UIC PASS initiatives!
• GLAS: Lorenzo Perillo joins UIC through the Chancellor’s Racialized Body Cluster Initiative as a tenure-track 100% appointment in Asian American Studies

• SO: Delta Epsilon Psi fraternity is established.

• SO: Midwest Association for Filipino Americans (MAFA) Leadership Retreat hosted at UIC.
• AARCC: Jeffrey Alton’s Associate Director position is made permanent. Founding director, Karen Su, departs for a faculty position in ASAM and Director of the AANAPISI grant. Liz Thomson (formerly of the UIC Gender and Sexuality Center) is appointed Interim Director.
• ASAM: Kevin Kumashiro, 100% appointment in ASAM, leaves UIC. Nadine Naber joins UIC through the Chancellor’s Diaspora Cluster Initiative as a tenured 25% appointment in ASAM (75% appointment in GWS). No authorization for tenure track faculty hire in ASAM FY2014.

• SO: Alpha Phi Gamma sorority is established.
• ASAM: Anna Guevarra becomes ASAM director
• CCSAA: Organizes a successful Asian American Community Forum with over 100 students, faculty, and staff in attendance to communicate and discuss pressing Asian American UIC issues.

• SO: Midwest Asian American Student Union (MAASU) Leadership Retreat is hosted at UIC.
• AARCC: Jeffrey Alton hired as new Visiting Associate Director, Summer AAMP starts, AARCC space expands.
• ASAM: Anna Guevarra joins ASAM faculty with a 100% faculty appointment.
• AANAPISI: AANAPISI year two initiatives include a campus-wide, on-line demographic survey and focus groups to learn more about API
  undergraduate students at UIC
• AANAPISI: UIC successfully receives a second AANAPISI (Part F) grant for initiatives to support AAPI and English-language learner students. AANAPISI Part A year two initiatives include a campus-wide, on-line demographic survey and focus groups to learn more about API undergraduate students at UIC

• SO: Theta Lambda Beta fraternity is established.
• AARCC: AARCC celebrates its 5th year anniversary.
• ASAM: In the fall, ASAM Minor and Program starts officially. Mark Chiang becomes Director. Kevin Kumashiro joins ASAM faculty.
• AANAPISI: AARCC, ASAM, and Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP) successfully gain the first AANAPISI grant in the
  Midwest. Office of Social Science Research (OSSR), ASAM, and
  AARCC launch AANAPISI year one initiatives!

• SO: Pre-Med Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) formed.
• ASAM: Mark Chiang serves as ASAM Coordinator. ASAM sets up office in 809 University Hall. Proposal to establish the ASAM Program is submitted. In the summer, Eric Tang left UIC.

• SO: Korean American Student Association (KASA) and Pakistani Student Organization (PSO) are established. Japanese Audio Visual Cultural Association established. Kappa Pi Beta Fraternity, Inc. Beta Chapter, Asian-Interest fraternity established at UIC.
• AARCC: AARCC successfully acquires eligibility for UIC to be an Asian
  American and Native American Serving Institution (AANAPISI) and
  coordinates the first application for the AANAPISI grant.
• ASAM: In the summer, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences authorizes a search for a senior faculty director of Asian American Studies. Gayatri Reddy serves as ASAM Coordinator. Director search is cancelled due to budget crisis and hiring freeze. ASAM Minor proposal is submitted. First ASAM Knowledge Bowl held.

• SO: LiNK chapter dissolves and becomes NK Peace.
• ASAM: In the spring, “ASAM” becomes the official rubric to identify Asian American Studies courses in Timetable. Two additional tenure-track faculty are hired to teach Asian American Studies: Anna Guevarra, Assistant Professor in Sociology, and Eric Tang, Assistant Professor in African American Studies. In the fall, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences establishes an official Asian American Studies Faculty Advisory Committee and appoints Kevin Kumashiro as the first ASAM Coordinator.

• SO: Sigma Beta Rho is established.
• AARCC: AARCC establishes the Student Organization Council and launches the Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP). In the fall, AARCC establishes the Asian American Studies Advisory Council made up of faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students to coordinate activities in support of Asian American Studies.
• ASAM: In the spring, Introduction to Asian American Studies is taught for the first time. First ASAM Expo is presented, an academic fair featuring student research projects in Asian American Studies. In the spring, AACC holds a Speak Out in the quad to rally support for the establishment of an Asian American Studies Program.  Holds a second Speak Out the following year.

• SO: Delta Phi Omega and Vietnamese Student Association are established.
• AARCC: The Asian American Resource and Cultural Center moves into Taft Hall and celebrates its grand opening in April. AARCC begins to publish the Resource Book and coordinate the Ice Cream Social during Welcome Week. AARCC coordinates the first Asian American Student Leadership retreat. AARCC begins to coordinate the AAAM Planning Committee.
• ASAM: In the spring, AACC presents a proposal for Asian American Studies in a landmark meeting with the Provost, Deans, and Department Heads of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

• SO: KAUSE (Korean Americans United Serving Equality) and UIC chapter of LiNK (Liberty in North Korea) are established.
• AARCC: Karen Su is hired as the first Director for the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center. Elvin Chan and Corinne Kodama hired as first AARCC staff.
• CCSAA: CCSAA conducts the first comprehensive survey of UIC Asian
  American undergraduates resulting in over 750 responses. In addition
  to campus reports, the survey research is presented at national
  conferences.

• AARCC: Provost Michael Tanner re-initiates plans to move ahead with the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center.  A search for a Center director begins in the fall.
• AAAmonth: The first campus-wide AAA Month Planning Committee forms with representatives from student organizations and CCSAA.

• SO: South Asian Medical Students Association (SAMSA) is established.
• ASAM: The English Department hires Mark Chiang and Helen Jun as UIC’s first tenure-track Asian Americanist faculty.

• SO: CAAS becomes the Asian American Coalition Committee (AACC).
• AARCC: AACC submits a proposal for the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center and Interim Provost Charlotte Tate approves it. AACC publishes the first Asian American Student Resource Handbook and continues until 2004.
• AAAmonth: CAAS expands Asian American Awareness week to a month.

• AARCC: CAAS coordinates another campus rally to express demand for courses and support services for Asian American students.
• ASAM: Courses in Asian American literature, history and sociology are offered and a Hindi/Urdu course starts as a result of student petitions.
• AAAmonth: The Coalition for Asian American Studies (CAAS) coordinates the first Asian American Awareness Week

• SO: The Chinese Students and Scholars Friendship Association is established. The Coalition for Asian American Studies (CAAS) is established. Chi Sigma Tau, the first Asian American-interest fraternity at UIC, is established.
• AARCC: The Coalition for Asian American Studies (CAAS) begins lobbying for an Asian American Studies program, a resources and cultural center, and an academic support network.
• CCSAA: Approval is granted and CCSAA is established. The committee consists of faculty, staff, and student volunteers who are appointed by the Chancellor annually to focus on campus issues relevant to Asian Americans.

• SO: alpha Kappa Delta Phi, the first Asian American-interest sorority at UIC (and in Illinois), is established.

• SO: First Filipino American conference held at UIC and Filipinos in
  Alliance established.

• SO: Indian Graduate Student Association is established. Forever Together in Christ changes its name to Asian American Intervarsity (AAIV).
• CCSAA: Students Promoting Asian American Concerns (SPAAC), an ad-hoc committee of AASIA, is formed to seek the creation of a Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Asian Americans (CCSAA).

• SO: The national Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA) conference is co-hosted on campus and a chapter of APAMSA is established at UIC.

• SO: AACO and OAS merge to become Asian American Students in Alliance (AASIA).

• SO: Hindu Student Council is established.
• UIC’s first Asian American conference held on campus. This
  was the third and final installment of the Intercollegiate Asian American
  Student Association of Chicago or (IAASAC).

• SO: Asian American Collegiate Organization (AACO) is established with political interests and begins to rally for an Asian American Studies program.
• SO: Asian Pharmacists Association (APA) is established.

• SO: The Organization of Asian Students (OAS), the first pan-Asian student organization, is established.

• SO: Korean Graduate Student Association is established.

• SO: Indian Students Association is established.

• SO: Vietnamese Student Association at Chicago Circle Campus is established.

• SO: Muslim Students Association is established.

AANAPISI- Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution

AARCC- Asian American Resource and Cultural Center

ASAM- Asian American Studies

AAAmonth- Asian American Awareness Month

CCSAA- Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Asian Americans

GLAS- Global Asian Studies

SO- Student Organizations

Please send submissions for the community timeline here: https://forms.gle/5FbQSAzyttYYseNFA

If you have any questions or concerns please email aarcc@uic.edu.