The president proclaimed Sept. 25-Oct 1 as National Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPSI) week
Last week, President Joe Biden released a first-ever formal proclamation celebrating educational institutions that serve significant populations of low-income Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).
The Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) program was first established in 2007 to provide resources to colleges and universities that boast high numbers of AAPIs and Native Hawaiians — similar to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
It was designed to broaden outreach and increase accessibility to underserved AAPI and Native Hawaiian communities, “many of whom are low income and the first in their families to attend college,” according to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI).
“For so many, higher education is a ticket to a better life. But while talent, creativity, and determination are found in people all across this country, not everyone has an equal shot at higher education,” Biden said in a statement.
Currently, there are almost 200 AANAPISIs across the United States.
According to the Department of Education, AANAPSIs are colleges or universities that possess an undergraduate enrollment that is 10% AAPI or Native Hawaiian. Moreover, more than half of the student body must be low-income.
According to WHIAANHPI, these institutions — despite taking up a small percentage of universities overall — enroll almost half of the nation’s AAPI and Native Hawaiian students.
For example, in California, 14 universities under the California State University (CSU) system are considered AANAPSIs: East Bay, Fresno, Fullerton, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Maritime, Northridge, Pomona, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, and Stanislaus.
Biden’s proclamation of AANAPISIs is part of a larger effort from the Biden-Harris administration, which has invested in “minority-serving” institutions, seeking increased funding from Congress to bolster higher education for students of color.
“This generation of students is the most gifted, talented, and tolerant in American history — and it is up to all of us to give them the resources and opportunity they need to reach their full potential,” Biden said.
