PUHI — Kaua‘i Community College is participating Tuesday in Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Week.
Mayor Derek Kawakami proclaimed the week of Sept. 26 to Oct. 2 as AANAPISI Week and Sept. 27 as AANAPISI Day on Kaua‘i.
“The faculty and staff of Kaua‘i Community College are pleased to join AANAPISI in the celebration of its 15th year anniversary,” said KCC Joseph Daisy in a release from the college.
“Kaua‘i Community College is designated as an AANAPISI-affiliate college. This program recognizes that, historically, Asian Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders as a group of students have been underserved and underrepresented.
“It is a population in need of support in higher education. Kaua‘i Community College is also designated Minority Serving Institution, and as such the college is eligible for resources, including financial support, opportunities for leadership and civic engagement that benefits this student population,” said Daisy.
The announcement states that in addition to KCC, all 10 of the colleges in the University of Hawai‘i system are members of the AANAPISI Coalition, as are Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawai‘i Pacific University, the College of Micronesia-FSM, Palau Community College, Guam Community College and others worldwide.
“As Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders continue to be the fastest-growing population in the nation, AANAPISIs will continue to play an ever-expanding and critical role for the many low-income, first-generation AAPI students by ensuring greater educational access, opportunity, and success,” said Mike Hoa Nguyen, Ph.D., an assistant professor of education at New York University.
KCC Vice Chancellor of Student Services Margaret Sanchez is scheduled to travel to Washington, DC to participate in the AANAPISI anniversary celebration that includes the week set aside to celebrate, advocate and engage in this important milestone.
Everyone is invited to join in the celebration through a virtual briefing that will include highlighted student voices, institutional leaders and recent AANAPISI research that will be available Tuesday at 7 a.m. Registration to receive the link for the briefing can be achieved at apiascholars.org/aanapisi-15.
Congress established the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions program on Sept. 27, 2007, to improve the availability and quality of postsecondary education programs to support low-income, first-generation Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students.
