Mission Statement

The Asian American Cultural Center (AsACC) provides resources to enhance the University’s diversity commitment through its recruitment and retention efforts, teaching, service, and outreach to the Asian American community on campus and beyond. Central to all its programming, the AsACC assists students in exploring and defining their cultural identity in multicultural America. The AsACC provides a supportive environment for students, faculty, and staff that encourages academic excellence, personal development, community engagement, and professional leadership.

History

The impetus for the Asian American movement on campus began on the evening of December 3, 1987 when eight students of Asian descent boarded a bus to attend an off-campus semiformal. During the bus ride and throughout the evening, the students were taunted and harassed both physically and verbally by two other students. The inability of both local law enforcement and university officials to address and remedy the situation led to eighteen months of struggle, protest, and examination. Out of this struggle, the Asian American Students Association and the Asian American Faculty & Staff Association were established, and these two groups worked toward the establishment of the cultural center.

The center opened in April 1993, and was housed in three temporary locations. In 2006, the center joined the other cultural centers on the 4th floor of the Student Union.

Land Acknowledgement