Asian American Higher Education Council

CUNY Asian American/Asian Research Institute

November 29, 2001

6 PM @ Graduate Center, Room C-205

Meeting Minutes

In Attendance: Thomas Tam (Acting Chair), Ngee-Pong Chang, Ching-leou Liu, Hiroko Karan, Meena Alexander, Rohit Parikh, Brian Chu, Susan Wong, Tricia Lin.

1. Evaluation of the Fundraising Dinner
   • The meeting began at 6:15 with a report by Susan Wong on the income and expense statement of the fundraiser on November 9^th. As of now, income from the dinner totaled $23,706, consisting of $19,420 from checks received, $3,000 donation for AAARI, $200 forAAHEC life membership, and $1,080 for AAHEC Website maintenance. Expense totaled $12,854 which included cost of dinner, design and printing of Journal. The net profit of the fundraiser is $10, 8852, with an outstanding amount of $3,840 still to be collected.

    

2. Discussion on the Asian American Leadership Conference:
   • Thomas Tam distributed to everyone copies of promotional materials for the Leadership conference, the essay competition, and AAARI. Ngee Pong Chang indicated that May 31^st, 2002 would be the commencement date for CCNY, and suggested that June 7^th, 2002 be the new date. All concurred. He further suggested that Dr. S. B. Woo from Delaware would be invited to be the keynote speaker on the 80/20 Initiative. This is an initiative that tries to focus the diverse Asian American community into a formidable political force. Already, Dr. Woo has garnered an e-mail list of more than a million people. In addition, Ngee Pong Chang would invite as presenters, the three scholars who received an NSF grant to research on the impact of Asian American voting in California in 2000.
   • Thomas Tam suggested that this is a conference where young faculty members and some outstanding students, may make presentations related to the theme of Asian American Leadership. Susan Wong suggested that some student leaders from, for example, John Jay College, like Helen Fang and Warren Chin may be invited to participate in the conference.
   • An subcommittee for the Leadership Conference was formed, with Ngee Pong Chang as the Chairman, who will be responsible for providing to AAHEC a time table for the organizational tasks required for a successful conference. He will also make sure that an advertising copy is approved by the subcommittee and ready for student newspapers on different campuses. The subcommittee includes Susan Wong, Hiroko Karan, Rohit Parikh, and others to be named.
3. Judgment Panel for the Zeng Zhe Memorial Essay Competition:
   • Tricia Lin has been asked to be the Chairperson for the Student Essay Competition Judgment Panel. In addition to Meena Alexander, the panel will include other distinguished scholars to be named.
   • Tricia Lin will convene a meeting of the Essay Panel and to provide an advertising copy ready for student newspapers at different campuses. She emphasized the need to reach more students and to encourage them to participate in this meaningful event.
4. The CUNY Bulletin of Asian American/Asian Affairs:
   • Thomas Tam reported that the name of the new journal will be CUNY Bulletin of Asian American/Asian Affairs, which was decided by the Journal committee earlier this year. The Bulletin will carry the proceedings of the Leadership conference, the winning essays from the essay competition, synopses of lectures and the forthcoming CUNY Faculty Directory, among other items that will make the Bulletin a useful source of reference.
5. Report of Website Development Committee
   • Thanks to the hard work of Mariya Gluzman, Rex Wong, and James Lap, the AAHEC Website is now up and functioning. Please visit the site: WWW.AAHEC.org. and e-mail Info@AAARI.info about your comments and suggestions. Thomas Tam hoped that this website will replace the need for regular newsletters, and help broadcast the services of AAHEC in the future.
6. CUNY Faculty Directory:
   • VT Alexander has expressed interest to work with Betty Lee Sung and Thomas Tam to enlarge the CUNY Asian Faculty Directory. The final product will be published on the AAHEC website as well as the CUNYBOAAAA. All who are interested in this ambitious project, please get in touch with VT Alexander through Info@AAARI.info.
7. Discussion on the Asian American/Asian Research Institute:

N.P. Chang, Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, Betty Lee Sung, and Thomas Tam after CUNY Board's vote

• Everyone rejoiced in the formal establishment of AAARI by the CUNY Board of Trustees. Thomas Tam relayed to the group of the strong support from Trustee Wellington Chen, and Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. Susan Wong suggested that an opening ceremony should be held on Lunar New Year in February with lion dances etc. to celebrate this new stage of progress. Thomas Tam said that Queens College played a very important role of sponsoring the institute, and that President Hotzler supported the work of AAHEC. He would meet with President Hotzler about the special needs and aspirations of AAHEC in the near future.
1. Other Items:
   • Ngee Pong Chang announced that Ravi Kalia and Ravi Kulkarni are bringing a suit against CUNY for discrimination against Asian American faculty members. He has invited Ravi Kalia to make a presentation to AAHEC at its next meeting on January 9th.
   • Hiroko Karan, Dean at Medgar Evers College announced that Minnesota State University is seeking a Ph.D. for a tenure track Asian History position starting August, 2002. The person is expected to teach courses in Modern China and Japan. For more information, please contact Charles Piehl, Search Committee Chairperson, phone: 507-389-1618.

    ****Next AAHEC meeting will be on January 9^th, Wednesday, at 6 PM. The location will be announced later.****

   These minutes were written by Thomas Tam on 12/1/01. If you have any corrections, questions, or comments, please contact him at Info@AAARI.info

Asian American Higher Education Council

CUNY Asian American/Asian Research Institute

December 19, 2001

6 PM @ Graduate Center, Room 8312

 Meeting Minutes

 In Attendance: Thomas Tam, Ngee-Pong Chang, Betty Lee Sung, Charles Chung, Charles Riley, Keming Liu, Ravi Kalia, Ching-leou Liu, Hiroko Karan, Susan Wong, V.T. Alexander, Edward Ma, Annie Koshi.

1. Collection of checks from the Fundraising Dinner
   • Susan Wong indicated that there are still outstanding checks to be collected from TIAA-CREF, Medgar Evers College, Kingsborough Community College, and City College of New York. Thomas Tam said that he would prepare invoices to be sent to the responsible parties to aid the collection of funds.
2. Invitation to Co-sponsor Conference

   Thomas Tam informed the participants that he has met with Prof. Gary Okihiro, Director of Center for Race and Ethnicity at Columbia University www.columbia.edu/cu/cser on co-sponsoring a national conference on "Campus Communities: Promises and Prospects of Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education" which will be held at Columbia University, October 4-6, 2002. Some of the questions to be explored include: What are the institutional structures that foster these communities? How do the student services relate to the academic units? What strategies have been effective in creating and sustaining APA campus communities? How do those communities relate to other communities? And especially in this time of crisis, how has America’s wars in Asia affected APAs in higher education?

   Deadline for proposal submissions is March 15, 2002. Proposals should address the conference theme, and include the names, affiliation, and addresses of all participants and the titles and a brief (250-word limit) description of each presentation. Please send your proposal by e-mail to Prof. Gary Y. Okihiro, gyo3@columbia.edu (only Word attachments) or fax, at 212-854-0500.

   The proposal for AAHEC and AAARI to co-sponsor this event was endorsed by those present.

    

3. Lecture Series and Non-Credit Courses Offered by Division of Continuing Education of Queens College.

   Thomas Tam reported on his discussion with President Hotzler and Dr. Barbara Ritchin, Director of Queens College Division of Continuing Education, about offering lecture series and non-credit courses on issues related to Asian American, Asia, trade and technology at the 43^rd Street location. In order to be listed for the Fall semester of 2002, information including topic, name and qualification of presenter, and a general description of the materials to be covered, must be submitted to AAARI at Info@AAARI.info by February 1^st, 2002.

    

4. Support of Colleague in Tenure Dispute

   Keming Liu informed the participants of the progress of her tenure case at Medgar Evers College. She was at first congratulated by college senior officers for the tenure she has received, then was shocked to find a letter from the president of her college that her tenure application was denied. Keming protested about the irregularities involved in the process. Later at a meeting initiated by the president, she was informed that the letter has been rescinded. Hiroko Karan, Dean at Medgar Evers subsequently sent an e-mail to the president thanking him for the rescindment. Annie Koshi advised Keming that she should follow up with a letter to the president, thanking him for his action, and to make a record of the incident. Ravi Kalia said that these would constitute evidence that indeed the president has rescinded his letter denying Keming’s tenure application.

   Ravi also indicated that he would not be able to make a presentation about Ravi Kulkarni’s suit against CUNY on January 9 as promised by Ngee Pong Chang, but would be able to make a general presentation about Academic survial for young faculty members on February 6^th meeting.

    

5. Discussion on the Asian American Leadership Conference:
   • Thomas Tam distributed to everyone copies of new promotional materials for the Leadership conference which will take place on May 10^th, 2002. Letters have been sent out to Gary Locke, Governor of Washington, John Liu, and the newly elected councilman of New York City. Ngee Pong Chang, chair of the conference will follow up on more detailed arrangements with the invitees. Ching Liu suggested that Elain Chao, Secretary of Labor, and Norman Mineta, Secretary of Transportation, also be invited.
   • Betty Lee Sung suggested that Ravi Kalia chair a panel concerning faculty development at the conference, where young faculty members may learn and make presentations related to the theme of Asian American Leadership. Susan Wong was also appointed to chair a panel concerning student development at the conference. Both were asked to update AAHEC and AAARI about their panels at the next meeting.
   • Betty Lee Sung also suggested that LEAP be approached to lead a leadership workshop at the conference. In addition, she reported her contact with Prof. McCarthy of Graduate School’s Center for Philanthropy, who is reaching out to scholars and researchers to assess the impact of 911 on New York City’s Asian minorities. She would invite Keming Liu, Terry Hom, and Joann Lee to participate in this.

    

6. CUNY Faculty Directory:
   • Betty Lee Sung suggested that VT Alexander enlarge the CUNY Asian Faculty Directory. The final product will be published on the AAHEC website as well as the CUNYBOAAAA. All who are interested in this ambitious project, please get in touch with VT Alexander through Info@AAARI.info.

    

7. Discussion on the Asian American/Asian Research Institute Strategic Plan:
   • Thomas Tam presented the AAARI strategic plan drafted by Betty Lee Sung and Thomas Tam, emphasizing the non-partisan, pan-Asian nature of the Institute. The vision is that AAARI will become a financially well-endowed organization, and a highly respected authority regionally, nationally, and internationally, on issues concerning Asia, and Asian American community. It will be a non-partisan institution and a pan-Asian intellectual and cultural center that addresses the needs of New York’s diverse ethnic subgroups of Asian origins.
   • In view of the limited resources we received, $50,000 for one year, Thomas Tam proposed that the Executive Director and the Associate Directors should donate their services to the Institute, using $20,800 to hire three part-time workers who can reach out to the diverse Asian subgroups. The rest of the money would be spent on programs including: seminars for the four study areas, leadership conference, student survey, faculty directory, speakers forum, advertising/promotion, bulletin of Asian/American Affairs, AAARI website, and cable Television programs. Everyone is urged to examine the strategic plan and give their feedbacks by January 9^th, so that the strategic plan will be consolidated for presentation on the AAARI website and other venues. For a copy of the strategic plan draft, please send e-mail to Info@AAARI.info.

    

8. Other Items:
   • Keming Liu suggested that a press representative be appointed to facilitate the dissemination of information concerning AAHEC and AAARI activities.
   • Ngee Pong Chang and Betty Lee Sung led the group in a toast to celebrate the New Year and a new beginning of AAARI.

    

   ****Next AAHEC/AAARI meeting will be on January 9^th, Wednesday, at 6 PM. The location is tentatively set to be Room 8312, Graduate Center, 535 Fifth Avenue.****

   These minutes were written by Thomas Tam on 12/20/01. If you have any corrections, questions, or comments, please contact him at Info@AAARI.info

Asian American Higher Education Council

January 9^th, 2002

6 PM @ Graduate Center, Room 8312

Meeting Minutes

In Attendance: Thomas Tam, Ngee-Pong Chang, Ravi Kulkarni, Ching-leou Liu, Hiroko Karan, Tomoe Kaneda, Mei-Mei Chui, Erik Chen, Helen Fang, James Lap, Tricia Lin.

1. Minutes from 12-19-01 was approved unanimously.

    

2. Progress of Zeng Zhe Memorial Essay Competition

   Tricia Lin informed the participants that she has invited the following scholars to be on the Panel of Judges: Meena Alexander, Moustafa Bayoumi, Juanita But, Kimiko Hahn, Annie Koshi, Robert Ku, Joann Lee, Keming Liu, Betty Lee Sung. She felt that the content of the essay should cover a broader aspect heroism than the one sentence in the present brochure, and that we might also want to address the leadership issues as well as the new perspective on Asian American identity.

    

3. Progress of Asian American Leadership Conference

   Thomas Tam reported that Governor Locke is unavailable to be the keynote speaker for the conference. The newly elected City Councilman, John Liu, however, will participate in our event. In addition, Ms. Josephine Chung of OCANY has indicated that OCANY is interested to joining us as a sponsor, pending our budget and list of speakers. She has suggested that Prof. Frank Wu, of Howard University, be invited as a luncheon keynote speaker. Ravi Kulkarni said that the conference focus should also include ethnic journalism, particularly in the South Asian community. Ngee Pong Chang, and Hiroko Karan will work on the program schedule to find a viable solution. Other speakers will include S. B. Woo, Hon. Wellington Chen, Chancellor Goldstein and President Hotzler. Ngee Pong Chang indicated that at least three areas of leadership development would be addressed: political, community development, and student development. He suggested that John Wang of Asian American Economic Development also be invited to speak on the redevelopment of lower Manhattan. In the mean time, Hiroko Karan said that AAARI should work with other groups such as Japan Society and be involved in interdisciplinary research areas. She will set up a listserve for all participants of the Program Planning Committee of the Conference. Helen Fang recommended that AAARI should reach out to organizations such as AALDEF, AAFNY, and AAFE to participate in the conference. James Lap said that he would initiate a meeting with Cao O to discuss about AAFNY’s involvement.

    

    

4. AAARI Website Development:

• Thomas Tam informed the group that a new AAARI Website is being constructed, and that it will be publicized to encourage frequent visits so that it will become an important channel of communication for AAARI, AAHEC and the public. He strongly encourage that information about Asian American programs and activities be posted there. The new site is located at http://www.AAARI.org.

1. Discussion on the Asian American/Asian Research Institute Strategic Plan:

• The AAARI Strategic Plan, having received no input from participants since the last meeting, was approved unanimously.
• Thomas Tam distributed a flyer on AAARI job opportunities. AAARI is looking for three part-time workers as Administrative Associate and Administrative Assistants, at $10 per hour. For more details, please visit the AAARI website.

1. AAARI Open House:

• Thomas Tam suggested that the AAARI Open House party be held, tentatively, pending on room availability, on March 22, 2002, Friday from 2 pm to 5 pm. It should be a celebratory event as suggested by Susan Wong at the last meeting, involving entertainment from the diverse Asian community. He encouraged all who wants to participate to get in touch with him at Info@AAARI.info
• Ngee Pong Chang and Betty Lee Sung led the group in a toast to celebrate the New Year and a new beginning of AAARI.

1. Other Items:

• Hiroko Karan reported that she has solicited the support of Con Edison in the Leadership Conference. She suggested that the contribution would be between two to two thousand five hundred dollars.
• Ravi Kulkarni said that a check of $1,000 from his brother has been sent to AAARI for a seminar on South Asian issues.

****Next AAHEC/AAARI meeting will be on February 6^th, Wednesday, at 6 PM. If the new office on West 43^rd street is not ready by then, the meeting location is tentatively set to be Room 8312, Graduate Center, 535 Fifth Avenue.****

These minutes were written by Thomas Tam on 1/12/02. If you have any corrections, questions, or comments, please contact him at Info@AAARI.info

             4.    Progress of part time hiring at AAARI:

• Thomas Tam shared the pool of applicants with the personnel committee, which consists of Rohit Parikh, Hiroko Karan, Betty Lee Sung, James Lap, Ngee Pong Chang, and Parmatma Saran. He indicated that as soon as the office is set up, he’ll start interviewing candidates.

 

1. Preparation for Thursday Evening Salons at AAARI:
   • Ching Leou Liu suggested that Wednesday evenings would be better for parking. Thomas Tam said he would try to change it for the next term, even though it probably would be a date sought by other institutes as well. He also said that the lectures, the conference proceedings, and student essays would all be incorporated into the Bulletin of Asian and American Affairs.

    

    

2. Preparation for AAARI Open House:
   • Joann Lee suggested that she would help recruit three student musicians to play for the occasion, at the cost of $50 per person. Thomas Tam indicated that help would be needed to set up, get and serve food, as well as clean up after the open house. Volunteers are needed.

    

3. Review of new AAARI website
   • Joann Lee and Rex Wong expressed delight about the new AAARI website. They hoped that more people would utilize it as a channel of communication. So far, very few people attempted to use the CHATham SQUARE to express their opinions on different issues.

    

4. Other Items:
   • At the end of the meeting, a tour of the building was made. Most expressed satisfaction at the City view offered by the two huge windows of the AAARI office, and all look eagerly forward to the March 22^nd Open House from 6 pm to 8 pm.

    

    

   ****Next AAHEC/AAARI meeting will be on March 6^th, Wednesday, at 6 PM. The location is Room 1858, 25 West 43^rd Street, between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue.****

   These minutes were written by Thomas Tam on 2/7/02. If you have any corrections, questions, or comments, please contact him at Info@AAARI.info

(Stuffing envelopes before meeting are Lisa Wong, Ching Leou Liu, & Rex Wong) Photo by Ana Lai

1. Review of AAARI budget

· Thomas Tam reported that AAARI has received from Louise Mirrer, Executive Vice Chancellor of CUNY, a check of $30,000, which must be spent by June 30^th, 2002, otherwise the money will go back to the State. Another check of $20,000 will come later and will be used for the rest of the year.

· Trustee Wellington Chen highlighted that Chancellor Matt Goldstein was a tremendous supporter in making AAARI possible.

2. New staff members, office hours and phone numbers of AAARI

· Thomas Tam introduced the new Administrative Associates Ms. Ana Lai, Ms. Anchalee Pongsrirojana, the new Administrative Assistant Antony Wong, and the new Audio Visual Specialist Mr.Chun Lee. In addition, he reported the hours that the office would be operating as follows:

Monday 10:00am to 8:00pm

Tuesday Closed

Wednesday 8:00am to 8:00pm

Thursday 10am to 8:00pm

Friday 10:00am to 5:00pm

The telephone number of AAARI is (212) 869-0182

The fax number of AAARI is (212) 869-0181

3. Update on Zeng Zhe Memorial Essay Competition

· Thomas Tam reminded everyone that April 9^th is the deadline for submission of the essay. The committee that will judge the essays is composed of Tricia Lin, the chairperson of the committee, Prof. Joann Lee, Annie Koshi, Juanita But, Meena Alexander and Keming Liu. He thanked Tricia Lin for promoting the essay contest through student campus papers, and asked that printed stories be sent to AAARI for historical records.

4. Progress of Asian American Leadership Conference

· Thomas Tam reported that the conference would be held at Baruch College on 25^th Street, between 3^rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue, thanks to David Cheng, Professor of Psychology and Student Counseling at Baruch. The venue, 3^rd floor lecture hall room 3-150, has a sitting capacity of 300 people.

He reminded everyone that the purpose of the conference was healing and rebuilding New York after 9/11. The conference would include the following issues: Impact of 9/11 on Asian Community, particularly Chinatown and South-Asian Community; how Asian Americans participated in healing & rebuilding the community; Asian American roles in political leadership, based on research done on 2000 general election in California by Prof. Pie-Pe Lien from Utah. There will also be workshops on Faculty Development, Women Leadership Development, Student Counseling and Research Findings & Opportunities.

Thomas Tam stated that the Asian community contributed a lot to the victims of 9/11. Trustee Wellington Chen agreed and said that the media has generally ignored the Asian communities’ contributions to post 9/11 activities. Thomas Tam encouraged everyone to suggest topics/ideas, and that the program of the conference would be posted on the web as soon as possible. He added that Trustee Wellington Chen would be present at the conference and that Governor George Pataki has been invited. Trustee Wellington Chen mentioned that Henry Wollman from Newman Institute at Baruch College used Power Point for his presentations during a conference. The results were very good. Trustee Wellington Chen encouraged Thomas Tam to contact Mr. Wollman for more information. He also suggested a "clock control" to make sure that the speakers don’t speak overtime. Minfeng Lin volunteered in testing and modifying Power Point presentations before they are shown to the public. Bill Tan offered the services of his company for transcribing the proceeding of the conference. His company is experienced in these productions. Ching Liu suggested that AAARI should ask restaurants to donate food for this event. Ana Lai reported that volunteers are needed for this event. A sign-up sheet for volunteers for this event was passed around. Finally, Thomas Tam promised that a brochure to advertise the conference would be ready by March 22^nd.

5. Update on AAARI Open House

· Thomas Tam reported that the Open House would be on March 22, 2002 at 25 West 43^rd street from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Ana Lai reported that there would be different kinds of Asian food and music during this event. She encouraged everyone to contact her if there was any idea/suggestion. She also indicated that volunteers would be needed for this event. A sign-up sheet for volunteers for this event was passed around.

6. Lecture Series

· Thomas Tam reported that there would be a lecture series every Thursday. He indicated that the first lecture series would be on March 28^th, which would be about "Tsai Yuen Pei and Education in Modern China" presented by Prof. Linxiang Jin.

7. Non-Credit Courses

· Thomas Tam reported that there would be a Vietnamese class, taught by Prof. James Lap, which would meet every Saturday from 3:00pm to 4:30pm at 25 West 43^rd street on the18^th floor. The first session would be on April 6^th and the cost for the entire course of eight sessions would be $40. In addition, he said that there would be other courses and encouraged everyone to contact him if he/she had an idea for a new course.

· Rex Wong suggested that the courses should be inexpensive or free to attract people since the organization is new.

8. AAARI Journal

· Thomas Tam reported that the journal would be printed by June. He said that all lecture synopses and Conference proceedings would be included in the journal.

9. AAARI Future Plans

· Thomas Tam said that all the events would be recorded and video taped. In addition, he mentioned that for Fall 2002, the following activities have been planned, under the leadership of Prof. Rohit Parikh and Prof. Parmatma Saran: Sessions of Leadership-Skill Training; South Asian Course; and an overview course on Chinatown. He encouraged everyone to contact him with more ideas on these activities or new ones.

10. Other Items

· Thomas Tam reported that the Chinese Benevolent Association donated $2000 to AAARI.

· Minfeng Lin shared that she was giving workshops of Power Point free of charge at the Graduate Center for faculty members. She asked Thomas Tam to advertise it on the web.

· Ching Liu shared that there is a conference on technology, which is free of charge on March 15^th at Baruch College.

· At the end of the meeting, a tour of the building was made. Everyone expressed satisfaction that the office has access to the view of the city.

 

The minutes are respectfully submitted by Ana Lai.

CUNY Asian/Asian American Research Institute

April 3, 2002
6:00pm @ 25 West 43rd Street, Room 1858
 

Meeting Minutes
 

In attendance: Betty Lee Sung, Thomas Tam, Ngee-Pong Chang, Cindy Ho, Lisa Wong, Susan Wong, Charles Chung, James Lap, Bill Tan, Annie Han, Ching-Leou Liu, Ana Lai.
 

Thomas Tam opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and reported a successful open house attended by more than 70 people, including VIPs from Central office, Queens College, and Calandra Institute. He also said that Dr. Gary Okihiro, a professor and director of Ethnic Studies at Columbia University also attended.

1. Approval of Minutes

* Betty Lee Sung asked for approval of minutes from last meeting on March 6, 2002. It was approved by all present.

2. Progress of Asian American Leadership Conference

* Thomas Tam reported that the conference is divided into four sessions: the overview session, 9/11 impact on Asian Americans, healing & rebuilding the community, and political leadership of Asian Americans. In addition, later in the afternoon, there would be 2 workshops. The first workshop, which is from 2:30pm to 3:30pm, would be based on the following topics: research challenges, findings & opportunities; Chinatown development; student counseling; and faculty development. The second workshop, which is from 3:30pm to 4:30pm, would include the following topics: Asian American studies development; women leadership development; Asian Americans in government; and 9/11 impact on Asian Americans documentary show.

* Thomas Tam said that there would be five "stars:" 1) S. B. Woo, former Lieutenant governor in Delaware and current professor of Physics at Delaware University; 2) John Liu, the first Asian American City Councilman in New York; 3) Shao-Chee Sim, the Director of Research at the Asian American Federation who did a study on more than 1000 people affected by 9/11; 4) Benjamin Chu, the first Asian American President of NY Hospital & Health Corporations, one of the largest urban health care system in the world; 5) Renata Hwang, from the Asian American Federation who made a documentary on 9/11 impact on Asian Americans. It is suggested that a story of each of these stars be written up, and have them sent out to the media as soon as they are ready. Ana Lai reported that Dr. Tam and the staff would promote each of the stars to different disciplines within CUNY and attract faculty, staff and students who would be interested in hearing them.

* Thomas Tam pointed out that the biggest challenge of the conference is to get attendees. He encouraged everyone to contribute suggestions and ideas.

* Bill Tan suggested that AAARI should contact and encourage financial institutions in Chinatown to send their staffs to attend. In addition, he suggested that there should be a panel for journalists. This would attract the public. Ngee Pong Chang agreed and said that it might be also an opportunity to reach the media. Ching Liu suggested that AAARI should also contact corporations such as A&T that deal with Asian clients. Ana Lai committed herself to do research on the institutions mentioned. Thomas Tam said that he would try to reach institutions of higher education. Moreover, the staff already started to contact Asian clubs and Asian faculty. Annie Han suggested that Dr. Florence Pu-Folkes from ALBETAC should be contacted to encourage high school students.

* Thomas Tam pointed out that volunteers would be needed for the day of the conference. He encouraged professors to bring their students. In addition, he said that the volunteers would get $50 incentive. Annie Han suggested that a certificate of recognition should be given to volunteers in addition to the incentive.

* Thomas Tam said that sponsors are needed for the conference. He mentioned that Hiroko Karan, Dean of School of Science, Health & Technology at Medgar Evers College, has requested sponsorship from Con Edison for $2,500. This amount would cover the expenses for breakfast and lunch for the conference. Susan Wong added that Health Plus is interested in sponsoring the event. She said that she would follow up on it.

* Thomas Tam mentioned that there would be a meeting on April 15, 2002 at Baruch College at 1pm. The meeting would focus on the conference only. He encouraged everyone to attend.

3. Update on the Asian American Annual Bulleting

* Thomas Tam reported that the bulletin would include the history of AAARI, the Lecture Series, the proceedings of the conference and other items. He said that he would contact Andre Beckles, the official photographer for the City University of New York, to take pictures at the conference.

* Thomas Tam acknowledged Bill Tan for his effort in trying to find a company to sponsor the service of transcription of the conference proceedings. Bill Tan would have the transcription ready two weeks after the conference in order for AAARI to be able to have the bulletin printed by June 30,2002. Bill Tan indicated that the cost of transcribing about 80 hours of talk would amount to $3,500, which he would seek corporations to cover by sponsorship. In case no corporate sponsorship can be found, he would still donate the labor and service of recording the conference proceedings and leave the transcribing task to AAARI.

4. Other Items:

* Annie Han shared that there would be a dinner held on Friday, April 12, 2002 at 5:30pm at Harmony Palace, 98th Mott Street, Chinatown. The purpose of this dinner is to celebrate BMCC Asian Heritage Month, 14th Annual Dinner. The cost per ticket is $20 and she encouraged everyone to attend.

* Betty Lee Sung suggested that in the future, meetings should be held at the same night before the lectures to ensure attendance. The next two AAHEC/AAARI meetings are therefore rescheduled to be May 2nd and June 6th, both Thursdays at 6 PM.

Minutes respectfully recorded and submitted by Ana Lai, Administrative Associate.