AAARI Open House

 
[Photo by Antony Wong]  Guests at the AAARI Open House Party enjoyed the refreshment prepared by the three staff members: Ana Lai, Anchalee Pongsrirojana, and Antony Wong.

On evening of March 22^nd, 2002, the newly established Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AAARI) hosted its Open House to more than seventy City University of New York (CUNY) faculty, students, and other distinguished guests.  Trustee Wellington Chen and Dr. Louise Mirrer, Executive Vice Chancellor of CUNY led a group of administrators from Central Office to attend.  Among the community leaders were Mr. Alex Chu, president of Chinese American Bankers Association, Mr. Robin Mui, publisher of Sing Dao Daily, and Mr. Kai Yin Liu, legal advisor of CCBA.  Prof. Gary Okihiro, Director of Ethnic Studies at Columbia University also attended.

"Tonight is like a baby shower. A baby whose gestation has taken more than ten years" said Dr. Thomas Tam, Executive Director of AAARI.

Sharing its home with the Calandra Italian American Institute, AAARI’s Open House heralded the opening of its doors to all faculty, staff and students encompassing CUNY’s twenty campuses.

"There is one man who has made it possible for us to be here" said Dr. Tam, "One man who gave what we needed the most, a home. This one man is the Interim President of Queens College." Dr. Russell B. Hotzler sponsored a resolution brought forth to the CUNY Board of Trustees leading to the long awaited establishment of AAARI on November 19^th, 2001.

With his presence at the Open House, Dr. Hotzler’s words of continued support of AAARI  encouraged all the guests in attendance. Afterwards, guest speakers Vice Chancellor of Faculty & Staff, Brenda Malone, Trustee Wellington Chen, and Vice President of Institutional Development of Queens College, Dr. Joseph Scelsa, all elaborated on the importance and significance of AAARI, and pledged their full support.

"Some of you have asked me," said Dr. Tam, "What is the mission of AAARI? It is very simple. We want to be a cultural and intellectual Center for issues concerning Asia America and Asia. To start with, there are 3 foci for AAARI: Research, Education, and Community Service."  

Dr. Tam indicated that in research, a faculty directory is being compiled, and a faculty survey would follow in the fall.  Together with Prof. David Cheng of Baruch College, he would conduct a CUNY-wide survey of students to study their general well being.  He invited all interested faculty to join in the survey by contacting him at info@aaari.info 

In the area of education, Dr. Tam said that besides the Thursday evening weekly lecture series, Prof. James Lap would conduct a class on Vietnamese culture and language on Saturdays.  In addition, a lecture series on South Asian culture and language is in the works with Prof. Rohit Parikh and Prof. Parmatma Saran, and a workshop on a multi-disciplinary overview of Chinatown would be offered in the fall.

Community Services would include the student essay competition chaired by Prof. Tricia Lin, to be concluded by April 9th.  The most exciting event offered by AAARI, Dr. Tam added, would be the Asian American Leadership Conference on May 10th.  He introduced Prof. Ngee Pong Chang, who addressed guests on the upcoming Conference which would take place at Baruch College. The day long conference would deal with a variety of topics stemming from the tragic events of September 11^th, and the rippling effects since then for the Asian American population of New York City.  [For more details, click Conference.]

Finally, the Chairman of AAARI, Prof. Betty Lee Sung, took to the stage and voiced  the need of continued financial support for AAARI to function at its full capacity.  She asked for donations, and many responded to her call.  Before the evening was over, Prof. Sung also expressed her appreciation for the help received from the students, especially the three college assistants, Ms Ana Lai, Ms. Anchalee Pongsrirojana, and Mr. Antony Wong.  

[Photo by Antony Wong]  Trustee Chen, Dr. Tam, Prof. Sung, Vice Chancellor Malone, President Hotzler, Vice President Scelsa, Vice President Zadoian