SUNY Celebrates Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May 13, 2024
Panel Discussion Centered Around AANHPI Senior Leader Experiences within Higher Education
SUNY Enrolls Over 30,000 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Students
Albany, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King, Jr. celebrated Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. SUNY's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Office of Executive Recruitment and Leadership Development partnered to host an AANHPI senior leader panel discussion webinar. The panel discussion featured a diverse group of higher education professionals across SUNY who shared their professional journey within higher education to enhance understanding about the lived experiences of AANHPI higher education professionals across SUNY.
"As we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month, SUNY is honored to acknowledge the significant contributions Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff have had on the SUNY system. SUNY has been and always will be committed to promoting equity, increasing representation, and creating opportunities for all," said SUNY Chancellor King. "Our SUNY panel discussion is critically important as it highlights the experiences of AANHPI senior leaders and allies across SUNY and how we as a system can continue to increase access to higher education, as well as increasing leadership opportunities."
SUNY Board Trustees Marcos A. Crespo and Camille Joseph Varlack said, "On behalf of the SUNY Board of Trustees, we are proud to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Under Chancellor King's leadership, guided by the four pillars, SUNY, an institution founded on inclusivity, will continue to increase diversity and celebrate the significant contributions of our diverse communities."
Included in the FY 2025 state budget, thanks to Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, SUNY will launch the next phase in the system's commitment to leadership development programs by creating the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Leadership Institute.
The panel, moderated by SUNY Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs & General Counsel Kapil Longani, included: University at Buffalo President Satish Tripathi, SUNY ESF Chief Diversity Officer Danushi Fernando, Rockland Community College Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Dr. Tinny Cheung, SUNY System Administration Assistant Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence Dr. Christa Grant, and Upstate Medical University President Mantosh Dewan.
SUNY Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel Kapil Longani said, "Having devoted my professional life to promoting diversity and personally benefitting from the mentorship of Presidents Tripathi and Dewan, I was honored to moderate this incredibly talented panel celebrating the professional journeys of senior AAHPI SUNY leaders. SUNY is committed to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion which is why such panels are crucial: they increase awareness of the experiences of AANHPI professionals and inspire students, faculty, and staff to see what is possible."
University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi said, "It was a distinct honor to share my professional journey in higher education during SUNY's AANHPI senior leader panel discussion. As we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, discussions such as these serve as invaluable opportunities to encourage the next generation of leaders to embrace all that is possible."
SUNY ESF Chief Diversity Officer Danushi Fernando said, "Higher education provides so many opportunities to bring people together for enlightening and sometimes difficult conversations. For students to see a person of AANHPI descent in a leadership position is the first step in their journey to realize that every one of us is deserving and entitled to living the life we want for ourselves."
Rockland Community College Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Dr. Tinny Cheung said, "Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month at SUNY and Rockland Community College powerfully reaffirms our dedication to diversity and inclusion by honoring the rich contributions of our AANHPI students, faculty, and staff. The insights shared by our esteemed panelists emphasize the significance of representation in higher education. We are proud to foster an environment where every AANHPI voice is heard and valued, strengthening our academic community."
SUNY Upstate Medical University President Mantosh Dewan said, "I appreciate the opportunity to be part of SUNY's celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Discussions such as these offer opportunities to learn from each other, reinforce the importance of higher education, celebrate our lived experiences and, most importantly, challenge us to intentionally seek out and empower the next generation of AANHPI leaders."
As of Fall 2023, SUNY enrolled over 31,000 Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander students, an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to Fall 2013 enrollment figures.
During the Fall 2023 semester, SUNY launched uniform data reporting standards—per Executive Law § 170-e (Assembly Bill A6896A)—at System Administration and all state-operated campuses. This provides increased transparency among Asian subgroups by breaking down Asian American and Pacific Islander data by ethnic group. Subgroups include: Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian and Chamorro, and Samoan, and will be regularly updated to capture the top 10 AAPI ethnic groups of the state's population.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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Holly Liapis
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