MCC Daily Tribune
Chancellor King and SUNY Board of Trustees Honor Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Announces Fall 2023 Launch of Uniform Data Reporting for AAPI Subgroups
Convenes Discussion on AAPI Data Disaggregation and Student Success
For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 25, 2023
Albany, NY – As the nation recognizes Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, State University of New York Chancellor John B. King, Jr. honors the significant contributions those in the AAPI community have made while announcing efforts at SUNY on AAPI data disaggregation and student success.
“SUNY honors the extraordinary commitment of Asian American and Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff across our campuses. We also renew our commitment to access, success, and upward mobility for all SUNY students and our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As an institution dedicated to equity and justice for all, we are committed to recognizing the successes and the barriers facing the AAPI community and to elevating the voices of Asian American and Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff,” said SUNY Chancellor King.
By fall 2023, SUNY will launch uniform data reporting standards—per Executive Law § 170-e (Assembly Bill A6896A)—at System Administration and all state-operated campuses. This will provide 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.
As of the Fall 2022 semester, SUNY enrolled over 30,000 AAPI students, representing 8.3% of SUNY’s total enrollment.
Consistent with law and executive orders, SUNY System and state-operated campuses will also begin collecting disaggregated demographic data from those with Hispanic origins and those who identify as LGBTQIA+ for students, faculty, and staff.
“When I served as Secretary of Education under President Obama, we led initiatives to disaggregate AAPI demographic data because of the immense diversity among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across our country,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “The term ‘Asian’ is a political construct and does not factor in the significant cultural and linguistic differences among various groups. The disaggregation of data is important for student success and, in shaping initiatives to foster belonging. As an institution dedicated to inclusivity and transparency, SUNY is proud to undertake this crucial task to ensure all our students, faculty, and staff are properly represented.”
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we proudly recognize the significant contributions those in the AAPI community have made at SUNY, to our state, and to our country. The diversity within our SUNY family is what makes us stronger, and disaggregating this data will help us continue to celebrate and better understand the challenges and opportunities of the many students, faculty, and staff that come to SUNY and make sure everyone is welcomed and has the opportunity to succeed.”
Chancellor King convened a group of SUNY and New York State experts to discuss AAPI data disaggregation and student success earlier today.
NYS Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy said, “Each May, we celebrate the diversity of cultures and economic backgrounds within AAPI communities across our state and take time to consider the vitality and the challenges faced by this growing population. With more than 30,000 AAPI students enrolled at its institutions, the SUNY system can be seen as a microcosm of New York State, and I applaud Chancellor King for building spaces during AAPI Heritage Month to discuss student success and the vibrancy of AAPI communities at SUNY and statewide.”
New York State Senator John C. Liu said, “Data reporting will allow SUNY to better identify gaps in programming and service and focus resources more directly to students from our various Asian American backgrounds. With full transparency, this data will be extremely useful to ensure all are properly represented and I am grateful to SUNY Chancellor King for acting quickly to ensure the success of AAPI students.”
New York State Senator Kevin Thomas said, “I applaud SUNY and Chancellor King for prioritizing data disaggregation of their Asian American and Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff. The AAPI community is not a one size fits all community, which is why our institutions must properly represent these ethnic subgroups when measuring student success. These efforts ensure more students feel seen and heard within the SUNY system.”
Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar said, “As the first South Asian woman elected to New York State Office, I was proud to help pass the data disaggregation law. The SUNY system under Chancellor King has now taken the torch, implementing our law through uniform data reporting standards for AAPI subgroups. The Asian American and Pacific Islander community traces our origins to 66 countries spanning 8,300 miles. Disaggregated data ensures our many communities are seen, and the issues facing us are addressed. It will provide invaluable information on our health, economic wellbeing, educational attainment, safety, and a host of other topics. We will have insight as profuse and diverse as the AAPI community itself.”
University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi said, “Focusing on the success of the next generation of AAPI leaders has been a wonderful way to recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and I was delighted to participate in these productive discussions with Chancellor King, my colleagues in SUNY, and New York State elected and government officials. As a global community of scholars, we at UB embrace the diverse viewpoints and cultural perspectives our AAPI students bring to our university, and we are dedicated to helping them succeed and thrive in their academic and professional pursuits.”
University at Albany Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol H. Kim said, “The AAPI community is vibrant and multicultural and represented by people from countries that, literally, span the globe. We are very inspired to participate in SUNY’s data disaggregation efforts because they will help us tease out the best way to serve our AAPI students here on campus.”
SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy E. Sams said, “Disaggregating our AAPI data recognizes the short sightedness of grouping people, while raising the possibility of using authentic voice in our efforts to raise student success measures.”
SUNY Schenectady President Steady Moono said, “I was pleased to be a participant in today’s discussion because it’s important that all students, including those in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, feel at home on our campuses. We cannot make assumptions; we need to engage with our students and learn from them. It’s necessary for us to look at our structures, systems, policies, and protocols to make sure that we are serving our AAPI students and all of our students in a way that empowers them and leads to their success.”
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 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 2022, 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 www.suny.edu.
###
Patrick Morris
Community Relations
05/26/2023