U of A Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2023

Departments and groups throughout the University of Arkansas and in our own Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences are celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month all May long.

The 2023 festivities include special features on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) campus trailblazers, DEI hour events, social media features, streaming videos, historical resources, and special book displays.

Join the celebration by checking out these Portraits of Progress profiles on:

• Zenki Oshi, the first international student to earn a master’s degree at the U of A
• Shih-Shan “Henry” Tsai, a Fulbright College professor for 37 years who worked to create a better understanding of Asian culture on campus
• Moon-Sook Park, a Fulbright College professor of music who founded the SHE Festival to elevate the voices of diverse women
• Mengjiao Liao, who has fast become one of the U of A’s most active international alumni

New profiles are continuously being added to the Portraits of Progress website.

The U of A also has an Asian Pacific Americans Employee Impact Group. To learn more, visit the U of A’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion website and fill out the employee interest group form.

Additionally, the University Libraries have compiled free public resource guides that feature AAPI culture and history.

The Marshallese Resources guide, for example, includes information about the history between the U.S. and Marshall Islands; information about Marshall Islands customs, community, education and food; a special section about the Marshallese community in Arkansas and at the U of A; a Marshallese dictionary; and a compilation of physical and digital books and other media related to the Marshallese.

The Libraries’ Multimedia Department also compiled a variety of streaming videos, including movies and documentaries, available to view online.

And, the Libraries’ Children’s Literature Collection created a virtual book display to celebrate, featuring books, primary sources, background information and lesson plans for teachers. Physical items are also on display in Mullins Library.

About  Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States that occurs each May. The month was established in 1977 by Congress and recognizes the history, culture and important contributions of people from the Asian continent and Pacific islands, including Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island). The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, as the majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

Portions of this story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.