the best colleges and universities for aapi students: uiuc

This month, to kick off the school year, I'm partnering with Asian Pacific Americans for Progress to bring you a very special list of The Best Colleges and Universities for AAPI Students. Last week and this week, we're profiling the top ten best schools for AAPI student activism (in no particular order). Today's campus is...

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Public University
Location: Urbana and Champaign, Illinois
Founded: 1867
Enrollment: 31,000
API population: 12.8%
Interesting fact: Famous Asian American alumni include YouTube founders Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, author Iris Chang, filmmaker Ang Lee, spoken word performers Kelly Tsai and members of (I Was Born With) Two Tongues, interfaith community organizer and author Eboo Patel, Chinese American Studies scholar Betty Lee Sung, and legendary journalist K.W. Lee.

"Even though we’re centered amidst the cornfields of Central Illinois, we're home to a vibrant AAPI population." - A Nominator

Yes, indeed, in the middle of the Midwestern cornfields is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which has been a place for Asian American activism since the 1970s. UIUC offers a strong Asian American Studies program and Asian American Cultural Center, which were both created out of community organizing and activism. These spaces offer a multitude of opportunities for students to learn about AAPI issues and to grow as community leaders.

In 2004, the Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) won their campaign for a building to house the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC), which opened in 2005 with 6,800 square feet!

The AACC now hosts conferences, workshops, performances, organizational meetings, etc. And ever week, the AAC hosts "Food for Thought," a program geared towards educating students on AAPI-related issues. The lunch and lecture series has featured more than 100 different topics and speakers over the last 4 years of its existence. Lecturers from the past include: Helen Zia, Vincent Who? producer Curtis Chin, George Takei, Ang Lee, Secret Identities book tour, and the cast of N*gger, Wetb*ck, Ch*nk. And this semester, MIT's Jeff Ma will be visiting the campus.

With the AACC as a home base, APAC organizes an annual conference, "UnSEEN, UnHEARD" to empower API students to define their identities and to fight against apathy among AAPIs. On top of their very hectic ongoing activities, UIUC students are now working to get the University to disaggregate ethnic data on AAPI enrollment.

UIUC landed in the top ten with some high praise from actor Parry Shen, who said, "I've spoken at close to 100 different colleges/high schools and this school is by far the best school for AAPIs with the best resources and with innovative programming week after week, year after year and they should be recognized for it so that other schools can hopefully adopt this model that Urbana-Champaign has set in place." That’s some major props! To see the rest of the Best Colleges and Universities for AAPI Students, go here.