Responding to the demands and needs of Asian American students, the University of Maryland expands course offerings related to culture, identity.
Every time Dr. Larry Shinagawa teaches his “Introduction to Asian American Studies” course at the University of Maryland, College Park, he fi nds that 10 to 20 percent of his students are adoptees. Among other things, they hunger to better comprehend the social and political circumstances overseas leading to their adoption.
In response, UMD offi cials hope to roll out a new course on “The Adoptee Experience” as early as next year, Shinagawa says. It’s one of many progressive efforts at UMD funded in part by a historic, two-year $2.4 million grant now in its second year.
That grant, awarded under the federal Asian American and Native American Pacifi c Islander-serving institutions program, helps expand programming and outreach at postsecondary schools with signifi cant Asian enrollments. The program joins its counterparts such as predominantly Black institutions (PBIs) and Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) in assisting underrepresented, disadvantaged populations.
UMD is one of only six schools in the inaugural class of those federally designated as Asian-serving. The others are City College of San Francisco, South Seattle Community College, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, University of Hawaii at Hilo and Guam Community College.
“We’re elated at being in the pioneering wave of Asian-serving schools,” says Shinagawa, associate professor of American studies and director of Asian American studies. “A signifi cant portion of our students don’t fi t the ‘model minority’ stereotype.”
Asian Americans make up about 15 percent of UMD’s student body. Shinagawa says the majority are so-called “1.5 immigrants” who came to the U.S. as children and became the fi rst in their family to attend a U.S. college. Chinese and Koreans are perhaps the largest subgroups. Adoptees are growing increasingly common. Many of their adoptive parents are White, middleand upper-class but unable to personally provide cultural education, identity and consciousness.
