U. urged to recruit more Asian Americans

A recent report also calls for more Asian American students. A committee charged with researching the situation of Asian American students at the University recommended yesterday that Penn increase its recruitment of Asian faculty members and students. It also called for an alumni network of Asian American graduates. Last January, University President Judith Rodin formed the Asian Pacific American Student Affairs Committee and charged it with a hard task: to "consider the issues unique to Asian American students at Penn and to develop specific and concrete recommendations to resolve them." The committee -- which was chaired by Vice Provost for Graduate Education Janice Madden -- met over the course of the the spring semester to talk about the problems Asian Americans face on campus and to recommend steps to alleviate them. The report was released yesterday in accordance with Asian Pacific Heritage Week. Among their recommendations, the committee suggested that the Vice Provost for University Life and Penn's schools should "aggressively" recruit Asian American staff or staff that have experience in dealing with Asian American issues. The members also recommended that all student service workers, including house deans, resident advisers and faculty in the College House system, be given training on how to deal with the issues and special concerns of Asian American students. They suggested that the University start a study to analyze the recent 2 percent drop in the number of Asian American students admitted to Penn. Along with this, they want a re-evaluation of the effectiveness of Minority Scholars' Weekend. In particular, the committee suggested that the program be expanded to invite all Asian American financial aid candidates to attend. Currently, only needy Asian students from Philadelphia are invited. At the end of its report the committee said it recognized the fact that the issues they raised could apply to other ethnic and racial groups on campus as well. They encouraged Rodin to consider ways to address those needs. Even though Rodin is currently in China, her response to the recommendations was released along with the report. Rodin pointed to numerous steps that have already been taken, and others that were being planned to point out that the University is aware of issues that affect Asian American students. For instance, the University has hired Meeta Kumar, a psychologist "who is very sensitive to issues faced by Asian American students," according to Rodin. She will be a part of Penn's Counseling and Psychological Services. In addition, Sara Cho, a Penn alumna, has been hired as a full time Asian American program coordinator at the Greenfield Intercultural Center. Cho served on the committee last semester while she was doing her graduate work in the School of Arts and Sciences. Both of these appointments were to positions that the University had committed to filling last March. The University has also committed to filling a junior tenure-track position in the History Department for an Asian American professor by the end of next year. Rodin also pointed to the fact that student service workers already go through diversity training. Resident and graduate advisers are required to go through a number of workshops about issues facing minority students. The formation of the committee resulted from several other events. In the fall of 1996, Rodin released her Minority Recruitment and Retention Plan as part of her Agenda for Excellence. The plan called for increased funds for the recruitment and retention of under-represented minority undergrads and staff but did not include Asian Americans as a minority. The problem was that although Asian Americans are considered under-represented in the United States, they are not considered under-represented at Penn. In 1994, Asian Americans ages 20 to 24 made up 3.4 percent of the U.S. population, but 18 percent of Penn's. Throughout the 1990's, the percentage of Asian American students at Penn has held steady at around 20 percent. In response to complaints from Asian American students about their exclusion from the Minority Permanence Plan, the University Council's Pluralism committee recommended 1 1/2 years ago that a subcommittee be formed to study Asian American issues, which is why the APASA committee was formed. In her response to the committee's report, Rodin addressed each of the recommendations the committee made, which members of the group said they were happy about. "The Asian American student body at Penn is pleased that the University is working closely with students to attend to the needs of Asian students at Penn," said College senior Seung Lee, chairperson of the Asian Pacific Student Coalition. "We look forward to seeing further evidence of the University's commitment to [our] community." Although they were happy, several committee members said the report was just the beginning "This report is not the conclusion of the work that has been done; it is ongoing," said committee member and Associate Vice Provost for University Life Barbara Cassel.

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