National Asian/Pacific Islander Council,
an affiliated council of the American Association for Community Colleges (AACC)

WHAT'S THE LATEST WITH NAPIC...

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* Three of our NAPIC Board: Rachel Solemsaas, Lin Zhou and Rowena Tomaneng at AACC July 2023 meeting in Washington, DC. [Photo]

* Stephanie Fujii, President, Arapahoe CC and NAPIC President-elect was recently awarded The President's Award at the 2023 Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education Conference in Oakland

* Lin Zhou, President of Bates Technical College and one of our NAPIC Board members recently received the ACT (WA Assn. of Trustees) 2023 CEO Award

* Lee Lambert - "Man of the Year" Award Hundreds of Tucsonians to celebrate Lee Lambert who was selected Man of the Year by the Greater Tucson Leadership

* American Association of Community College - April 2023 - Slide Show

* The following two articles are wrote by Rowena Tomaneng and Stephanie Fujii on our behalf as part of AACC's acknowledgment of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month posted on May 14 on AACC's CC Daily.

* Report on Pew Study on What it Means to be Asian America
* Companion video
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Tomaneng Rowena, NAPIC President


NAPIC Welcome Letter from Rowena Tomaneng (biography)

Welcome to the National Asian/Pacific Islander Council (NAPIC) website! I encourage you to explore our history, board leadership, membership, resources, and other features.


NAPIC was established in 2007 to provide a national voice for Asian/Asian American/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders in the American Association for Community Colleges (AACC). NAPIC members represent a significant cross-section of AANHPI executives and community colleges. The recently released 2020 US Census data shows that Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial demographic population (50 million by 2055) in the country and the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander population has grown at a significant rate as well. As open access institutions, the community colleges reflect this demographic growth and are a critical nexus for serving our AANHPI communities.


Many of NAPIC’s member colleges are AANAPISI’s (Asian-American/Native-American/Pacific Islander Serving Institutions) and NAPIC often supports AANAPISI-related policies and legislation. AANAPISIs are uniquely positioned to attend to the needs of underserved AAPI students who are low-income and first generation to college. Many AANAPISI grant-funded community college institutions who have received federal funding have developed culturally responsive academic and student services programs.


A primary benefit of belonging to NAPIC is the opportunity to be part of a professional community of AANHPI leaders. Our members are cross-represented on a variety of other community college and higher education boards such as Asian Pacific Americans for Higher Education (APAHE) and the National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NAACE). NAPIC is also proud to co-sponsor leadership development experiences with the Leadership Institute for Tomorrow through the Asian Pacific Islander Desi-American Leadership Circle. NAPIC also works with our sibling affinity councils at AACC to provide pre-conference leadership development workshops for aspiring leaders of color. And there are plenty of experienced leaders who are willing to share their journeys to their current positions.


The pandemic has unearthed deep, pre-existing inequities in our society, including anti-Asian hate. In March of 2021, NAPIC issued a statement condemning anti-Asian hate and shared resources on how to combat it. We continue to amplify this ongoing issue and seek allies to join us in broader educational awareness and action to address systemic racism, discrimination, and violence directed towards members of AANHPI communities. One of our key allies in these efforts is the White House Initiative on Asian Americans/Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI).


As you can see, there is a lot happening at NAPIC and we hope that you will make this the year that you join us!


Upcoming Activities for NAPIC Members >>

* APIDA Circle happening August 5-7 at California State University, Fullerton with Dr. Ding-Jo Currie, Leadership Institute for Tomorrow (LIFT)
* AACC Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado (April 1-4. 2023)
* APAHE Conference, Oakland California, (April 26-28, 2023)