Asian American Research Center at Stanford

The dedicated efforts of Stanford faculty, alumni/ae, students, community activists, and philanthropists are responsible for establishing the Asian American Research Center at Stanford (AARCS). To counter the surge in anti-Asian violence during the covid epidemic, we committed ourselves to finding a way for the University to contribute to shaping a better future for our communities. Ours is a positive response to the ignorance and hate directed against Asian Americans, and with the support of the Stanford administration, we founded AARCS, now a permanent part of the University. Our commitment is to advance scholarship, learning, creative expression, and advocacy related to Asian Americans.

Stanford, as a place of humanist values, educational purpose, and distinguished scholarship, has long-standing connections with Asian American communities. The University itself came from the wealth of Leland Stanford, a railroad baron whose fortune came from the labor of thousands of Chinese railroad workers. Its institutional history is intertwined with the experiences of Japanese, Filipino, Korean, South Asians, and Southeast Asians, and other ethnicities with ancestries in the vast Asia-Pacific region. Our location on the west coast of the country with its many growing Asian American communities, a student body with a visible presence of Asian American students, and a faculty richly populated with colleagues of Asian descent are further compelling reasons for the establishment of AARCS.

AARCS will advocate for, promote, and actively support Stanford scholars and students, undergraduate and graduate, who advance knowledge about Asian Americans, pursue Asian American-related intellectual and creative efforts, and promote their voices. We seek to partner with Asian American communities outside of the University to help articulate collective concerns and interests. We support those who seek a world free from racism and other forms of injustice.

— Gordon Chang, Stephen Sano, Jeanne Tsai