Project AAPI THRIVE

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has awarded UW Tacoma a multi-year grant to develop supports and services for Asian American, Pacific Islander and low-income students.

The award recognizes UW Tacoma’s role as an officially-designated Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI). UW Tacoma is the first of the three UW campuses to receive funding under this designation and is now recognized as a federally-funded Minority Serving Institution (MSI).

The two-million-dollar grant will fund the AAPI THRIVE project. AAPI stands for Asian American and Pacific Islander. THRIVE stands for Tacoma Husky Retention and Inclusive Vision of Excellence.

AAPI students at UW Tacoma reflect the diversity of the greater South Sound region. Significant numbers come from Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities which have been historically underrepresented in higher education. "AAPI students at UW Tacoma are more likely to demonstrate exceptional financial need," said Rachel Endo, dean of the School of Education and principal investigator for Project THRIVE. "The majority have also experienced distress in recent years due to the steady rise in anti-Asian violence."

“The AAPI THRIVE project, which is housed under the Office of the Chancellor, will work with various offices and units across campus to increase AAPI student retention and engagement, develop and sustain culturally affirming curricula for students, offer equity-focused faculty development opportunities and increase awareness of culturally-relevant mental health resources for AAPI communities,” said Cassie Miura, assistant teaching professor and co-principal investigator for Project THRIVE.

UW Tacoma is one of only 14 institutions around the country to receive an AANAPSI grant in 2022. To qualify, a college or university has to be designated an AANAPISI-eligible institution. There are different criteria including a stipulation that at least 10% of the undergraduate student population is Asian American or Native American Pacific Islander. “AAPI students are the largest racialized population at UW Tacoma, with approximately 25% identifying as Asian American or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander,” said Endo.

UW Tacoma earned the AANAPISI designation in 2017. UW Tacoma Vice Chancellor of Information Technology Patrick Pow laid the foundation for securing the designation. Pow and his wife, Amy, donated funds to form the Asian American and Pacific Islander Impact Endowment. Endowment funds are used to provide scholarships to AAPI students and to bolster AAPI programming on campus. Some of the funds from the AANAPISI grant will go toward growing the Impact Endowment. (The grant requires those funds to be matched through philanthropy. If you would like to support the AAPI Impact Endowment, you can make a gift here.)

The AAPI THRIVE Project seeks to address key concerns related to student retention, faculty and curriculum development, and sense of belonging. "We want AAPI students, and all students at UW Tacoma, to thrive, to feel connected and supported, and to find a home on our campus," said Tanya Velasquez, associate teaching professor and co-principal investigator. "A sense of thriving will support our campus in closing the equity and opportunity gaps that many AAPI and low-income students confront in their higher education."

Internal data shows that most AAPI students at UW Tacoma are first-generation college students and qualify for financial aid. Data collected in 2020 by the National Center for Education Statistics showed that Pacific Islander (including Native Hawaiian) students at UW Tacoma have lower graduation rates than other groups. Endo, Miura and Velasquez also found that AAPI students who start their college careers at UW Tacoma are less likely to graduate than AAPI students who transfer from local community colleges.

The AANAPISI grant has a five-year funding period. This means there will be time to build out programs and procedures, and to test and tweak, with the ultimate goal of removing barriers to academic success for AAPI and low-income students.

The project will implement a number of different strategies that include increasing cohort-based learning opportunities for first-year AAPI and low-income students, instituting a faculty learning community focused on inclusive pedagogy and culturally responsive instruction with a special emphasis on AAPI experiences, developing curriculum that centers AAPI communities, and launching a new peer-mentor program.

The AAPI THRIVE Project complements UW Tacoma's broader mission as an urban-serving institution, especially given the rich history of AAPI communities in the city of Tacoma, from the Lincoln International District to the historic Nihonmachi (Japan Town) once located in south downtown. “This is an opportunity for us to come together to improve the student experience for these communities,” said UW Tacoma Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange. “We’re taking a holistic approach, which means building a network of supports and resources as well as creating a more inclusive campus climate.”