History of the APA Studies Program

Before 1990, advocacy for Asian American Studies at MSU originated from the Asian American student community, primarily from APASO (Asian Pacific American Student Organization), later working with APAAFSA (Asian Pacific American Faculty Staff Association) to formally lobby for Asian American Studies initiatives.

In 1991, Roger Bresnahan, Professor of ATL (now WRAC), approached Maggie Chen (who was working as the APA Student Coordinator in the Office of Minority Student Affairs) to see if there might be students who would be interested in taking an Asian American studies course. As a result, in the spring of 1992, 18 students signed up for an independent study course, ATL300, co-taught by Roger Bresnahan and Maggie Chen. This very first Asian American studies class at MSU was a general survey class of Asian American studies, covering literature, history, and socio-political issues.

In Spring of 1995, HST319 Asian American History became the first regularly scheduled Asian American studies course; its first professor, Dr. Victor Jew, was the first faculty member hired specifically to teach Asian American studies. Since then the number of Asian American studies courses have continued to grow, including both regular courses and specially focused sections of larger courses.

In Fall of 2004, MSU approved an interdisciplinary specialization in APA Studies, allowing students to focus on Asian Pacific American studies while pursuing another major.