Yoon K. Pak & Dina C. Maramba 
Asian Americans in Higher Education 
Charting New Realities: AEHE Volume 40, Number 1

The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) populationcontinues to obfuscate the discourse on diversity and highereducation institutions. The historical and contemporary experiencesof AAPIs in higher education clearly indicate that their presencehas influenced and reinforced the importance of diversity ineducational environments. To contextualize AAPIs’participation in postsecondary education, this monographprovides:
* A historical overview of the ‘model minority’stereotype
* The affirmative action debate and AAPIs
* Their involvement in the education pipeline
* A discussion of their experiences in college.

Implications for future research, practice, and policy arefurther discussed. Educators, administrators, faculty, policymakers, and researchers who are concerned with diversity issues andthe AAPI population will find this monograph an engaging andvaluable resource.

Table of Content

Executive Summary vii

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 1

Chapter Summaries and Outline 3

Defining ‘Asian American’ 5

Research Literature on Race and Asian America 8

Limitations of the Review and Analysis 11

Historical Overview of the Model Minority Concept 13

Are Asian Americans Considered Racial Minorities in Higher Education? 13

The Various Shades of the Yellow Peril 15

The Modern ‘Model Minority’ Emerges 18

The Model Minority Goes to School 22

Asian Americans and the Educational Pipeline: Tenuous Citizenship 31

Asian American Access to the Educational Pipeline 34

Higher Education and Segregation 38

Asian American Demands for Equal Representation in Higher Education 40

Affirmative Action and Asian American Admissions 49

Affirmative Action Defined 49

Affirmative Action Toward the Turn of the Century: (Re)Defining Merit 52

Negative Action Versus Affirmative Action 56

The Model Minority Goes to Court: The Impact of Bakke, Gratz, Grutter, and Fisher 58

Affirmative Action in Contemporary Asian America 61

Potential Implications of the Fisher Ruling 67

Influential Factors in the Asian American and Pacific Islander College Student Experience 69

Campus Climate 70

Identity Development 73

Family and Intergenerational Concerns 76

Mental Health 78

Leadership and Involvement 81

College Choice 82

Community College 85

The Emergence of Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) 88

Conclusions and Recommendations 95

Recommendations for Future Research: Purposeful Disaggregationof Data 96

Multiracial AAPIs 97

Research Beyond the Model Minority 98

Implications for Policy 98

Implications for Practice 99

Challenges Looming on the Horizon: Conflation of AAPI College Students and Asian International Undergraduates 101

Concluding Thoughts 105

References 107

Name Index 123

Subject Index 129

About the Authors 135

About the author

YOON K. PAK is an associate professor of education policy, organization, and leadership and Asian American studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

DINA C. MARAMBA is an associate professor of student affairs administration and affiliate faculty in Asian and Asian Americans studies at the state University of New York at Binghamton.

XAVIER J. HERNANDEZ is a Ph D student in the Department of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.