History & Timeline

History:

The founding of the Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies (IDAAS) at the Claremont Colleges in 1998 was made possible by the collective efforts of students, faculty, and staff over the course of many years. As part of the larger movement of Asian American Studies, the formation of the department at Claremont is indicative of the growth and vitality of the field represented at liberal arts colleges as well as other institutions of higher education. IDAAS has joined the longstanding Intercollegiate Departments of Africana Studies (IDAS) and Chicanx-Latinx Studies (IDCLS) to bring ethnic studies to the Claremont Colleges consortium.

Timeline:

• 1968-1969: Third World Strike at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley leads to creation of Ethnic Studies.
• 1969: Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies (IDBS), Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA), Chicano Studies Department (CSD), and Chicano-Latino Student Association (CLSA) begin.
• 1974-1977: Tim Dong (PSYCH-PO) and Rick Tsujimoto offer first Asian American Studies courses at the colleges.
• 1980s: No Asian American Studies courses are offered at the 5Cs.
• Apr. 1987: Suicide of Asian American PZ student heightens awareness of social issues facing Asian American students.
• Feb. 1989: Helen Park and other PO students submit a 5C Asian American Resource Center proposal to Council of Presidents. Proposal was not approved.
• Fall 1989: As a response to the denied approval of the proposal, the Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP-PO) begins.
• Spring 1990: Pitzer College received a Ford Foundation grant to develop a course in Asian American Studies. Faculty across the colleges met regularly to read and discuss literature in Asian American Studies.
• Nov. 1990: Dr. Dorinne Kondo (PO) and other Asian American faculty lead a protest against production of Mikado.
• Spring 1991: PZ Dean of Students Jack Ling, Dr. Linus Yamane, and Dr. Joe Parker offer “Introduction to Asian American Studies.” Over forty students enroll.
• Fall 1991: Under PO President Peter Stanley, Asian American Resource Center (AARC-PO) opens.
• Mar. 1992: Community jolted when vandals alter “Asian American Studies now” on Walker Wall (PO) to “Asian Americans die now.”
• Summer 1992: Working group submits IDAAS proposal to Academic Deans Council.
• Spring 1993: A multiracial coalition of students take over Alexander Hall (PO) and demand greater support for Ethnic Studies. Students such as Ted Lau (PO), Diana Lin (PO), Giselle Ow Yang (PO), and Janet Yoo (SC) participate. AARC Director/PO Faculty Ruth Gim Chung offers support.
• 1996: A multiracial coalition at Pomona documents challenging campus climate and demand changes be made in a report titled “A Call to Action.”
• Feb. 1997: Curriculum planning group submits the Asian American Studies Department proposal for IDAAS to Academic Dean’s Council and Council of Presidents.
• Spring 1997: Asian American Student Alliance (AASA) organize Balch Hall teach-in calling for the formation of Asian American Studies.
• 1997-2001: PZ students such as Laura Tamashiro, Kent Lee, Chelsey Kadota, and Summer Kelipio rally for the creation of a PZ Asian American student center with the help of staff Loy Nashua and Brooke Yoshino.
• July 1998: IDAAS was created and Linus Yamane serves as first department chair.
• Sep. 1998: To launch IDAAS, Dr. Ron Takaki gives keynote on Asian Americans and multiculturalism, fills Little Bridges, PO.
• 2000-2001: The CMC Asian American Mentor program was created.
• 2001: The Center for Asian Pacific American Students (CAPAS-PZ) opens with interim director Loy Nashua.
• 2002: SC students mobilize around “Whose Voice, Whose Vision” including Motley teach-in and press conference.
• Fall 2002: Students such as LeeAnn Wang, Jessica Wang, Keith Miyake, Anna Kim and others organize for 5C Asian American Student Center (AASC).
• Fall 2003: IDAAS moves into a suite of offices in Mead Heall at Pitzer.
• Fall 2003: 5C Asian American advisory board (AdBoard) launches. The AdBoard consists of two students and a member of the Dean of Students office from each campus. A faculty member of IDAAS is always asked to attend the meetings.
• Spring 2004: Ethnic Studies departments meet at the Laguna Cliffs Resort to address joint appointments and submit proposal, The Laguna Plan, for full-time faculty in Ethnic Studies during fall 2004.
• Spring 2004: An art piece in the shape of a cross is found and burned by students; a social club sponsors a scavenger hunt where participants are instructed to take a picture with ten Asians.
• Fall 2006: Howard Chen restarts the Asian American sponsor program, API-SPAM at Harvey Mudd.
• Spring 2007: Asian American Student Alliance (AASA) mobilizes for 5C AASC. Students include Sophia Cheng, Wendy Chu, Duyen Tran, Harrison Chiu and others.
• Spring/Summer 2007: IDAAS moves into its new office spaces in Lincoln Hall.
• Spring 2010: First 5C API graduation organized by AdBoard.
• Fall 2011:  IDAAS students go on hunger strike regarding PO worker authorization issue. IDAAS faculty and staff participate in educational outreach efforts.
• October 12, 2013: IDAAS celebrates its 15^th Anniversary with an alumni panel, a political campus tour, an exhibition of student projects in the IDAAS space, and a reception in Edmunds Ballroom.
• March 2021: Students of Asian descent at the Claremont Colleges are experiencing anti-Asian racism and violence. IDAAS, AARC, and CAPAS send a joint statement against anti-Asian racism to the Claremont Colleges community.
• November 2023: IDAAS, by majority vote, issues a statement of solidarity with Palestine, the people of Gaza and those among our Claremont Colleges community who are affected by the humanitarian crisis.
• February 9, 2024: IDAAS celebrates its 25^th Anniversary: Healing, Fighting, and Futurities with an alumni panel, and a musical performance by Gingee. There was also a Grieve/Resist/Live Poetry workshop the day before with Sara Farooqi.

The current academic year [2022-2023] is the 24th year of IDAAS. In this time, we have moved from being a vision to becoming a reality. None of this would have been possible without the efforts of many, many students. Though students come and go, their efforts while they are here have long lasting impacts on the generations of students that follow. The students usually get, at best, just a fraction of what they demand. But each and every time they move the colleges in the right direction. And so I am privileged to be a long term faculty member enjoying the fruits of student activists long after those students have graduated, fruits which the student activists themselves never got to enjoy. – Prof. Linus Yamane, first chair of IDAAS in 1998.

Faculty/Staff Timeline:

• 1973: Rick Tsujimoto (Psychology-PZ) joins faculty.
• 1983: Sam Yamashita (History-PO) joins faculty.
• Fall 1988: Linus Yamane (Economics-PZ) joins faculty.
• Fall 1989: Lynne Miyake (Asian Languages and Literature -PO) and Joe Parker (International and Intercultural Studies-PZ) join faculty.
• Fall 1991: May Lee: First Coordinator of Asian American Resource Center at Pomona College (AARC-PO).
• 1992-1994: Ruth H. Gim Chung: Teaches Asian American Studies and directs AARC-PO.
• Fall 1993: Christine Kim: First Coordinator of Asian American Student Union (AASU-SC).
• Fall 1994: David Yoo (History-CMC) joins faculty.
• 1994-1995: Norman Bok: Director, AARC-PO.
• 1994-1996: Alice Hom: Coordinator, AASU-SC.
• Fall 1995: Sharon Goto (Asian American Studies/ Psychology- PO) and Janet Clarke (Literature-PZ) join faculty.
• 1995-1996: Nancy Kim: Director, AARC-PO.
• 1996-1997: Tina Chinakarn: Coordinator, AASU-SC.
• July 1996-June 1997: Tai Chang: Director, AARC-PO.
• July 1996-June 1999: Alison De La Cruz: Assistant Director, AARC-PO.
• 1997-2008: Daren Mooko: Director, AARC-PO.
• 1997-2006: Brooke Yoshino: Admissions-PZ.
• 1997-1998: Daphne Nisperos: Coordinator, AASU-SC.
• July 1999-June 2001: Sunny Lee: Assisant Director, AARC-PO.
• Fall 2000: Thomas Kim (Politics-SC) joins faculty.
• July 2001-June 2003: Sejal Patel: Assistant Director, AARC-PO.
• Fall 2001: Ming-Yuen Ma (Media Studies-PZ) joins faculty.
• 2001: Hung Cam Thai joins department as Pomona scholar-in-residence.
• 2001: Center for Asian Pacific American Students (CAPAS-PZ) opens with Loy Nashua as interim director of CAPAS.
• Fall 2002: Stephanie Velasco Poserio: First Director, CAPAS-PZ.
• Fall 2002: YouYoung Kang (Music-SC) and Seung Hye Suh (Literature-SC) join faculty.
• Fall 2003: Madeline Gosiaco: IDAAS Academic Coordinator; Jennifer Marana: CMC Associate Dean of Students/dean of first-year students.
• Fall 2003: Beverly Chen: HMC Associate Dean of Student Health and Wellness.
• July 2003-June 2005: Mana Hayakawa: Assistant Director, AARC-PO.
• Fall 2004: Kathy Yep (Asian American Studies-Sociology-PZ) joins faculty.
• Fall 2005: Marla Love: Assistant Dean and AASU-SC advisor.
• January 2006: Sefa Aina (AARC-PO): Assistant Director.
• Fall 2006: Hung Thai (Asian American Studies/Sociology-PO) joins faculty.
• Fall 2006: Wei-Chin Hwang joins faculty (Psychology-CMC).
• January 2008-Spring 2009: Traci Kato- Kiriyama (AAR-PO): Artist-in-Residence.
• July 2008-July 2015: Karin Mak: Program Coordinator, AARC-PO.
• January 2009: Sefa Aina: Director, AARC-PO.
• Fall 2009: Warren Liu (English-SC) and Azamat Junisbai (Sociology-PZ) join faculty.
• July 2011-September 2012: Kristin Fukushima: First IDAAS Community Engagement Coordinator.
• Fall 2011: Joseph Jeon (English-PO) and Joyce Lu (Theatre-PO) join faculty.
• Fall 2012: Todd Honma (Asian American Studies-PZ) joins the faculty as first tenure-track hired in IDAAS; Tamara Venit-Shelton (History-CMC) joins faculty.
• July 2012: Sumun Pendakur: HMC Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity.
• September 2012-December 2016: Yuka Ogino: Advisor, AASU-SC.
• October 2012-June 2013: Linda Lam: IDAAS Community Engagement Coordinator.
• Spring 2013: Denise Uyehara is our inaugural Activist/Artist-in-Residence (AAIR).
• July 2013: Alexandra Margolin: IDAAS Community Engagement Coordinator. Linda Lam: Coordinator, CAPAS-PZ.
• October 2014-August 2016: Michael Pedro: Community Engagement Coordinator.
• Fall 2015: Stacey Doan (Psychology-CMC) and Jih-Fei Cheng (Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies-SC) join the faculty.
• November 2015: Kehaulani Vaughn: Assistant Director, AARC-PO.
• June 2016: Jenny Rodil: 7C Advisory Board Program Coordinator.
• Fall 2016: Wendy Cheng (American Studies-SC) and Giovanni Ortega (Theatre-PO) join faculty.
• January 2017: Steven Liang: IDAAS Community Engagement Coordinator and Asena Taione-Filihia: Assistant Director, AARC-PO.
• January/February 2017: Daniela Baena and Jenn Wells: Advisors, AASU-SC.
• Fall 2017: Aimee Bahng (Gender and Women’s Studies-PO) joins the faculty.
• September 2017: Sarah Lynn Miralles: Program Coordinator, Asian American Advisory Board.
• Fall 2018: Alfred Flores (Asian American Studies-HMC) joins the faculty.
• November 2018: Sarah Lynn Miralles: IDAAS Community Engagement Coordinator and Michael Manalo-Pedro: Director, AARC-PO.
• Fall 2020: M. Bilal Nasir (Asian American Studies-PO) joins the faculty as the Chau Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow and Prageeta Sharma (English-PO) joins the faculty.
• Fall 2022: M. Bilal Nasir (Asian American Studies-PO) joins the faculty as a tenure track professor.
• January 2024: Cogie Celzo: IDAAS Community Engagement Coordinator.
• Fall 2024: Lynn Itagaki (Asian American Studies-CMC) joins the faculty.

Curriculum Timeline:

• Spring 1993: The Asian American Studies Curriculum Group, made up of one faculty and one student from each of the colleges and the AARC director, presented a report with general guidelines for an Asian American Studies program. The decision was made to allow each campus to tailor the program and the major to its own particular needs. Pitzer instituted a major (1993); Claremont McKenna, a sequence (equivalent to a minor, 1994-1995); Scripps, a self-designed major (1994-1995); and Pomona, a special concentration major (1994-1995). All colleges supported the institution of five core areas of study: history, psychology, literature, anthropology/sociology, and the fine arts/performing arts in which faculty hires were to be made.
• 2005-2006: Revised major at Pitzer.
• 2007-2008: Revised major at Pomona (same as at Pitzer).
• 2014-2015: Revised sequence at Claremont McKenna.
• 2019-2020: Revised and instituted the same minor at Pitzer and Pomona. Revised combined major at Pitzer.
• 2021-2022: Instituted the same Pitzer/Pomona major and minor at Scripps.

(Timelines compiled by: Prof. Linus Yamane, Prof. Kathy Yep, and Prof. Lynne Miyake)

Here is the complete IDAAS history & timeline in PDF.