Please join us for this panel discussion and learn more about the history of Asian Americans & affirmative action in US higher education, the broader impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, and the different types of organizing and community-based efforts happening locally, regionally, and nationally.

Speaker bios:

Mike Hoa Nguyen is assistant professor of education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and a faculty affiliate at the Institute for Human Development and Social Change, the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, and the Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy. He is the principal investigator of the Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) Data Project, a research and resource initiative with the mission to advance a greater understanding of MSIs and their unique contributions to postsecondary education. Dr. Nguyen is deeply committed to applying his research to inform and advance public policy and institutional practice. He serves on the Board of Directors for Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE) and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). Dr. Nguyen continues to volunteer and provide research consulting for education and civil rights organizations. Most recently, he co-authored amicus curiae briefs on behalf of social scientists in SFFA v. Harvard, which was discussed during oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court and cited by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in their opinion to uphold affirmative action.

Juhwan Seo is a PhD Candidate in Sociology and a Graduate Resident Fellow in Hans Bethe House at Cornell University, where he is affiliated with the Asian American Studies, Latinx Studies, and Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Programs. He studies how U.S. immigration policy shapes family formation of queer immigrants. He is also a fellow with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC to advocate for equitable education policies in the US. He has been involved in the SFFA v. Harvard case since 2013, including mobilizing Harvard students and alumni to testify, working with national civil rights groups, and developing and disseminating guidance. Previously, Juhwan organized with the New York Immigration Coalition and co-founded the Harvard Ethnic Studies Coalition.

Moderated by: Derek Chang (History and Asian American Studies Program)

Co-sponsored by the American Studies Program, Asian/Asian American Center (A3C), and the Center for the Study of Inequality (CSI) at Cornell