Asian American and Pacific Islander Month 2021

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is observed annually in May to celebrate the history and achievements of generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) across the United States. The theme for 2021, selected by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, is “Advancing Leaders Through Purpose-Driven Service”. This year’s theme is the start of the new theme series for 2021-2021 highlighting FAPAC’s efforts in “Advancing Leaders”.

Teachers, professors, and faculty members working in computer engineering and computer science departments are emblematic of this year’s theme. These leaders train future leaders and ensure that the evolution of innovation endures in the field of computing.

To help commemorate the month, we have made available, from the IEEE Computer Society archives, an article from the 2016 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference titled “Asian-American Women engineering faculty: A literature review using an intersectional framework of race, class, and gender”.

Abstract: This literature review describes the current landscape for research around Asian-American female engineering faculty using an intersectionality framework of race, class, and gender. Analysis of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) database on engineering programs is coupled with a systematic search for scholarly articles in several literature databases using a combination of the key terms “Asian,” “Asian-American,” “faculty,” and “engineering.” Findings reveal that while racial stereotypes like ‘model minority’ may apply to multiple Asian-American ethnicities, more research on issues pertaining to socioeconomic class and gender should be investigated within each ethnicity. Findings contribute to furthering the research on Asian-Americans in engineering, as well as provide important information to stakeholders to develop potential interventions to increase retention of Asian Americans in engineering faculty positions. Read the full article (PDF).

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