Hunter Awarded $3.5M to Support Asian American and Other High-Need Students

The new grants will support the work of the Hunter College AANAPISI Project (HCAP), which was established with a 2016 AANAPISI grant of $1.7 million and has already supported the work of more than 270 faculty and staff and improved the experience of more than 1,300 students, including 480 through academic courses, 330 through educational seminars, and 580 through mental health workshops.

Hunter is the only school in the nation to receive two AANAPISI grants in this year’s funding competition. And with its inaugural AANAPISI Program grant still active, Hunter becomes the only school in the program’s history to have three concurrent AANAPISI grants, reflecting the college’s strong historical commitment to serving underrepresented communities.

“Hunter has always been a place where the American Dream comes true, and this new funding will make the path to that dream just a little easier for so many more students,” said Jennifer J. Raab, president of Hunter College. “Students from immigrant families in particular face a range of financial and other challenges, and these grants will allow us to expand on our many other supportive efforts.”

“In New York City, nearly a quarter of Asian Americans live in poverty,” said John J. Chin, professor of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter who oversees HCAP. “Coming from low-income and immigrant backgrounds, often as the first in their families to attend college, many students need more support to succeed. We know they can succeed, and with this support, many more will.”
Over the next five years, the three grants will vastly expand the project’s reach to more than 3,000 students, providing them workshops on financial literacy and navigating college; teach 100 students in a new Asian American Studies research methods course; and support 60 student research assistantships, where students are paired with faculty mentors doing research on Asian American communities.

One of the grants will also create a new partnership—the Transfer Pipeline Program—with Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to support 200 transfer student mentees and train 100 student mentors. It will also support 800 Hunter and BMCC students through free academic writing and speaking skills seminars, and it will reach 250 Hunter and BMCC faculty and staff through professional development seminars focused on student-centered and culturally relevant pedagogies.

The grants will also provide continued support for students’ mental health needs through courses and outreach events, as well as partnerships with New York City’s community mental health centers.