The Asian American Center has, foremost, an educational and community charge, to serve as a dynamic hub for all to engage with Asian American scholarship, culture and advocacy. The center will enhance campus and community culture through speakers and events; offer a variety of professional development opportunities, scholarships and funding for student-driven initiatives; open doors for corporate partnerships; and address the growing need for all North Carolinians to better understand Asian American histories, cultures and experiences.
Most importantly, the center will help build the next generation of leaders while supporting and embracing an important but often overlooked minority student population.
The Asian American Center Campaign team aims to raise $1.2 million by the end of 2020 to start addressing diversity and inclusion at a particularly distressing time when Asian American communities nationwide are experiencing an upsurge in physical attacks, discrimination and hate speech during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The amount needed to fully endow the center is $5 million.