LOS ANGELES — UCLA has been designated an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, one of over 200 institutions across the country to earn the classification it was announced Oct. 29.

The designation is for colleges and universities that support underserved Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students.
Congress established the designation 17 years ago to create opportunities and serve Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students.

“The AANAPISI designation will allow UCLA to tap new sources of funding that will help us foster a welcoming and supportive environment where all students can thrive,” said Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt. “This designation is also an important signal to our community that we are committed to working closely with our Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students to address their unique challenges, uplift their voices and ensure their success at UCLA.”

Students can face a variety of challenges from financial instability to family obligations, and can lack the resources and guidance to navigate the higher education arena.

The designation makes UCLA, where 35.1% of undergraduates identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, eligible for federal funds for research activities, programming and services.

The funds are used in several ways, from institutional and student-run programs to research-oriented programs. Grants have been used to enhance activities of student groups and to create resource centers.

At UC Berkeley, which was awarded the first AANAPISI federal grant last year, used a portion of its funds for student conferences, retreats and orientations geared toward Pacific Islanders and Southeast Asians and artist- and scholar-in-residence programs.

“Building a comprehensive ecosystem of support for students — and their families and communities — who are facing the greatest challenges is an urgent call that UCLA needs to answer,” said Vice Provost David Yoo, chair of the UCLA AANAPISI advisory committee.

The nine UC undergraduate campuses are AANAPISIs. Five campuses are Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and the other four, including UCLA, are considered emerging when the system marked record highs of Latino student enrollment.

“As the University of California system continues to serve an increasingly diverse and global student body, there is a pressing need to establish a working definition of what it means to be “minority-serving,” said Robert Teranishi, a professor of social science and comparative education who chairs the University of California AANAPISI initiative.

At UCLA, 23 faculty members, staff, graduate and undergraduate students and alumni are on the AANAPISI committee. The application that led to the designation was the result of mutual support between the committee and the HSI Initiative at UCLA, with assistance from campus partners such as Academic Planning and Budget, the Registrar’s Office, Admissions and Financial Aid.