APIA Scholars Reacts to the FY2022 Omnibus Government Spending Package
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CONTACT
Bryan F. Park
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bpark@apiascholars.org | www.apiascholars.org
APIA Scholars applauds congressional leaders and the Biden-Harris administration for reaching agreement on a bipartisan FY2022 omnibus government spending package which includes a significant increase for Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs).
Washington, DC (March 14, 2022)
APIA Scholars applauds congressional leaders and the Biden-Harris administration for reaching agreement on a bipartisan FY2022 omnibus government spending package, which includes a significant increase in critical funding for the nation’s most underserved students and the colleges and universities that serve them, especially Minority Serving Institutions. The nation’s Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) in particular will receive double the funding they received in FY2021.
AANAPISI leaders note that including these institutions in this investment is a long-awaited acknowledgement of their efforts to serve the diverse, rapidly-growing APIA student population. Specifically, increased Title III spending in this package more than doubles the FY2021 funding level for AANAPISIs, from $5 million to more than $10 million per year. These resources will enable many more eligible institutions to better serve first-generation and low-income Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students in higher education. “This investment will do important work in elevating the work of AANAPISIs and their ability to serve the diverse needs of AANHPI and low-income students,” stated APIA Scholars President Noel Harmon.
APIA Scholars partners with many AANAPISI campuses to administer an annual scholarship to students and applauds further investment in these institutions’ ability to meet the needs of underserved AANHPI students. “We know the AANHPI student community is incredibly diverse, yet their needs have not been front of mind,” said APIA Scholars Senior Vice President Julie Ajinkya. “In the last year alone, nearly 80 percent of our scholars have been first-generation college students, and nearly 70 percent live at or below the poverty level.”
While the proposed funding increases for these institutions and their student communities are necessary, they are considerably less than what was proposed in President Biden’s FY2022 budget request to Congress and the levels passed by the House last year, which would have increased funding to $25 million per year. More importantly, there is ongoing need for more robust mandatory and discretionary funding increases, totaling $100 million per year, in order to truly address the traditional underfunding of institutions serving large numbers of AANHPI students and equitably fund AANAPISIs at the level of comparable MSIs. APIA Scholars urges funding equity in the future and looks forward to continued consideration of the important role that AANAPISIs play in AANHPI student success.
For more information, contact Bryan Park at bpark@apiascholars.org.
About APIA Scholars
Based in Washington, D.C. and founded in 2003, APIA Scholars is the nation’s leading non-profit organization devoted to the academic, personal and professional success of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIAs). We celebrate APIA students whose unique stories, rich cultures, and diverse perspectives equip them to be the leaders of tomorrow. Through holistic college-to-career programs, scholarships, higher education research and policy, and institutional partnerships, APIA Scholars carries out its mission to educate, elevate, and empower a diverse community of 25 million strong and growing.
For more information about APIA Scholars, please visit us at www.apiascholars.org.
