Pamela K. Sari is the director of the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC) at Purdue University. Sari is an American studies scholar specializing in the intersection of religion and transnational Asian/immigrant communities. While she earned her PhD from the American studies program at Purdue University, Sari was involved in the Asian Pacific American Caucus and Student Steering Committee to propose the AAARCC during her time as a graduate student. Denny Putra is a doctoral student in the counseling psychology program at Purdue University and currently serves as the graduate assistant at the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC). His research interests include college student experiences, and cultural, strengths-based, and psychosocial factors that affect college student academic and career development, particularly for first-generation students.
The Founding and Early History of Purdue University's Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center is the result of an oral history project conducted in 2020-2021 on the founding process and first five years of the AAARCC at Purdue University. Richly illustrated, the book captures voices of individuals and organizations who were on campus at different historical points, but whose "unity" was reflected in a similar vision of weaving Asian American and Asian voices into campus lives. The story reveals strengths of focus, trust, and creativity of Asian-interest campus leaders and organizations. In a space where stereotypes of model minority and perpetual foreigner often impact the lived experiences of Asian individuals on campus, members of student and community organizations use their voices to tell the diverse stories of success and also struggle for Asian American and Asian communities. This book describes the journey of pledges to do counter-storytelling and advocacy, and reveals the road to institutional commitments to Purdue Asian American and Asian communities.
