Following the Celebrate Culture event on May 3, UNMC has scheduled a variety of other activities to mark Asian American and Pacific Islander Month.
On May 16 at 2 p.m. Central Time, UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, and James Linder, MD, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, will open the second annual UNMC/Nebraska Medicine AAPI Heritage Month Celebration, featuring University of Nebraska at Omaha Chancellor Joanne Li, PhD, and a panel moderated by UNMC Yun Saksena, DMD, of the UNMC College of Dentistry, on the AAPI Community. This will include information on a forthcoming AAPI Employee Resource Group (ERG) for UNMC and Nebraska Medicine faculty, staff and house officers, which will kick off in August. (Register here for the town hall meeting.)
Panelist will include:
- Howard Liu, MD, chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry;
- Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, JL & CJ Varner Professor of Surgical Oncology & Global Health in the UNMC Division of Surgical Oncology
- Community member Maka Johnson;
- and others.
According to Dr. Liu: “AAPI Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate the incredible diversity of this community while recognizing that there are ongoing challenges. Hate crimes and violence against AAPI members continue, with more than 10,000 incidents reported since March of 2020. Some AAPI communities face barriers to higher education and health care access, leading to a call to disaggregate data to ensure that Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders are not overlooked by admissions committees or public health initiatives.
“We also appreciate the milestones in our community such as the investiture of Joanne Li, PhD, as UNO chancellor — making her the first AAPI member to hold an executive leadership position in the NU system,” Dr. Liu said. “Also, I want to give a standing ovation to our AAPI Student Association, which has blossomed under the leadership of Cassie Liu, PhD, and thank Dr. Sheritta Strong, VP, chief inclusion and diversity officer Ada Wilson, and Shanda Ross for their support of a future AAPI Employee Resource Group at NM/UNMC.”
Dr. Cassie Liu said the founding of the AAPI Student Association at UNMC speaks to the strength of the AAPI student community on UNMC campuses.
“Allyship is vital to supporting any community, and finding and including allies is a fundamental part of our association’s mission,” Dr. Cassie Liu said. “AAPI Heritage Month gives all of UNMC the outstanding opportunity to celebrate the individual cultures and backgrounds within the AAPI community, embrace our solidarity with DEI organizations and initiatives and focus on how we can better support AAPI communities on our campus and in our city. The AAPI Student Association has created a fantastic month of events for students, staff and faculty at UNMC with these opportunities in mind.”
Other events this month:
- May 17, noon-1 p.m.: An Asia and Pacific Islands trivia event. The Zoom event will allow participants to learn about and showcase their knowledge of the culture and history of Asia and the Pacific Islands — and win prizes. The event is organized and hosted by the AAPI Student Association. Meeting ID: 953 5697 0595. Passcode: 938524.
- May 18: A Situational Awareness Workshop/Bystander training activity from noon-1 p.m. on Zoom. This Zoom training will show what to do when participants see others experiencing harassment and discrimination. The event is hosted by the AAPI Student Association; training will be provided by OCA-Greater Houston. Meeting ID: 995 1631 6473. Passcode: AAPIOCA.
- May 25: Paw Bway Htoo from Restoring Dignity will speak on “Spotlighting Omaha’s Refugee Community” with from noon-1 p.m. Paw Bway Htoo’s story will include her experiences as a refugee and her current work with Restoring Dignity Omaha, a non-profit that advocates for the human dignity of our refugee population by providing critical resources that both relieve suffering and enable resettled families to thrive in their new environments. The Zoom event is organized and hosted by the AAPI Student Association. Meeting ID: 964 6466 3934. Passcode: AAPISpeak