About

What is the Asians@VT history project?

Asians@VT is a project that includes digitized archival materials, oral history interviews, a timeline, and links to secondary sources and news articles that document a history of Asian Pacific Islander Desi Americans (APIDA) at Virginia Tech. Through this research, we learned that there is a long history of Asians from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, from South Asians to East Asians and Southeast Asians to Middle Easterners. However, this is not the whole story. In fact, we hope to continue to do more research and add more contributions to recognize the heterogeneity of the APIDA community at Virginia Tech.

This project contributes to a fuller understanding of Virginia Tech’s past and present. Establishing and amplifying the presence and contributions of APIDAs at Virginia Tech enables a deeper sense of belonging for current Asian students and faculty. In doing so, it also challenges the stereotype of Asians as perpetual foreigners—the idea that Asians are relatively new to this country or to this university. It should also encourage us to ask ourselves why these stories have been absent from previous narratives about the university.

It also contributes to the recognition that Asians have a long history in Appalachia, a place that is often portrayed and perceived as a white space. This project demonstrates that Asians have been present in the region for over a century. What's more, we've been contributing to the university and the local economy, culture, and community.

Where did Asians@VT come from?

Dr. Jennifer Sano-Franchini and Dr. Nina Ha wanted to collaborate on a project that incorporated archival research and oral histories featuring the APIDA community at VT since the Fall semester of 2019. Thus, when they had the chance to work with one another by co-facilitating undergraduate research for college credit with interested and motivated students, they were excited to do so. Being able to provide primary sources and uncover the stories of the APIDA community has been important so that others can learn about the contributions from the APIDA community.

The interdisciplinary team of student researchers were in disciplines ranging from Accounting, Political Science, Math, Computer Science, Asian Studies, and Journalism. What compelled all of us to implement and complete this project was a desire to document and share this history of a heterogenous APIDA community that, at times, is overlooked or perceived as invisible. Both Dr. Sano-Franchini and Dr. Ha were honored to have been able to work with such a bright and dedicated group of people to work toward piecing together this story.