Our Initiatives
At TAAAP, we drive meaningful change for the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community at Vanderbilt through strategic initiatives and dedicated advocacy. Below you'll find detailed information about our past accomplishments and current projects, each representing our commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable campus community.
Where We Began
Asian American Studies
Our Goal: Create an Asian American Studies major and minor program, as well as an Asian American Studies Department.
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What We Have Accomplished: As of January 2023, Vanderbilt has officially incorporated an Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies major and minor. Vanderbilt has hired 3 professors to teach Asian American Studies (Dr. Vivian Shaw, Dr. Mark Sanchez, and Dr. Huan He), 2 of whom are on a tenure track (Dr. Sanchez and Dr. He). In February 2025, there have been a total of 9 unique ASAM courses. TAAAP is working with the Asian Studies Department to provide feedback on hiring for Asian American faculty positions. We are currently working towards more tailored Asian Studies minors (Korean American, South Asian American, etc.) to leverage current course offerings and create the opportunity to better understand these unique identities and histories.
External Relations
Through our External Partnership Committee, we seek to strengthen APIDA presence in Nashville by fostering strategic partnerships with community organizations. We are committed to creating meaningful connections between Vanderbilt students and local APIDA communities, developing sustainable relationships with nonprofit organizations, and executing high-impact events that serve both campus and local communities. Our vision extends to expanding our reach and impact through collaborative initiatives that benefit both Vanderbilt and the greater Nashville area.
Community Partnerships
Our Goal: We seek to establish long-term partnerships with local and national community partners that allow us to expand our reach and resources with APIDA communities.
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What We Have Accomplished: We have successfully established ongoing partnerships with influential organizations including OCA National as a College Affiliate, APIAVote as a College Ambassador, and API Middle TN to execute the following events:
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APIDA Nashville High School Leadership Conference in January 2025
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Vanderbilt Textbanking & Ramen-making Night in October 2024
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RepresentASIAN in Voting in September 2024
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AAPI Nashville High School Professional Development Workshop in March 2024
Alumni Mentorship Database
Our Goal: Build meaningful and lasting connections between current Vanderbilt students and Asian alumni. Foster student-alumni connections in fields current undergrads are interested in pursuing.
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What We Have Accomplished: We have talked with Vanderbilt Career Center, Vanderbilt AAPI Employee Affinity Group, and AAPI Association of Vanderbilt Alumni (AAVA) to discuss collaboration and a concrete database. We have disseminated a survey to gauge APIDA undergraduate interest and needs.
Internal Relations
The Internal Relations Committee is dedicated to improving the APIDA student experience through data-driven advocacy and systematic change. These initiatives are how TAAAP initially expanded and got off the ground. We strive to ensure university policies and programs reflect the diverse needs of APIDA students, while creating sustainable support systems for student success. Our focus encompasses strengthening connections between current students and alumni, while addressing specific needs within our community.
Cultural Center
Our Goal: The Cultural Center Committee aims to establish Vanderbilt's first Asian/Asian American Cultural Center through strategic advocacy and community mobilization. We are focused on creating a comprehensive proposal that demonstrates the critical need for dedicated APIDA space on campus, while building a strong coalition of student support and engaging constructively with administration to bring this vision to life.​
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What We Have Accomplished: Since our formation, we have made significant strides by initiating preliminary discussions with SCBC (Student Center for Belonging and Communities) advisor Jade Wong and establishing a dedicated committee structure for proposal development. We have begun collecting student testimonials and space utilization data to strengthen our case, while creating a framework for productive administrative engagement that will help us achieve our ultimate goal.
APIDA Fund
Our Goal: The Fundraising Committee is committed to building sustainable financial resources for APIDA programming at Vanderbilt. We aim to establish diverse funding streams through corporate partnerships, grants, and individual donors, ensuring long-term financial stability for the Vanderbilt APIDA Fund. Our strategy focuses on developing innovative fundraising approaches that engage both campus and external communities to support APIDA initiatives.
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What We Have Accomplished: We have successfully established the Vanderbilt APIDA Fund as a recognized funding vehicle for APIDA programming. Our committee has created an initial fundraising strategy framework and identified potential corporate and nonprofit partners. We have also developed a preliminary grant application pipeline to ensure sustained financial support for our community's initiatives.
Data Disaggregation
Our Goal: Design a long-term assessment of Asian American student needs for universities, starting at Vanderbilt University, that i) assesses the campus climate and cultural competency, ii) disaggregates data for APIDA populations, iii) leverages disaggregated data for more tailored programming towards member ethnicities of the APIDA umbrella.
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What We Have Accomplished: Our committee has successfully launched a data disaggregation initiative with administrative support, engaging directly with Dean G.L. Black, the Office of Data and Strategic Analysis, and the Student Center for Social Justice and Identity on improving methodology for student quality of life surveys. We hope to implement this disaggregation across all ethnicities in the 2025-2026 Student Life Survey.
Taste of Nashville
Our Goal: Include more Asian American restaurants in the Taste of Nashville portion of the undergraduate meal plan by collecting opinions on student preferences, reaching out to restaurants about the program, and talking to Campus Dining to advocate for these restaurants..
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What We Have Accomplished: We successfully helped 3 Asian/Asian American restaurants (Koi Sushi & Thai, Sarabha's Creamery, and Sweet Dots) become a part of the Taste of Nashville program. A full list of restaurants can be found here.
Inter-School Collaboration
Our Goal: Connect Asian American student leaders from all ten of Vanderbilt’s schools to foster cross-organization collaboration.
What We Have Accomplished: We have created a GroupMe to serve as a centralized communication platform for the leaders of Asian American serving organizations at Vanderbilt. We held a meet and greet for these student leaders on September 17, 2022 to foster community among leaders on campus. The meet and greet garnered interest from over 40 student and faculty/staff leaders. There were presentations from the Chair of the Asian Studies Department, Student Center for Social Justice & Identity, Peabody's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office, Development and Alumni Relations, K.C. Potter Center, and Vanderbilt's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office.
University Counseling Center
Our Goal: Hire more counselors in the University Counseling Center that can understand the cultural nuances that influence the mental health of Asian American students.
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What We Have Accomplished: We assisted the University Counseling Center in hiring two Social Justice Counselors who demonstrate great competency and initiative in caring for the mental health needs of Asian American communities