Division of Student Affairs > Diversity & Culture > Identity-specific Cultural and Resource Centers > APIDA Cultural Center

APIDA Cultural Center

About the APIDA Cultural Center

The Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Cultural Center operates within the Office of Multicultural Student Success (OMSS) and is one of the four Cultural & Resource Centers at DePaul University. The APIDA Cultural Center seeks to foster belonging for APIDA-identified students by providing resources and opportunities for identity, academic, professional, and holistic development.

Purpose/goals of center

  • To provide student-centered programs, a sense of belonging and services to a diverse Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander student population.
  • To establish an inclusive environment by providing outreach, advisement and encourage collaboration with Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander student organizations to raise awareness and understanding of unique culture, history and heritage.
  • To inform and promote awareness about issues affecting Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities through an intersectional lens in relationship with students, faculty, staff and the city of Chicago through cultural events, workshops and other outreach programs.
  • To promote coalition building, community and unity amongst the Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islander students and the DePaul community.

Services Offered

  • Individual student support, includes connecting students to university resources that address their concerns and foster personal, academic, professional, and holistic development
  • Group support for student organizations, includes leadership development, event planning, funding, and connection to campus resources
  • Community Education, includes hosting spaces, workshops, dialogue, and training that raises awareness about individual and collective histories / stories of the APIDA diaspora
  • University Collaborations, includes collaboration between faculty, staff, and departments that foster a sense of belonging at DePaul

Signature programs and events

Upcoming Events

Register for APIDA programs & events on DeHub.

View Upcoming Events

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebrates the histories, identities, and collective accomplishments of the APIDA diaspora. Passed in congress in 1992, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is observed in May to commemorate the first immigrants from Japan on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. At the APIDA Center, we use the term “APIDA History Month” to recognize the unique heritage of Asian American communities while honoring our shared history.

According to DePaul University’s 2020 Enrollment Summary APIDA students account for over 10% of the University’s total enrollment. The APIDA Cultural Center celebrates our growing APIDA community, and we are dedicated to continue fostering an inclusive campus by raising understanding of the unique culture, heritage, and history of the Asian American diaspora.

Find our APIDA History Month events here.

The Student Employee Engagement Program was created to provide on-the-job training and learning for APIDA Cultural Center student staff. By participating in SEEP, student staff receive intentional programming that develops transferrable career skills and access to resources and networks beyond the immediate campus. Within the program, students cultivate critical thinking, interpersonal development, self-authorship, and other fundamental skills.

The Asian American Leaders Fellowship began as an initiative to educate the campus about cases of Asian American violence and racism that escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with the Division of Mission & Ministry, students involved in AALF participate in programming that sharpens their knowledge about issues that affect the APIDA community, including interfaith dialogue. At the end of the program, students are invited to present a project that cultivates a safe and culturally responsive campus for the APIDA community.

In collaboration with the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, the Grace Lee Boggs Heritage Breakfast is held every May in honor of APIDA Heritage Month. The breakfast brings together members of the DePaul faculty, staff and alumni community, as well as DePaul community partners to celebrate activists for social justice within the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. This event educates participants about relevant contemporary issues impacting the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and aims to cultivate collaborative opportunities to serve as allies for social justice.

Co-hosted with ELEVATE, DePaul’s Asian/Asian American faculty & staff professional community, this event recognizes the academic achievements of DePaul University’s Asian, Pacific Islanders and Desi American undergraduate and graduate students and their families and allies.

To keep up to date with what is happening in the APIDA Cultural Center, subscribe to our Monthly Newsletter. Please email Jane Baron at jbaron6@depaul.edu to be added to our listserv.