SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Asian American & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (AAPILC) congratulates Carmen Chu and Jose Antonio Vargas for their respective appointments to the UC Regents and CSU Board of Trustees, and the Caucus expresses our gratitude to Governor Newsom for his AAPI appointments to oversee California’s public universities. The AAPILC has long advocated for fair AAPI participation and representation across all levels of governing boards and government, especially in education. Thus, the Governor’s appointments mark a critical step towards the continuation of efforts to advance AAPI leadership in higher education.
Until Governor Newsom’s most recent appointments, only one member of the thirteen members in the UC Board of Regents and one member of the twenty-five members in the CSU Board of Trustees were Asian American. In the UC system, Asian Americans make up 35% of the student body population making AAPI the largest group of undergraduates according to a recent report by the Campaign for College Opportunity, and yet only one of the UC Regents is Asian American.
Carmen Chu will help expand opportunities for AAPI students obtaining higher education and be a representative of AAPI voices on the UC Board of Regents. She has over 17 years of governmental management and finance experience in the City and County of San Francisco and is the first Asian American woman to serve as City Administrator. Chu’s values are rooted in her experience growing up as a daughter of immigrants and as a strong women leader of color; Chu firmly believes in providing equitable opportunities for the community.
Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, acclaimed filmmaker, and leading voice for the human rights of immigrants. Vargas channels his own experience moving from the Philippines to the United States as an undocumented immigrant in a variety of his works and is the founder of Define American, a nonprofit organization meant to create dialogue around the criteria used to define who is American. Vargas will be a strong advocate and empower the voices of AAPI students as a member of the CSU Board of Trustees.
“The lack of AAPI representation in public higher education leadership has always been problematic. We are proud that AAPI groundbreakers Carmen Chu and Jose Antonio Vargas will be serving respectively on the UC Board of Regents and CSU Board of Trustees. AAPI representation that reflects the demographics of students and faculty and our state improves the quality of our universities,” said Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), Chair of the AAPI Legislative Caucus. “I am grateful to Governor Gavin Newsom for his historic appointments which uplift California values and raises the visibility of and opportunities for AAPI in California.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with both Carmen Chu and Jose Antonio Vargas. They have been incredible transformative leaders and will continue to uplift the voices of young Californians for generations to come.” said Assemblymember Evan Low, Vice Chair of the AAPI Legislative Caucus. “I applaud Governor Gavin Newsom for recognizing the need of representation and the exceptional appointments within the AAPI community.”
The AAPI Legislative Caucus has long advocated for greater AAPI participation and representation across all levels of governing boards and government. Governor Newsom has answered this call by appointing two AAPI individuals, Carmen Chu and Jose Antonio Vargas, as a new UC Regent and CSU Trustee. The appointment of two additional AAPI members to the UC Board of Regents and CSU Board of Trustees is a huge accomplishment for the AAPI community and a continuation of the Caucus’s efforts towards increasing AAPI representation in higher education positions.