Asian Centennial
100 years of Asian students at W&M
From 2021 to 2022, William & Mary celebrated the Asian Centennial commemorating the admission of Chen Pu-Kao 陈步高 '23, our first student from Asia and highlighted the contribution of the preceding generations of students of Asian, Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern descent.
This auspicious milestone gave the W&M community an opportunity to reflect on the onset of inclusion for Asians and Asian Americans amidst the overwhelming exclusion of African Americans from matriculating in the university at that time.
The programming curated for the community by co-chairs Professor Deenesh Sohoni and Professor Francis Tanglao Aguas served as a platform for conversation and discernment towards how we can build on the seeds of inclusion and belonging within William & Mary that made possible the stories of earlier students like Chen Pu-Kao.
