Qin Gao named Acting Director of Columbia’s Asian American Initiative

This fall, Prof. Qin Gao was appointed the Acting Director of the Asian American Initiative (AAI) at Columbia University. Prof. Gao is the Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice and Associate Dean for Doctoral Education at the School of Social Work. 

“Serving as the Acting Director of the Asian American Initiative (AAI) feels like homecoming for me.” said Prof. Gao, who has been conducting research on Asian Americans for over 16 years, starting with the Study of Asian American Families in 2009 and working with her team since 2020 to expand the Asian American sample in the New York City Longitudinal Survey of Well-being.

Under the leadership of inaugural director, Prof. Jennifer Lee, AAI was established at Columbia University in fall 2024, guided by the philosophy of Data, Narrative, and Action (DNA). AAI aims to reshape public and policy perceptions of Asian Americans and make the narratives of Asian Americans central to our understanding of America. 

“We are so thrilled to have a scholar of Qin Gao’s stature leading AAI at this critical moment in its evolution,” said Amy E. Hungerford, Dean and Executive Vice President of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “Her boundless energy, field-shaping research on Asian Americans in New York and beyond, and her skill as a leader in this space will be a huge benefit. We’re excited to see all the wonderful things we know she will achieve in the coming year.”

As Acting Director, Prof. Gao will be the intellectual leader and executive for the Initiative, spearheading its programming and working with students, faculty, staff, and other community members in advancing the Initiative’s mission to promote evidence-based research on the study of Asian Americans; raise awareness of Asian Americans in the U.S. national narrative; change the public and policy framework in which the public views Asian Americans; and forge a strong sense of belonging, confidence, and pride.

“I love AAI’s philosophy of Data, Narrative, and Action (DNA). Only through high-quality data and rigorous research can we accurately and fully capture the Asian American narrative and advance policy and action,” said Prof Gao. She added “I strongly believe in the mission of this important--and groundbreaking--Initiative, and am eager to work with students, faculty, and many stakeholders on and off campus to broaden its reach and amplify its impact.”

Since her appointment, Prof. Gao has been an effective leader, devising an exciting public program for the spring term that starts with a panel discussion on data and research on Asian Americans with lead national and local scholars. (Stay tuned for event details and announcements in the new year!).   

In recognizing student input as central to AAI’s goal to invigorate AAI’s curriculum and position Columbia as the premier institution for Asian American Studies, Prof. Gao met with undergraduate students over lunch recently, to learn about their trajectories leading to their studies at Columbia and Barnard, and their feedback on and vision for Asian American studies curricular offerings and programming. 

Prof. Gao brings her ample experience in researching poverty, inequality, social policy, and population well-being both among Asian Americans and in China to AAI.  She is the Founding Director of Columbia’s China Center for Social Policy, the first research center of its kind within a school of social work. In 2022, Prof. Gao led The State of Chinese Americans Survey, a year-long research project and survey on the critical health, economic, and sociopolitical conditions of the Chinese American population. At Columbia, Prof. Gao is also a faculty affiliate of the Columbia Population Research Center, Committee of Global Thought and Weatherhead East Asian Institute as well as a member of the Faculty Steering Committee for the Columbia Global Centers | Beijing.