Date: Friday, December 11, 2026 | Time: 6PM to 9PM
Place: House of Joy
28 Pell Street, Manhattan
Tickets
Regular: $200 | Student: $60 (Student ID Required)
Ticket/Table & Digital Journal Ad Form | Online Payment
RSVP Deadline: Friday, December 4, 2026
Digital Ad Deadline: Monday, December 7, 2026
Join us in celebrating a milestone quarter-century of impact. As part of The City University of New York, the Asian American / Asian Research Institute marks its 25th anniversary with a landmark fundraising gala convening over 300 esteemed community leaders, advocates, and supporters. This special evening will honor visionary leaders and pioneers in research, education, and advocacy that uplifts the Asian American Pacific Islander community across New York. We will also celebrate CUNY faculty for their groundbreaking research projects advancing AAPI scholarship, alongside outstanding CUNY students who represent the future leadership of our community.
Gala Program
Greetings
John J. Chin
Dean, AAARI-CUNY
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Honorees
Service Award
Leadership Award
CUNY Distinguished Asian American Award
Dr. Van C. Tran
Professor & Chair, Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center
Hostos Community College Alumnus ’02 & Hunter College Alumnus ’04
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Performance
Zeshan B
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2025 CUNY Thomas Tam Scholarship
Jiale Lin (LaGuardia Community College)
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2025 CUNY Ethics and Morality Essay Contest
Best Essay
Kelly Choi (CUNY Graduate Center)
First Runner-up
Hadia Amin (John Jay College of Criminal Justice)
Second Runner-up
Damir Shavkatov (Brooklyn College)
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2025 Betty Lee Sung Research Endowment
Michael Salgarolo (Bard)
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2026 AAARI Innovators Fellowship Program
Abdur Rahman (Queens College)
Jun Lin Jiang (Baruch College)
Lhakpa Kanchhi Sherpa (Queens College)
Maitri Vathada (Queens College)
Ritika Deb (Queens College)
Shakil Nabil (Queens College)
Zarif Islam (Queens College)
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2026 CUNY Faculty Research Support Program
Anita Baksh (LaGuardia Community College)
Hosu Kim (College of Staten Island)
Amy Lee (John Jay College of Criminal Justice & CUNY Graduate Center)
Eun Jeong Lee (New York City College of Technology)
Yinxian Zhang (Queens College)
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Emcees
Ernabel Demillo & Vivian Lee (CUNY TV Asian American Life)
Table Sponsors (In Formation)
Charles Ueng, City University of New York, Heung Tam, Joyce Moy, LaGuardia Community College, Queens College
Donors (In Formation)
Different Roads to Learning, Nazrul Khandaker
Journal Ads (In Formation)
CUNY TV, Loretta Chin, Taylor Zhou
Auction/Raffle Sponsors (In Formation)
American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Museum, Curtis Chin, Heartland NY, Museum of Broadway, New York Philharmonic, New York Public Library, Perelman Performing Arts Center, Sandie Han, Tenement Museum, Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Planning Committee
John J. Chin, Francisco Delgado, Sandie Han & Antony Wong