Conference on the Well-Being of Asian American Senior Citizens – Greetings

Terrence F. Martell: Good morning, everyone! I’m Terry Martell, Director of the Weissman Center for International Business at Baruch College of The City University of New York (CUNY), and it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2006 CUNY Conference on the Well-Being of Asian American Senior Citizens, sponsored by the Asian American / Asian Research Institute (AAARI) of CUNY. Baruch and the Weissman Center has been working closely together with AAARI for several years. It’s always been our pleasure to be involved in their programs, and to help out in any way we can to foster their excellent objectives and intentions. I’m particularly and personally pleased to see in the audience, Dr. Thomas Tam, who is a longstanding friend and the real reason for my association with this Institute. So, Thomas, thank you for coming and it’s good to see you. I’d like to first introduce Prof. Betty Lee Sung, Chairperson of AAARI, and former chairperson of the Asian American Studies department at The City College. Prof. Sung has published numerous articles and seven books on Chinese American issues including Mountain of Gold in 1967 and the Chinese American Manpower and Employment book which won an outstanding book of the year award in 1976. Betty…

 

Betty Lee Sung: Good morning, everybody! It’s wonderful to see all of you out here today especially on this rainy day. I want to thank Dr. Martell for that nice introduction. Dr. Martell has always been a wonderful supporter of AAARI. We want to also thank Dr. David Cheng who has always been very supportive of us here at Baruch, and all the other colleges as well, because AAARI is comprised all of the 20 colleges of CUNY.

 

Before we begin our conference, I want to say a few words. AAARI was founded in 2001 right after 9/11, which wasn’t a very auspicious occasion. But, during our very brief time in existence I think we’ve made a mark on the map of CUNY and in institutions in the New York City community as well. Our mission is to serve as a scholarly research and resource center that addresses the needs of Asian Americans. We identify issues that impact upon Asian American and Asian groups and we conduct scholarly, nonpolitical, and objective studies on political goals, on policy goals and community concerns. We disseminate the results of our research through various media. We’ve held many lectures, workshops and this is our fourth annual conference. Our first was right after 9/11, when we held the first conference on revitalizing Asian American communities that were hard hit by the tragedy, especially in New York, our second conference was on Asian American education, followed by a conference on international trade with Asian countries and entrepreneurship. This year, we are examining the well-being of Asian American seniors.

 

Our conference proceedings are published so that we can reach out to an even wider audience. All of our lectures and conferences are webcasted as well. As you can see, not only do we reach out to live audiences, you can tune in anytime you want at your convenience, at the time of your choosing, and watch all of the lectures or conferences we’ve held. So we’re reaching a very wide audience.

 

AAARI is meeting a very important need of the Asian American community throughout the country, and the needs of government agencies because Asian Americans now make up 11% of the New York City population.

 

Also, the largest number of undergraduate minority students are Asian Americans and at Baruch. What is the percentage Dr. Martell?

 

Terrence F. Martell: 29.2%

 

Betty Lee Sung: 29.2%, so you can see that the Asian American community is growing and our needs and our concerns are growing as well. I want to thank Chancellor Matthew Goldstein for his unwavering support, and our conference co-sponsors, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association which represents the Chinese community here in New York; Organization of Chinese Americans; Asian Americans for Equality; the New York City Department of Aging, represented by Commissioner Mendez-Santiago; and the Weissman Center for providing us with this facility to hold our conference. This conference has involved a great deal of work and we want to thank all of our very efficient college assistants and staff for putting this together. I also have to thank Lene Skou from Weissman Center, who was here even before I got here this morning, and was already directing the set up of the conference. We thank all of them, and hope that all of you participate in today’s discussion. Now I’ll turn the microphone back to Dr. Martell. Thank you.

 

Terrence F. Martell: Thank you, Betty. I’m happy to hear that the Weissman Center is so supportive of AAARI, but I want to emphasize that Baruch College is driving the crane here. They are actively supporting this organization, and I’m merely a conduit for that support.

 

Our second speaker is Judith Summerfield, who is the University Dean for undergraduate education at CUNY. She’s responsible for directing undergraduate education for a quarter of a million students, a very impressive and important task. She is currently on leave from the English department at Queens College. In 1998 she was named Carnegie Professor of the year for New York State. Her main project at CUNY is to re-envision liberal arts education for the 21^st Century, for a globalized, multilingual student body in a world city like New York. A significant task, and a significant person, please welcome Dean Summerfield.

 

Judith Summerfield: Thank you, Terry, and thank you, Betty. I’m honored to be here today and, as I’m standing in two pairs of shoes. I’m standing in shoes of Selma Botman, who asked me to bring greetings to you. Her words speak to the extraordinary work of this Institute, its significance within CUNY, the community, and as Terry have said, the number of students who come from all parts of the globe who speaks all the languages that we can imagine. She also wants to recognize the visionary leadership of Dr. Thomas Tam.

 

Today’s conference is a remarkable collaboration, and a remarkable partnership. I counted various colleges, city agencies, and private organizations, represented here today, each reaching its fingers into all parts and lives of the people who make up this great city. I asked Betty what it was that I could take back to what we call “the Tower,” the place where we know that various resources are dispensed. Of course you know what the response was, that you need more support. I am happy to carry that message back to the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor, and tell them of the work that you’re doing.

 

In my own shoes, on a personal note, I’m the daughter of an immigrant. My dear father came to this country as a refugee when he was sixteen years old, and I watched him struggle his entire life to speak the language, always mixing up phrases and idioms. My mother always corrected him because she proudly said that she was American born. He struggled with the culture, and I believe, saw the world through what I call the “double vision.” He saw the world through the eyes of a man who was standing here as we are today, but he also saw his native Russia, his village, which of course no longer exists, having been wiped out. So, I grew up as the daughter of an immigrant, and when you think about your own life, you think about what you are doing, and I know that it is no accident that I’m committed to this mission of this great university which I see as the great democratic experiment in the United States.

 

We want to, and this relates directly to the conference today, for all of us, our lives at the beginnings and at the ends, to be all that is humanly possible. I applaud and celebrate your work and I look forward to hearing about the conclusions you come to at this conference today, and I’m honored to be here. Thank you.

 

Terrence F. Martell: Thank you, Dean Summerfield. Our third speaker is Iris Mulé. She is the Associate Executive Director of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College. Brookdale plays a vital role in enhancing the quality of life of older Americans, through multidisciplinary programs in education, training, applied research, service innovation and advocacy. Ms. Mulé has devoted her career to serving older adults and assisting professionals. She administered the New York City Department of Aging, a community funded based program, first as director of storefront services for older adults, and then as an administrator of Bay Ridge Center for older adults.

 

Ms. Mulé is a licensed clinical social worker who received a Bachelor of social work from Virginia Commonwealth University, and her Masters in social work from New York University’s School of Social Work. For the past five years she has served on the faculty of Long Island University as an adjunct Assistant Professor of social work. Please welcome Ms. Mulé.

 

Iris Mulé: Good morning. Prof. Dennis Kodner our Executive Director wanted so very much to be here with you today but he is in England giving a paper at an international symposium, and hopes you understand. Brookdale Center on Aging is delighted to be a co-sponsor of this very important conference. Since Brookdale was founded by Executive Director, Prof. Rose Dobrof, thirty years ago, we’ve kept a keen eye on the changing face of older New Yorkers. Our center has played a leadership role in making planners, policy makers and providers out in the community to let them be aware of the changing demographics and the picture as a whole, of what it means in terms of unmet needs and critical service gaps. Our city is graying, as well as diversifying. A major component of this change is the growth of the Asian elderly. From 1998 to 2000, this population grew from 33,214 to 63,312, an increase of 91%. This rate of growth topped the 71% increase in the city’s overall Asian population and sharply contrasted with a 2% decline in the total number of older New Yorkers. Today, New York City is home to one of the largest concentrations of Asian elderly in our country.

 

In 2003, Brookdale collaborated with Asian American Federation of New York in presenting the first comprehensive examination of the demographics, living conditions, social support and overall life satisfaction of the city’s Asian elderly population. That landmark study showed that the Asian elderly, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese and Japanese, experienced greater economic and social vulnerability, had few culturally and linguistically appropriate service options, and endured disproportionate poverty and depression. Brookdale’s research team led by Prof. Mimi Fahs and senior research associate Nina Parikh, both of whom will be presenting at today’s meeting, continue to look at various public health aspects of being old and Asian in New York City. We hope that the CUNY Conference on the Well-Being of Asian American Senior Citizens sheds new light on the circumstances and needs of our city’s Asian elders and also advances important recommendations to enhance their well-being. Brookdale Center on Aging stands ready to help in any way that we can. Thank you very much.

 

Betty Lee Sung We’ll now begin our first general session.