thomas tam – Asian American / Asian Research Institute

AAARI 25th Annual Gala (2026)

December 11, 2026 By AAARI

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 honor outstanding CUNY students who represent the future leadership of our community.

2026 CUNY Thomas Tam Scholarship

November 6, 2026 By AAARI

The Tam Scholarship is awarded annually to a qualified CUNY undergraduate student (Asian or non-Asian) who demonstrates creativity in raising awareness about issues facing the Asian American community.

Across Continents: Transnational Asian/American Perspectives (Fall 2026 Seminar)

September 22, 2026 By R. Benedito Ferrão

Using a variety of literary and other texts, some referenced in R Benedito Ferrão’s Across Continents: Writing Goans, Making Worlds (2026), this six-session seminar will examine representations of displacement, post/coloniality, and transnationalism.

Across Continents: Writing Goans, Making Worlds

October 5, 2026September 18, 2026 By R. Benedito Ferrão

Across Continents employs Goan literary subjectivity as epistemology to critique a specific limitation of postcolonial thought, one that does not account for the situations or afterlife of Portuguese colonialism.

2026-2027 CUNY Thomas Tam Visiting Professor

September 10, 2026August 17, 2026 By R. Benedito Ferrão

R. Benedito Ferrão is Associate Professor of English and Asian & Pacific Islander American Studies at William & Mary, with affiliations in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. His honors include being named University Professor for Teaching Excellence (2025-28), the Jinlan Liu Award for Research in APIA Studies (2024-27), a Coco Faculty Fellowship (2026-27), a Fulbright-Nehru Research Award (2019-20), and fellowships with the American Institute of Indian Studies and the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at Bayreuth.

2025 CUNY Thomas Tam Scholarship Recipient

March 11, 2026November 7, 2025 By AAARI

For their project, Jiale Lin, a sophomore at LaGuardia Community College, addresses a critical but often overlooked public health crisis: chronic noise pollution in New York City’s Asian American community hubs.