The Asian American / Asian Research Institute (AAARI) has announced that Professor Ava Chin of the College of Staten Island and the CUNY Graduate Center is a recipient of the esteemed Betty Lee Sung Research Endowment Fund. This endowment, established by AAARI co-founder and City College of New York Professor Emerita Betty Lee Sung, aims to support scholarly research pertinent to Asian American and Asian diaspora studies.
Professor Chin, a fifth-generation Chinese American New Yorker, is renowned for her award-winning memoir, Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming (2023), a PEN/Open Book Finalist and ALA Notable book, which delves into the profound effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act on her family. Her forthcoming project will further explore the enduring impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act on multiple generations of her family in New York City’s Chinatown, particularly focusing on the 1950s through the 1970s.
As part of her research, Professor Chin will serve as a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University in Spring 2025, where she will examine archives related to the East India Company, the Treaty of Nanking, and colonial Hong Kong. This work aims to shed light on the historical forces that have shaped Chinese American identity and the ongoing challenges faced amidst contemporary anti-immigrant sentiments.
“I’m thrilled to be receiving this award which I’m applying towards my research,” said Professor Chin. “I knew Betty Lee Sung personally before she passed away, and I am indebted to the work that she did as a professor at CCNY in the field of Asian American studies.”
The Betty Lee Sung Research Endowment Fund, with an endowment of $100,000, was created to support research by providing funds for research assistants, copywriters, research travel, acquisition or access to research materials, and similar costs to facilitate the completion of scholarly projects. AAARI’s mission encompasses supporting research and scholarship on policies and issues relevant to Asia, Asian America, and other Asian diasporas, including timely concerns pertaining to New York’s diverse ethnic subgroups of Asian descent.
In addition to her writing, Professor Chin is a professor of Biography and Memoir and American Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and Creative Nonfiction and Journalism at the College of Staten Island. Her work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Saveur, and she has appeared on NPR, PBS, and C-SPAN.
The College of Staten Island community congratulates Professor Chin on this significant achievement and looks forward to the impactful contributions her research will bring to the understanding of Chinese American history and identity.
