PIA project News

News Update - February 2008
PACIFIC ISLANDER PIPELINE PROGRAM ENDORSES PIA PROJECT
PI Pipeline Program Becomes PIA project's Fourth PIAdvocate

The Pacific Islander Access project proudly announces that it has received an endorsement from the Pacific Islander Pipeline Program, a program of OCAPIC (Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance). The most recent of four Pacific Islander organizations to endorse the PIA project, the PI Pipeline Program is dedicated to providing an educational "pipeline" program to help young Pacific Islanders achieve excellence in higher education.

"We are energized by the Pacific Islander Pipeline's support," said Kawika Riley, Executive Director of the PIA project. "As Pacific Islanders across the nation strive to succeed, programs like the PI Pipeline Program and organizations like OCAPICA and the PIA project are working to support them. It only makes sense for us to work together."

Joesph G. Fa'avae, Project Coordinator of the PI Pipeline Program, stated the following regarding the endorsement: "I look at the Paicfic Islander Pipeline Program as a progressive movement for our people to address a lot of the barriers and issues that keep our youth from entering college. Within a movement there are cohorts in the struggle and I am elated to receive and offer support to the PIA project and to become a PIAdvocate amongst many other prominent Pacific Islander movers and shakers."

The Pacific Islander Pipeline Program is focused on developing programs that will increase Pacific Islander access into higher education, with a special emphasis on increasing the number of Pacific Islander health care providers in the Los Angeles, Orange, adn San Diego counties. PI Pipeline Program envisions various broad-ranging programs, designed to help Pacific Islanders each step of the way towards academic achievement.

The PIA project is a startup non-profit working to end the exclusion of Pacific Islanders from scholarships, fellowships, and other academic programs for underrepresented minorities. For more information, please visit http://piaproject.blogspot.com or www.piaproject.googlepages.com.

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News Update - December 2007
PIA PROJECT RECIEVES THIRD ENDORSEMENT
National Pacific Islander Educator Network to Support PIA Project

The Pacific Islander Access project is proud to announce that it has received the endorsement of the National Pacific Islander Educator Network. This is the PIA project’s third endorsement, and their second endorsement in the past two months. The National Pacific Islander Educator Network, or NPIEN, is a nonprofit Pacific Islander organization working to support academic achievement among Pacific Islanders.

“We are proud to have the support of the National Pacific Islander Educator Network,” said Kawika Riley, Executive Director of the PIA project. “NPIEN is out in the Pacific Islander American community, serving youth and families through scholarly work and hands on activities. I look forward to working with them.”

Regarding their decision to endorse, NPIEN stated “We are honored to support the efforts of the PIA project in ensuring equal access and opportunity for Pacific Islanders. The 2000 Census marked the first disaggregating of data for our people, related to education. We continue to see a low percentage of Pacific Islanders who graduate from college, and our high school drop-out rate is one of the highest among underrepresented ethnic groups. The PIA project affords hope for our community, where too many today are unaware of financial aid and academic programs.

”The National Pacific Islander Educator Network recently celebrated its 6th annual education conference on November 17, 2007 in Paramount, California, and invites the public to learn more at http://www.npien.com/. Each year we hold the conference, we see more and more participation from students and their parents, who are interested in fulfilling the education dreams that brought them to the US Mainland. We look forward to this partnership with the PIA Project,” NPIEN added.

The PIA project is a startup non-profit working to end the exclusion of Pacific Islanders from scholarships, fellowships, and other academic programs for underrepresented minorities. For more information, please visit them on the web at http://piaproject.blogspot.com/.

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News Update - November 2007
PIA PROJECT RECEIVES SECOND ENDORSEMENT
Indigenous Pacific Islander Alliance Drafts Letter of Support for the PIA project

After discussions that began over email and culminated with a meeting at the Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Health Summit held recently in Washington, DC, the Pacific Islander Access project has received the endorsement of the Indigenous Pacific Islander Alliance. This is the PIA project’s second endorsement.

“It is an honor to have their support, and I look forward to working with them to end the exclusion of Pacific Islanders from scholarships, fellowships, and other academic programs for underrepresented minorities,” said Kawika Riley, Executive Director of the PIA project.

IPIA is led by a group of Pacific Islander graduate students based in California. Kawika stated, “The students running the IPIA are leaders by example, working towards advanced degrees in various fields. On top of that, they’ve dedicated themselves to fighting for the interests of Pacific Islanders. I am honored by their confidence in the PIA project.”

Regarding their decision to endorse, IPIA stated “We at IPIA are proud to support and collaborate with the PIA project. Like our good friends at the PIA project, we believe that education is a human rights issue and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students should be given equal opportunities to participate and to succeed in this country.”

The Indigenous Pacific Islander Alliance, founded in 2003, is a student organization dedicated to representing the political, social, economic, educational, and cultural perspectives of indigenous Pacific Islander students, staff, and faculty throughout the University of California, Berkeley campus.

The PIA project is a startup non-profit working to end the exclusion of Pacific Islanders from scholarships, fellowships, and other academic programs for underrepresented minorities. For more information, please visit them on the web at http://piaproject.blogspot.com/.

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News Update - March, 2007
PRESTIGIOUS CENTER FOR PACIFIC ISLANDS STUDIES ENDORSES
THE PACIFIC ISLANDER ACCESS PROJECT

The Pacific Islander Access project (PIA project) is pleased to announce that the PIA project has been officially endorsed by the University of Hawaii's Center for Pacific Islands Studies. This is the PIA project's first official endorsement, and marks an early victory for the organization.

The faculty of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies voted unanimously to endorse the PIA project after deliberation at a recent meeting. James Kawika Riley, Executive Director of the PIA project, spent several months in communication with Dr. David Hanlon, Professor and Director of the Center. Kawika and Dr. Hanlon met in December to discuss the PIA project, and possible opportunities for collaboration.

The Center for Pacific Islands Studies is located at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The University of Hawaii was the first university in the world to offer an interdisciplinary graduate degree in Pacific Islands studies. Today, the Center is the only academic program in the United States to focus on the entire Pacific region. The Center's faculty includes over 40 regional specialists on the Pacific Islands, and boasts programs for both undergraduate and graduate study on the Pacific Islands.

James Kawika Riley, Executive Director of the PIA project, was pleased to comment on the endorsement. "The people at the Center for Pacific Islands studies are renowned experts on the Pacific Islands as well as Pacific Islanders. Their endorsement is a significant development for us, and it's powerful to have our first endorsement come from such a well-respected organization and group of scholars. The PIA project is honored to accept their endorsement. We look forward to working with them to end the exclusion of Pacific Islanders from scholarships, fellowships, and other academic programs for underrepresented minorities."

Dr. Hanlon, Director and Professor at the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, said the following on behalf of the Center: "We as educators are totally committed to promoting greater access to higher education for Pacific Islanders, and through a fairer and more effective distribution of existing and expanded financial aid resources. We are proud to join with the Pacific Islander Access project in promoting this critically important goal."

The PIA project is continuing its efforts to reach out to potential supporters of its efforts to end the exclusion of Pacific Islanders from academic programs underrepresented minorities in higher education (also known as URM academic programs). This coalition building effort is the first step in the PIA project's strategic plan.

For more information, visit the PIA project's main page at http://www.piaproject.blogspot.com/, or write to piaproject@hotmail.com.

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