UW-Madison students push for Hmong-American studies program

A group of Hmong-American undergraduates is pushing administrators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to hire more faculty who study the ethnic group and to launch a program through which students can earn a certificate in Hmong-American studies.

Several students of Southeast Asian descent formed the Hmong-American Studies Committee, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. The group envisions a program focusing on “Hmong-Americans in America today” and seeks courses on culture, educational policy, history and social welfare.

The committee also wants the university to open a Hmong cultural center on campus, similar to a hub for black students that is opening this semester.

It’ll be hard to make the students’ idea a reality as state budget cuts have led some of the university’s departments to slash jobs.

COPYRIGHT 2023 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.