“Meet the CEN” is a new series that shines a spotlight on the dynamic individuals who make up the heart of our Community Engagement Network (CEN). As we continue to foster collaboration, learning, and community-building within the realm of community engagement at UBC, it’s our pleasure to share the stories and insights of those who drive this essential work forward.
Meet the ACRE team!
UBC’s new Centre for Asian Canadian Research and Engagement — also known as ACRE — is an incredible initiative that is working to center the voices, experiences, and expertise of Asian Canadian communities, both within the university and, crucially, beyond it.
ACRE’s approach to research, teaching, and engagement is deeply rooted in community engagement and is built on long-standing partnerships with cultural, civic, and non-profit organizations throughout Metro Vancouver. By working together, they aim to build a more socially just future where Asian Canadians of all backgrounds can thrive.
In our fourth episode, we spoke with the staff behind ACRE. Specifically, Joanna Yang, Szu Shen, Jennifer Lu, and Shirley Ting to learn more about ACRE and how they are supporting reciprocal community-university engagement.
Dive into our conversation with ACRE, available in video, podcast, and written formats below.
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Edits have been made to this written Q&A for clarity, style, and tone.
What is ACRE?
Joanna: The Center for Asian Canadian Research Engagement (ACRE) was approved in March 2022, so we’re quite new. It is a research center out of the Faculty of Arts and came about as a result of the 2021 National Forum on anti-Asian racism. This initiative was a commitment made by past President Santa Ono, recognizing the need to consolidate Asian Canadian research and scholarship on campus to help combat anti-Asian racism.
The Center for Asian Canadian Research Engagement acknowledges the 15 to 20 years of Asian Canadian expertise and scholarship here at UBC. ACAM has been around for ten years, and the Center for Asian Canadian Research Engagement serves as a means to bring all of these components together. Our goal is to connect with colleagues, faculty, staff, and students to combat anti-Asian racism and make the university, and the world, a more equitable place.
The community engagement aspect of our work is particularly crucial. We recognize that research is not just conducted in isolation within individual faculty or staff teams. Instead, it is carried out with and within the community. Establishing reciprocal, ethical, and nurturing relationships is vital in the creation of what we consider knowledge, especially in a colonial context.
So, ACRE attempts to help reshape what research processes look like and how research can manifest within an institution.
Szu: I think it’s important to add that when we talk about community, it’s common to distinguish it from the university. However, we’ve been focusing extensively on how to build communities on campus. This involves working with faculty across various disciplines, not just within Arts, and with graduate students who are seeking a place where their research and opinions are valued and matter.
These two areas are what our team has been striving to work on. We’re very excited to collaborate with our team and the faculty leadership to support these two priorities.
Joanna: The creation of ACRE recognizes that many of the staff, faculty, and students at UBC involved in Asian Canadian scholarship are actually part of the off-campus communities, perhaps as members or leaders. This acknowledges our multifaceted nature and the need to bring our whole selves to our roles in this institution.
Adding to Szu’s point about building communities on campus, we realize that many of us are indeed part of communities outside the campus. Our aim is that through our work, we can encourage everyone to bring their entire selves to the research process. This can be challenging, exhausting, and complex, but we hope that ACRE can provide a safe space for people to embrace their complexities. We envision ACRE as a model for those looking to explore who they are beyond their university roles.
Furthermore, this approach allows individuals to bring elements of their identity into the academic sphere, influencing what research in the social sciences and humanities can look like.
Jennifer: Building off what Szu and Joanna mentioned, fostering a sense of belonging is central to our work. This applies to students, staff, faculty, and community members off campus. As Joanna pointed out, it’s about bringing our whole selves, recognizing our diverse lived experiences, languages, skills, talents, thoughts, and ideas that may not always be welcomed in all spaces.
The question then becomes how we can foster a sense of belonging for each other. This feeds into the broader conversation of creating and inviting a sense of belonging in larger contexts, like our cities and Canada as a nation. So, it’s about nurturing a grassroots sense of belonging while also considering its impact in a broader context.
Can you share a memorable example of reciprocal community university engagement that you’ve seen or been part of?
Szu: I’d like to highlight one of our most memorable community-university engagement projects. It’s our new course, ACAM 320J, a studio course where students actively learn about and practice ethical engagement and collaboration with and for Asian Canadian communities. This course was co-developed, designed, and delivered by our ACAM faculty, Dr. J.P. Catungal, and our community partner, christina lee from the hua foundation.
We received funding from the Community-University Engagement Support (CUES) Fund to support this course. What makes this course special is that it doesn’t just treat community engagement as a subject to teach, but actively embodies what it means to engage and work with communities ethically and responsibly. From the very beginning, from conceptualization, planning, development, to instruction and delivery, every step includes collaboration, community-based consultation, and it was a deliberate, slow process. We invest the time and energy to do this right, which I find very humbling to witness.
I also want to mention christina lee, the community instructor. It’s particularly touching because I met them when they were an ACAM student and after graduating, they did amazing work in the community and now have returned to UBC, to ACAM, to share their knowledge and experiences with our students. It’s really heartwarming to see.
Shirley: Before my current role as an admin coordinator, I was a student at ACAM, and I’d like to share one of my experiences from that time. A lot of my work in research is inspired by my family, especially my grandmother. There are two things I closely associate with my grandma: her passion for education and gardening.
The first piece of advice she ever gave me was about the value of education, saying it’s something you do for yourself because it’s something that no one else can take away from you. My earliest memories of her are in her garden. While she encouraged me to focus on my studies, she tried to keep me away from gardening because she, and many others she knew who gardened or farmed, were “uneducated” in the sense that they never had the opportunity to go to school.
She felt the knowledge she had of gardening wasn’t worth learning or passing on because it wasn’t learned in a classroom. That always frustrated me because I didn’t think that was true. So, when an opportunity came up in my ACAM 390A class to engage communities for our class project, I chose to interview my grandma.
Initially, she was very confused. She couldn’t understand why a UBC prof would care about what she had to say. However, because she cared about my grades, she agreed to help. We completed the project, which was published and later picked up by a Chinese language newspaper. When she saw it, she was surprised and honored that people were interested in her insights.
Since then, she’s become more confident and open about sharing her experiences. This change in her means a lot to me. It’s just one of many examples of how our efforts at UBC have empowered our elders and other community members.
Jennifer: One project I’m particularly proud of and holds a special place in my heart is called “Fish Tales.” It began as a student project in ACAM 390 in 2021, during COVID. The course was taught by Dr. Henry Yu, one of the co-directors of ACRE, along with JP Catungal.
We had invited speakers from the Gulf of Georgia Cannery to talk to the students about their work, the site, and their efforts to increase representation and diversify storytelling, including engaging the Asian Canadian community in Richmond, where the Cannery is based.
A student team developed “Fish Tales,” aiming to engage people in storytelling activities to build community and connections, focusing on seafood consumption. It was a chance for them to reach out to their friends, family, and the broader community in Richmond to be part of the project.
Now in 2023, the project is still ongoing with different cohorts of students working on “Fish Tales,” collaborating with the Cannery. They’ve engaged in various ways, like tabling at events in Steveston, involving their former teachers to engage K-12 classes, and creating content for social media and short video clips about seafood stories.
I’m proud to say the Cannery loved the project and turned it into an exhibition now viewable on-site at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. It includes content and stories our students helped gather, collect, and curate. I’m also grateful that this project received support from the CUES Fund, allowing us to properly compensate our student research assistants and work with the Cannery to acquire appropriate filming equipment and promotional supplies for the exhibit.
I’m thrilled to see this project continue, and we have no plans to stop anytime soon.
Joanna: There are many examples of how we try to connect the knowledge from off-campus with people on-campus, and vice versa. A core part of ACRE’s mission is ensuring that the research and knowledge produced is publicly relevant. With Shirley’s story, for instance, we recognize the power imbalance that exists with an institution, but we also see that communities, particularly when acknowledged by educational or arts and culture institutions, gain a bolstered sense of self. This is especially true for our elders, many of whom come from various parts of East Asia. Being seen and recognized by an institution can be quite empowering, not just for them but for our students as well.
In the context of ACAM 320J, christina lee was one of our students as Szu mentioned. It’s been amazing to witness their journey from a student to a professional and community leader, and now returning to the university to teach. However, this was not achieved without overcoming numerous institutional and administrative hurdles.
Jenny’s example about the museums, like the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, illustrates how we support students in extending their projects to become publicly relevant and interesting for cultural institutions off-campus. This is extremely rewarding for us. When I say that ACRE was built on 15-20 years of work, it includes engaging with museums for at least 5-10 years. We’ve collaborated with many museums in the Lower Mainland, including the Burnaby Village Museum, Richmond Museum, helped create the Chinese Canadian Museum, and worked with the Museum of Vancouver on the “A Seat at the Table: Chinese Immigration and B.C.” exhibit, co-curated by one of our former research directors, Denise Fong, and Dr. Henry Yu.
Creating knowledge on campus in collaboration with our communities and making it publicly relevant through museum exhibitions and educational content, particularly for K-12 teachers, is a vital part of what we do.
Another significant aspect of our work is collaborating with government bodies at municipal, provincial, and sometimes federal levels. We assist them in shaping policies and understanding how Canadian policies have historically discriminated against Asian Canadians. This is a clear attempt to connect our work at a higher level of policy influence.
I want to emphasize that while the center is relatively new, the people and the work have a long history. We are eager to expand our network and involve staff, faculty, and students who might not yet see themselves represented in what ACRE currently embodies. We recognize our strengths and weaknesses. Historically, our engagement has primarily been with East Asian Canadian communities, especially Chinese and Japanese, reflecting the scholarly background of our faculty. However, we are actively working to engage more with Southeast Asian communities, under Dr. JP Catungal’s leadership, including Filipinx communities, and we aim to increase our involvement with South Asian communities and support existing community work.
Another crucial aspect of ACRE is understanding that UBC’s Point Grey campus location, being at the tip of the Lower Mainland, is highly inaccessible for most of our community members. We recognize the need to work with communities where they are, rather than expecting them to come to our campus, which can be quite challenging to access.
Based on the feedback we’ve received, we have signed a licensing agreement and will be sharing office spaces with Hogan’s Alley Society, hua foundation, and the Chinatown Celebration Society at 312 Main. 312 Main is a centre for social and economic innovation in the DTES, just two blocks away from Vancouver’s Chinatown. We’ve formed a working relationship with Learning Exchange and are excited to learn from colleagues and non-profits in the community.
In the current post-pandemic context, we understand that flexibility is key in how we engage with people. No one wants to be in one place full time. This means adapting to various modes of interaction, whether it’s virtual meetings on Zoom or in-person gatherings, either in local neighborhoods or here on campus.
Looking ahead, as we continue to develop ACRE’s infrastructure, it’s clear that some of our activities and operations need to move off campus to make them more accessible for Asian Canadian communities. This shift is crucial for enhancing engagement with these communities.
What advice do you have for those involved in community engaged work?
Szu: I would advise being patient and curious. We’ve touched on the point that this work takes time. In a professional environment, we’re often driven by productivity, and we’re evaluated annually on our performance and deliverables. However, at ACRE and ACAM, we understand that community work is largely about the process. It’s about building ongoing conversations and relationships to establish mutual trust, which is essential for having a deep impact on students, communities, and everyone we work with.
For instance for the course ACAM 320J, our partnership with the hua foundation didn’t just happen overnight. We’ve been collaborating with them for almost ten years. It takes time and various approaches to build this level of trust and connection. It’s about saying, “Let’s start, design, and develop a course together. Let’s try something new and take this risk together.”
So, be patient and stay curious. Sometimes, you might be in a two-hour meeting with a community partner, unsure of where it’s leading, but then the conversation might take a turn in an unexpected, insightful direction. Those moments make you realize the value of the time spent and the ideas generated. That’s a key lesson for me.
Jennifer: What I’ve learned, and am still learning, is the importance of focusing on people. Szu mentioned being patient and present in the process, which is crucial, especially in community engagement work. This field can be stressful and dynamic, with constant changes and numerous stakeholders and voices involved. In such an environment, it can be tempting to adopt a task-oriented approach – just getting things done and checking items off a list.
However, working with the ACRE team has been a constant reminder to put people first. People are at the core of our work and our community. It’s important to take the time to check in on how people are doing, to listen to their ideas, whether they are students, staff, faculty, or community members.
Another key aspect is not burning bridges. Sometimes things might not work out, or we might see things differently and decide not to continue working together. But it’s likely we’ll cross paths again in some other context. Maintaining those relationships and honoring the trust we’ve built is incredibly valuable.
Another lesson I’ve learned from our team is the effectiveness of humour. I tend to be quite serious, but I’ve observed how humour can diffuse tension in meetings or heated debates like nothing else. I’ve been trying to incorporate more of it myself.
Humour is a valuable tool in relating to people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. I really enjoy working with the people in this field and am constantly reminded of the importance of applying energy, heart, and intention to nurture relationships.
I also value and appreciate our culture of sharing food, whether it’s in internal meetings, meetings with new community partners, or debriefing projects. We often try to do this over lunch, dim sum, or snacks. I’ve noticed how sharing food can change the energy of a room, bring people together, lower people’s guards, and foster more authentic sharing. The power of food in building community should not be underestimated.
Shirley: I just started this job about three months ago, so while I might not have staff advice, I can offer advice to myself. The advice I give myself is to reflect on how to act on my values. I’ve learned a lot by finding peers of my age who are interested in similar fields of work and who also hold similar values.
Talking with them about how they’re acting on their values and reflecting on how I can improve in community engagement has been insightful. Having so many amazing role models who teach me how they act on their values is incredibly helpful. It’s important to create your own community for learning, engaging, talking, and having meaningful conversations about what it means to do this work in a good way.
Joanna: I appreciate the mention of a values-based approach. Knowing your values simplifies navigating complex situations, whether they’re community-related or UBC-related. Consistency in one’s values increases street credibility. Community members and organizations are very good at identifying superficial attempts at engagement.
If there’s no genuine long-term intent, people often sense it. So, a values-based approach, coupled with patience, food, and humour, eventually builds trust. Szu’s mention of the ACAM 320J course being 8 to 10 years in the making highlights the importance of process.
Another key learning for me is that community organizations don’t need us; it’s a privilege to work with them if they choose to trust us. This trust is based on reputation. Your reputation often precedes you, making it easier to be productive, interesting, or innovative. However, trust, which takes years to build, can be broken very quickly.
Understanding the power dynamics between the university and community organizations is crucial. The university often possesses more resources, people, and prestige, but it’s important to remember that community members and groups often don’t appreciate being constantly reminded of this imbalance.
Working delicately, while recognizing our roles as part of the community in our private lives, is essential. This is where a values-based approach to work becomes crucial. Upholding values like working ethically, reciprocally, and recognizing people as valuable, kind, smart, and different but not less than, should remain consistent in one’s personal, community, and professional life at the university.
Consistency in these values builds a reputation that precedes you. As a unit, it becomes easier to achieve our goals and fulfill our vision of producing publicly relevant content, combating anti-Asian racism, increasing equity for historically marginalized groups, and working in solidarity with groups beyond the Asian diaspora.
For colleagues engaged in community work, it’s beneficial to get to know each other and create our own communities of practice. This allows us to learn from each other and reflect. In large institutions like UBC, it’s easy to feel isolated, so creating a sense of belonging, communities of care, and spaces where people can bring their whole selves makes it a better place to work. This environment enhances research and facilitates learning and teaching processes.
What is next for ACRE and how can people get involved?
Joanna: As we build ACRE, we’ve been privileged to receive the Academic Excellence Fund from the Provost Office, giving us a three-year runway to enhance engagement with faculty, staff, and students in producing Asian Canadian research alongside Asian communities. We’re currently processing content from the community and have just completed a consultation process with the Provost’s Strategic Decision Support Team.
We’re also celebrating ten years of ACAM, which is a significant milestone. Szu can elaborate on this, but in terms of programming, a major focus is to support faculty conducting Asian Canadian research and scholarship, as well as graduate students. Building communities for and with graduate students is crucial, as they represent the future of academia and the institution.
For students and staff, the student component is primarily facilitated and managed through the ACAM program, and Szu can speak to the programming that ACAM continues to offer.
Regarding staff, we recognize that many staff members at the university are people of color, including women of color. Creating opportunities for staff to connect and advance in their careers is important. This need led to the formation of an affinity group for Asian staff, evolving from the Asian Canadian Community Engagement Committee, which existed for ten years and was sunsetted this year.
We understand that engaging staff, students, faculty, and communities requires both shared and tailored approaches for these different groups. Another focus for ACRE is considering sustainability beyond the three-year Academic Excellence Fund funding cycle.
To get involved, we invite you to sign up for our ACRE mailing list We also encourage everyone to subscribe to the ACAM and INSTRCC newsletters and to attend our upcoming ACAM events, particularly in term two.
Szu: As ACAM heads into its 10th year, we’re engaging in a lot of internal dialogues about reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future. For our 10th-year celebration, we aim to invite our alumni, students, community members, faculty, and staff to collectively acknowledge our progress and explore what more we can achieve together.
One highlight of our past activities is the latest episode of the ACAM podcast, focusing on one of our student directed seminars from 2018. This was an effort to review our achievements and consider future directions in facilitating student leadership and learning tailored to their needs and research interests.
We’re also planning an alumni engagement event in May with the Arts Alumni Engagement Office, which will be announced through the ACAM newsletter.
Additionally, our annual Student Engagement initiative, which began in 2016 with an Equity Enhancement Fund, continues to thrive. Each year, we gather students from across campus to discuss challenging topics like sexual violence, mental health, and anti-racism. They’ve been doing remarkable work and will be planning a public event in term two, details of which will also be shared through the newsletter.
Jennifer: For students or faculty and staff who work with students, I highly recommend checking out ACAM 390A, a global seminar course taught by Dr. Henry Yu. The course’s title changes yearly, and this year it’s “The Heritage of Asian Canadian Migrations.” Henry has been teaching some version of this course for nearly 20 years, and many of us here have taken or now support it as staff.
This year, we’re excited to take students to Kaiping, China, for the first time since 2018, which was when I was a student in Henry’s class and first became connected with this work. We’re also hoping to visit Malaysia to learn about the heritage of Asian migrations and sustainable heritage economies, examining how these are practiced in places like Kaiping and Penang in Malaysia. We aim to apply these learnings back in Vancouver, in areas like Chinatown, Punjabi Market, or Joyce-Collingwood, exploring ways to conserve and celebrate these cultural hubs and important community spaces.
Finally, there is significant funding available this year, especially for arts students via Arts Research Abroad Funding (details can be found on ACAM 390A page). It’s a well-funded program, so I encourage interested folks to check it out. We’re still working on our funding model for future years, but for now, we’d love to have more participants join us on this trip.
We hope you enjoyed our conversation with the ACRE team and gained some valuable insights that can support your own community and university collaborations. To learn more about ACRE, you can visit arts.ubc.ca/acre.
And if you’re a UBC staff member working in the vast realm of community-university work, please consider joining UBC’s Community Engagement Network.