UMass Boston

Many of the publications by our staff and affiliates are downloadable from ScholarWorks, a digital repository for articles and other works by UMass Boston faculty, staff, researchers, and students. We provide links to other work when possible. Please contact us if you need assistance in locating one of our publications.

Recent publications and reports by IAAS staff:

No Longer Invisible : 2025 Massachusetts Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) Community Survey Report
Institute for Asian American Studies and MA Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission
Shubhecchha Dhaurali and Paul Watanabe
The report presents findings from the first MA Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Community Survey conducted in March 2025. Over 1,400 APIAs across the state responded to questions on issues such as economic stability, political engagement, safety and sense of belonging, healthcare access, and recent executive actions by the federal administration. The survey was offered in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Khmer languages in addition to English. The resulting data was disaggregated by the three largest APIA subgroups in MA: Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese Americans. The study was a collaboration led by IAAS and MA AAPIC and including the Asian and Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network, the Asian Community Fund, The Boston Foundation, and MassINC Polling Group.
June 2025/52 pages

The History Matters: Fighting for Equal Education in Lowell, Massachusetts, 1970-1990
Institute for Asian American Studies
Robert Forrant, Chandaranee Khoeun and Chrisna Khuon
In the late 1970s and 1980s, a coalition of Southeast Asian and Latino parents in Lowell, MA fought a protracted battle to desegregate the public schools and realize equal educational opportunities for their children. While the struggle unfolded, acts of anti-Asian and anti-Latino violence were perpetrated in Greater Boston and around the country, including the tragic death of Vandy Phorng, a 13-year-old Cambodian American in 1987. Though it may not seem like it at first, this is a story of possibilities, of how a coalition of parents stood up to bigotry and entrenched political power and won.
March 2025/28 pages

Getting through a Dual Pandemic: Hardship and Social Resiliency in a Cambodian American Community
Institute for Asian American Studies and Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell
Carolyn Wong, Sothea Chiemruom, Chrisna Khuon, Curtis Mai, Sokha Eng, Go Sasaki, Sochantrea Song, Sophia Sar, Sreang Heng, Chantha Thang, and Nikola Kovacevic
This report describes detailed findings from a two-year study on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Cambodian American community in Greater Lowell. The researchers found a dual pandemic of harmful effects: anti-Asian hate when political rhetoric spread the racist claim that the pandemic was caused by a “China virus”, and the spread of COVID-19 illness with its accompanying social and economic disruption. The bilingual research team conducted a survey as well as focus groups and interviews.
November 2024/73 pages

Exploring Substance Use Among Asian Americans: Seven Themes from Interviews with Service Providers and Community Residents
Institute for Asian American Studies/Bureau of Substance Addiction Services
Carolyn Wong and Sun S. Kim
This report describes the aims, approaches, and findings of an exploratory research study conducted in collaboration with the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Study participants were asked to share their knowledge and opinions about substance use behaviors among Asian Americans, barriers they face in accessing addiction services, and how to develop effective prevention and treatment programs.
July 2024/33 pages

Chinese Laundries in Massachusetts: An Oral History Project
Institute for Asian American Studies
Shauna Lo
Produced in partnership with the Chinese Historical Society of New England, the collection of oral histories features the stories of Chinese Americans who owned laundries or whose parents and relatives owned laundries from the 1930s to the 1990s.
September 2023/186 pages

Voices that Matter: Boston Area Residents of Color Discuss Climate Change
Sustainable Solutions Lab
Lorena M. Estrada-Martinez, Paul Y. Watanabe, and Katsyris Rivera-Kientz
As a follow-up to a survey of over 900 Boston area residents asking opinions about climate change, this report presents the results of focus groups with 70 of Greater Boston’s Asian American, Black, Latino, and Native American residents of color discussing ideas, thoughts, and fears about climate change. The Institute for Asian American Studies was a partner in this study.
December 2022/30 pages

"Glass Ceiling" for Asian American Professionals Persists in Massachusetts
Institute for Asian American Studies
Shauna Lo
This research note uses data from the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission to examine the representation of Asian Americans in managerial positions in private industry in Massachusetts. Data is presented for all sectors overall, and in the professional, scientific and technical services; health care and social assistance, and manufacturing and information sectors for Asian Americans as well other racial and ethnic groups.
September 2022/7 pages

On the Rise: Asian American Women Elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy and Institute for Asian American Studies
Katie Mai; Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy; and Institute for Asian American Studies
This joint publication from CWPPP and IAAS tells the stories of the first five Asian American women elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, beginning with Keiko Orrall in 2011. Also profiled are Vanna Howard, Tram Nguyen, and Erika Uyterhoeven, and Maria Robinson. The first author, Katie Mai, is a UMass Boston alumna.
August 2022/18 pages

Asian Americans in Massachusetts including Boston and Other Selected Cities: Data from the 2020 Decennial Census and American Community Survey
Institute for Asian American Studies
Shauna Lo
This report presents population data from the 2020 Decennial Census (redistricting data only); and socioeconomic data from multiple American Community Survey datasets for Asian Americans as well as for Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Korean Americans in the state. Many of the tables also provide comparative data on White non-Hispanics, Blacks and African Americans, and Latinos. Includes sections for selected cities including Boston, Lowell, Quincy, Malden, and Worcester.
May 2022/37 pages

Census Report Addendum
June 2024

Asian Americans and the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Lingual Survey in Greater Boston
Institute for Asian American Studies
Carolyn Wong and Ziting Kuang
This survey examined the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic on Asian Americans in the Greater Boston area. The study prioritized recruitment of Chinese, Vietnamese, and South Asians with limited income and English proficiency who are often underrepresented in general surveys. Recommendations for Massachusetts lawmakers and agencies responsible for public health, economic and social services, and racial equity are presented at the end.
April 2022/33 pages

Excerpts of Asian Americans and the Covid-19 Pandemic in Vietnamese.

Excerpts of Asian Americans and the Covid-19 Pandemic in Chinese.