Name in the News: Amy Agbayani

Retirement means one thing for most people Amy Agbayani’s age — 75 — but quite another for her. Not that much has changed since, two years ago, Agbayani finished out her University of Hawaii career working toward civil rights goals as assistant vice chancellor for student diversity and director of the Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity Program.

She still accepts requests for help in projects aligned with her principal concerns — promoting women’s causes, mentoring students, helping those who are immigrants, like herself, and supporting the interests of Hawaii’s low-income people. As a volunteer, perhaps, she gets to pick and choose to do the ones that speak to her most forcefully.

This week, for example, Agbayani flew off to Seoul for the East-West Center/East-West Center Association International Conference. She’s chairing a mentoring committee, matching local community leaders with EWC graduate students to guide them on their career goals.

Agbayani worries a bit these days that various UH programs supporting minority students could be challenged by the Trump administration, which takes a dim view of university affirmative action programs.

Her other recent activities have included helping to found the nonprofit Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights and The Law Clinic for immigrants. This is a time when she feels immigrant needs for a legal defense is acute, she said, given the administration’s outlook on existing immigration policy.

The Philippines-born Agbayani came to Hawaii as an East-West Center student in 1964, shortly after former President Barack Obama was born. She remembered his father there as a graduate student but has only met Obama’s half-sister, Maya, born years later.

The student movement of the era fueled her academic work; studies focused on the U.S. experience, though Agbayani originally proposed research on the same phenomenon in the Philippines.

“They disapproved it because they thought I might get in jail,” she recalled. “Which is true.”

Agbayani feels her life’s work has brought her full circle.

“My Ph.D. was on the black student protests, the civil rights movement,” she said. “Then I was active in civil rights issues.

“I guess as a woman and an immigrant and Filipino, these kinds of issues I learned, so my university work overlaps with my community service work, and my personal interests. It’s all the same.

“In a sense I never really worked, because I did what I wanted to do,” she added with a laugh. “Lucky I got paid for it.”

Question: How would you rate the success of the University of Hawaii over your career there in achieving diversity goals? What ongoing concerns are there, if any?

Answer: There has been significant progress since I started work at UH 45 years ago, but much more needs to be done! I would give UH-Manoa a “D” in the early ‘70s and a “B” in 2018.

The ’60s and ’70s were exciting decades for civil rights, the women’s movement, ethnic studies and anti- Vietnam protests. We were starting to demand equity and representations in Hawaii and across the nation. The goals and terms “diversity” and “inclusiveness” were not used when I started my career. …

The UH administration did not consider outreach and success of underrepresented groups as part of the university’s mission, and we were regularly threatened to have our budgets cut. Over the years, UH strategic goals have evolved and now inclusion and success of diverse students is a part of the official UH goals, even though not fully implemented.

I will limit my comments on just one aspect of my work in student diversity. In 1972 I was part of a group of Filipinos who started Operation Manong … We sent college students to tutor recently arrived Filipino and other disadvantaged immigrant children in the public schools.

The systemwide Pamantasan Filipino Council has identified the need for more Filipino community college students to transfer to four-year campuses, and for hiring of faculty to teach Filipino language and ethnic studies courses at all the campuses.

The percentage of Filipino undergraduate students increased from 2 percent in the 1970s to 11 percent in 2017. However, much more needs to be done, considering Filipinos are 22 percent of the public schools, 5 percent of graduate students, 3 percent of the faculty, 1 percent of administrators, and 13 percent of the Board of Regents. …

Q: How would you describe the purpose of Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights? What was its genesis?

A: Community activist Faye Kennedy and I formed the official Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights (HFCR) association in 2007 after serving on the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and partnering with numerous groups and individuals to promote diversity and equality in the islands for many years.

In January 2008 we began recognizing exemplary leaders from the public and private sector at annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards dinners and contributing to groups who shared our mission. …

HFCR provides legislative testimony and other assistance to vulnerable groups, including LGBTs, immigrants, the homeless, victims of domestic violence. We sent testimonies on marriage equality, reproductive rights, death with dignity, African-American ethnic studies, criminal injustice, racial and gender discrimination, multicultural and bilingual education and Medicaid.

Q: What is the goal of another project, The Legal Clinic? Who would be the beneficiaries?

A: Hawaii and other states formed many coalitions to fight back and resist President Trump’s constant attacks on immigrants, from family separation, deportations and constitutional challenges to federal immigration policies.

Early last year, The Legal Clinic (TLC) was organized to provide legal counsel and advocacy for low-income immigrants and DACA youth, on asylum, family reunification and deportation. TLC is affiliated with the National Methodist program Justice for Our Neighbors network of 17 legal clinics for immigrants in the nation. …

Q: How would you characterize the status of women in Hawaii? What measures would you use?

A: There are so many measures we can use: for example, pay equity, reproductive rights, representation in government and business leadership … (including) in Hawaii electoral and appointed positions. …

However, the number of women appointed to the Cabinet, top boards and commissions, Legislature, Judiciary and county councils is low (my estimate is less than 30 percent). For example, women are 3 of the 15 members of the UH Board of Regents, 5 of 17 Cabinet members, 3 of 9 Honolulu Council members, no women mayors, and women lost in the recent elections for governor, lieutenant governor and Congressional District 1.

I am a member of the Patsy T. Mink Political Action Committee, which endorses pro-choice women candidates at the state level. We believe there is enough data that show gender representation can improve the quality of decisions, policies, productivity, and can strengthen communities and families. We believe the entire community, both men and women, benefit when women are at the table. We need more women in public service!

Q: What remaining goals are you pursuing in retirement?

A: There was both intentionality and support for overlap between my professional career as a university administrator and community advocate for civil rights, immigrants, workers rights, diversity and inclusion. My transition to retirement is an increase in community service on the same goals.

I am nearly as busy in my retirement as when I was working full-time because I have no staff and people think retirees have plenty of time. As a retiree, I have taken more of a supportive role rather than a leadership role.

I am confident in the leadership in SEED, Pamantasan, various diversity committees, UH President/Chancellor David Lassner and (Regents) Chair Lee Putnam to monitor and support UH diversity goals. HFCR will continue to advocate and testify at the Legislature. I will support TLC to provide critical legal assistance to immigrants.