Dr. Nicholas D. Hartlep is currently an Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations at Illinois State University. Prior to that, he was an Advanced Opportunity Program Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an “Urban 13” University, where he earned a Ph.D. in the Social Foundations of Urban Education and was named an “Outstanding Doctoral Student.” Dr. Hartlep also has a Master of Science Degree in K-12 Education and Bachelor of Science Degree in Teaching, both conferred from Winona State University. As a former public school teacher he has taught in Rochester, Minnesota and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as abroad in Quito, Ecuador. Dr. Hartlep’s research interests include urban in-service teachers’ dispositions, the impact neoliberalism is having on schools and society, the model minority stereotype of Asians, and transracial adoption. His interest in transracial adoption stems from the fact he was adopted from Seoul, South Korea when he was approximately 16-months old. In 2011, Dr. Hartlep received a scholarship from the Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link (GOA’L) that allowed him to return to Korea to see where he was born. His scholarly books include Going Public: Critical Race Theory & Issues of Social Justice (2010), The Model Minority Stereotype: Demystifying Asian American Success (2013), Unhooking from Whiteness: The Key to Dismantling Racism in the United States (2013), and The Model Minority Stereotype Reader: Critical and Challenging Readings for the 21st Century (2014). He is currently editing two books, Killing the Model Minority Stereotype: Asian American Counterstories and Complicity, and Modern Societal Impacts of the Model Minority Stereotype. You can follow his work on Twitter @nhartlep or at www.nicholashartlep.com

1. “Diverse Leadership +
Expanding Opportunity: An
Imperative for America”
Nicholas D. Hartlep, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations
Illinois State University

2. Those who tell the stories also hold the power.
(Plato)

3. The AAPI and U.S. Population

4. Current AAPI Population
• Representing a substantial percentage of the
foreign born population in the United States,
the AAPI population is deeply impacted by our
broken immigration system.
• Asian immigrants also make up a sizeable
portion of the undocumented immigrant
population in the United States, living, working,
and contributing to society, yet unable to fully
participate in our society.

5. Undocumented AAPI

7. The Model Minority Stereotype is
Like a Bikini…

8. What the Myth Reveals is Suggestive, But
What it Conceals is Vital…

9. The Need for Diverse
Leadership in America
Areas of Need for the AAPI Population in
America
• Business Leadership
• Educational Leadership
• Political Leadership

10. • LEAP Report indicates that AAPIs
continue to be underrepresented in
leadership positions despite their
incredible growth rates:
• The AAPI population grew by
46% between 2000 and 2010,
faster than any other racial group
in the country and four times faster
than the total U.S. population.
• Could it be that the model minority
stereotype suggests that AAPIs
lack the communication skills
necessary to lead as a captain of
industry?
• Sticky floor? Glass ceiling?
Business Leadership

11. Center for Work-Life Policy
Report Key Findings:
• Twenty-five percent of Asians
feel that they face workplace
discrimination because of their
ethnicity, while only 8 percent of
African-Americans, 9 percent of
Hispanics, and 4 percent of
Whites believe this to be the
case.
• Fewer than half (46%) of Asians
have a mentor in their
professional life, making them 15
percent less likely to have a
mentor than their White
colleagues.
Business Leadership (continued)

12. Higher Educational Leadership
AAPI Endowed Education Professors
1. George Sugai, Ph.D.
Asian American Male
University of Connecticut
Carole J. Neag Chair in Special Education (Awarded in
2005)
2. Kenji Hakuta, Ph.D.
Asian American Male
Stanford
The Lee L. Jacks Professorship in Education
(Awarded in 2007)
3. Asha Jitendra, Ph.D.
Asian American Female
University of Minnesota
Rodney Wallace Professorship for the Advancement of
Teaching and Learning (Awarded in 2007)
4. Yuxing Ma, Ph.D.
Asian American Female
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Joan D. & Alexander S. Haig BORSF Professorship in
Education II (Awarded in 2010)
5. Suzanne SooHoo, Ph.D.
Asian American Female
Chapman University
Hassinger Endowed Chair of Culture, Community, and
Collaboration (Awarded in 2010)
6. Yong Zhao, Ph.D.
Asian American Male
University of Oregon
Presidential Chair (Awarded in 2010)
7. Yeping Li, Ph.D
Asian American Male
Texas A&M University
Claude H. Everett, Jr. Endowed Chair in Education
(Awarded in 2011)
8. Robert T. Teranishi, Ph.D.
Asian American Male
University of California, Los Angeles
Morgan and Helen Chu Endowed Chair in Asian
American Studies and Professor of Education (Awarded
in 2013)

13. K-12 Educational Leadership
• There is an immediate need for more AAPI K-
12 Teachers:
• Sheets and Chew (2002) and Banks and Banks
(2007) report that 1% of K-12 teachers are
AAPI.
• Toldson (2011) projects the actual number of
AAPI teachers to be even lower, at 0.4%.

14. Political Leadership
The Committee of 100 (C-100), a national non-
partisan, non-profit membership organization
comprised of prominent Chinese Americans in a
broad range of professions conducted surveys in
2001 and 2009.
• In 2001, 23% of the general population said
they would feel uncomfortable voting for an
Asian American as President of the United
States. In 2009, that number has reduced to
9%.

15. The Myth Homogenizes AAPI Realities

16. Masks Subgroup Differences

17. Conceals Subgroup Differentials

18. Distorts Gender and Nativity Effects

19. The Bikini: Suggests Superior Spellers

20. The Bikini: Suggests Nerdy

21. The Bikini: Suggests
Hardworking

22. The Bikini: Overlooks Discrimination

23. The Bikini: Overlooks Racism

24. The Bikini: Conceals Educational
Attainment
iCount: A Data Quality Movement for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education

25. The Bikini: Overlooks Earning
Power
Asian American Educational Attainment and Earning Power in Post-Racial America

26. The Bikini: Conceals Asian
Objectification

27. The Bikini: Hides Cultural
Commodification

28. Have You Seen This?

29. My Life as a Transracial Adoptee

30. My K-12 School Experience
• Experienced Poor Grades
• Experienced Intense Bullying
• AAPI students report the highest rate of
classroom bullying, 20 percent higher than any
race or ethnic group, and studies have found that
65% of Sikh students in New York and 69% of
Sikh students in San Francisco reported bullying
at school.

31. Expanding Opportunities Beyond
College
Potential Opportunities for the AAPI
Population:
• Affirmative Action
• SCA-5 (“Negative Action”)
• Rates of Student Loan Debt
• AAPI Mental Health and Counseling
Services
• Suicide
• Subgroups (Multiracial,
Adoptees)
• Political Representation
• AAPI “Complicity”

32. Thank You FDIC!