Mission & History

Our Mission

The mission of the Office of Asian and Asian American Programs at the Charles B. Wang Center is to initiate and collaborate with academic departments, student groups, community organizations, cultural institutions, artists and individuals in presenting the public with a multifaceted, intellectually sound, and humane understanding of Asian and Asian American cultures, and their relationship to other cultures.

This mission is accomplished through diverse and multidisciplinary world-class cultural programming that covers the geographic expanse of the Pacific Rim to Turkey, as well as the dispersal of these peoples in the world.  Artists, speakers, authors, filmmakers, activists, industry and civic leaders, faculty and students are invited to share their expertise via performances, exhibitions, discussions, presentations, festivals, film screenings and to discuss their creative processes, provide workshops, and dialog with the general public regarding their community history, artistic vision and process.

While the programming at the Wang Center fits hand in glove with the mission of the University on "celebrating diversity and positioning the University in the global community", it also provides academic programs on campus with co-curricular and extra-curricular programs and resources for studying critical concepts such as race, culture, empowerment, and aesthetics. It serves as an extended classroom for introducing and engaging with Asian and Asian American narratives, themes, political and cultural issues, performers, artists,filmmakers, leaders and experts.

The Wang Center is also a presenting venue for events of cultural, professional and intellectual calibre that are initiated by and involve the various components of Stony Brook University, Long Island communities and organizations as well as other regional, national, and international constituencies.

The Wang Center is non-partisan and non-sectarian, and upholds the values of pluralism, democracy, and equality.

Celebrating Asian and American Cultures
The 120,000-square-foot building was officially presented to Stony Brook University by Charles B. Wang on October 22, 2002.

It was the largest single private gift ever received by the State University of New York 64-campus system.