This fall, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee implemented a Hmong Studies certificate program, which the University of Wisconsin-Madison discussed creating in 2007 but failed to get off the ground.

The Hmong are the largest Asian American group in Wisconsin, making up nearly 40 percent, and Milwaukee’s new program is the first of its kind at a Wisconsin university.

Chia Vang, program coordinator for Hmong Diaspora Studies at Milwaukee, said UW-Milwaukee has been working on developing the program since 2006.

“[The] driving force behind the program was Milwaukee’s community. Right now, we have almost 600 Hmong American students who are interested in learning about their history, and the university is interested in building its cultural diversity curriculum,” Vang said.

One advantage UW-Milwaukee has over UW-Madison is a larger Hmong student base. According to the UW Office of the Registrar’s semester enrollment for fall 2009, 671 Madison undergraduates are Southeast Asian American, and just under half are of Hmong descent.

Mike Cullinane, associate director for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, said though UW-Madison does not offer a Hmong Studies certificate, students can receive a certificate, major or master’s degree through the department Languages and Cultures of Asia, as well as the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, with a specialty in Hmong studies.

Cullinane also said Hmong Studies is considered too narrow for its own specific certificate, and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies’ primary mission is to teach about Southeast Asia as a whole.

Ger Yang, a UW-Madison junior and facilitator for the Hmong American Student Association, said the program should have been done when they started talking about it in 2007.

“There’s a general misconception about Hmong people — where they’re from, what they’re doing now, what issues are current with the Hmong American community,” Yang said. “There needs to be a new perspective.”

Vang said she was surprised UW has not started a Hmong Studies program but believes they are moving in that direction.

Without adequate resources and tenured track professors, however, Vang said it’s almost impossible.

“It would be great to have a Hmong Studies program at Madison. There’s a lot of resources that could benefit not only the Hmong American students but also the community,” Vang said.