Nurturing Faculty Excellence
Endowed chairs and professorships greatly enhance the prestige of academic institutions. They are powerful vehicles used to celebrate distinction and are given to scholars or teachers who are widely recognized as leaders in their field. These endowments help our university attract and retain the best faculty and students.
An endowed chair or professorship is more than an honorific for the academic chosen to hold it. It offers a private source of funding that enables the chair holder to take advantage of opportunities, finance important research, fund necessary instrumentation, attract post-doctoral fellows and graduate students, and support collaborations with other colleagues.
Creating endowed chairs and professorships is a priority at the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation because of the powerful and direct impact these academics have on our students, our faculty and our future.
Faculty awards recognize outstanding contributions in education and nurture faculty excellence. Awards are a meaningful way to thank and acknowledge the stellar work faculty do, in their important role as mentors to the next generation and forward-thinking researchers.
Distinguished lecture series enhance our campuses’ ability to stimulate intellectual vitality in our community. Through public lectures given by distinguished leaders and renowned scholars, our community is introduced to new ideas and engages in the exchange of knowledge.
From cracking the genetic code of PXE to training future researchers, Dr. Olivier Le Saux is using a new endowed professorship to drive cutting‑edge discovery on a rare disease that affects thousands across the globe.
Decades after earning her MBA at UH Mānoa, Sharon Weiner returned to campus to earn her doctorate degree. Her enduring connection to UH, from business leader to benefactor to scholar, reflects a lifelong belief that giving back builds something greater.
In 2010, Vincent Linares retired and established a retained life estate, a gift-planning tool that allows him to provide grants for faculty and professional development while continuing to live in his home.
A fierce advocate for laborers and underrepresented communities, Harriet Bouslog was a bold and outspoken lawyer known for achieving many significant firsts.
With generous support from the Stupski Foundation, Comfort Sumida and Melanie Brokaw have led a impactful initiative to bring together academic advisors from the UH Hilo and Hawai‘i CC campuses.
On August 8, 2021, 100 people gathered under a big white tent in the UH Mānoa quad – bordered by Hawaiʻi, Crawford and Dean halls – to celebrate the life of the late Chung H. Lee.
The two-year sustainability project for Maui is a partnership between the college and the Kamehameha Schools’ Maui, Molokaʻi,and Lānaʻi Community Strategies Team.
Kamanamaikalani Brenton Beamer named inaugural Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment.
