News

With generous support from Dr. Roberta Weil and the LaFrance Foundation, two endowments have been established to support students participating in the Wai‘ale‘ale project at Kaua‘i CC. These are the first endowments established to support this innovative program.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has selected two UH campuses for its 2020 Educational Fundraising Awards.

The Laurence H. Dorcy Hawaiian Foundation has donated $3.2 million to establish the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature, and the Environment at the Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Students in the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work have come together to help other University of Hawaiʻi students who are facing financial burdens due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 2, Department Chair Dr. Ivica Zalud honored Dr. Mark Hiraoka as the Lakshmi Devi and Devraj Sharma Endowed Chair. Zalud made the announcement in a faculty meeting at the department’s administrative office, located at the Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children.

Given the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its immediate impact on UH students and their families, the UH Foundation in partnership with UH launched a fundraising campaign on 3/23/20 to raise funds for students on all 10 UH campuses facing urgent financial situations.

“As we adjust to a new reality amid concerns about COVID-19, friends and alumni have been asking us how they can help,” said University of Hawai‘i President David Lassner. “Many of our funders and donors have reached out expressing concern for the welfare of our students. They also want to hear what UH is doing on the research front to participate in the fight against emerging and infectious diseases including COVID-19.” 

Architectural/engineering and construction management firm Bowers + Kubota Consulting donated $75,000 to support the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering Asphalt and Pavements (A & P) Lab Fund. In recognition of this gift, classroom 244 at the College will be named after Bowers + Kubota. 

Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Marjorie Fitting Gifford, Kaua`i Community College’s award-winning Sustainable Building Construction Technology proposal will come to life with the building of an 8 x 40 sustainable tiny home.

Scholarship donors and student recipients came together to celebrate the gift of education at the annual University of Hawaiʻi Scholarship Celebration at Stan Sheriff Center in March. Students enjoyed having the opportunity to personally thank the generous people who have invested in their success, and donors were delighted to meet the people whose futures they are impacting.

Over the next two years, funding will support Turn the Tables, a COE Center on Disability Studies (CDS) project aimed at increasing employment outcomes for youth with disabilities and breaking down employment barriers.