Scholarship Fund Established in Honor of Walter F. Frear and Mary Dillingham Frear

Trustee Announces $750,000 Gift In Memory of Prominent Hawaiʻi Couple

(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) — Shortly after Walter F. Frear retired from the Bishop Trust Company, he and his wife Mary Dillingham Frear established a Trust to provide critical funds in perpetuity for religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes.

Officials from the Bank of Hawaiʻi, which serves as the Trustee of the Mary D. and Walter F. Frear Eleemosynary Trust, attended the dedication ceremony for the new Frear Hall Dormitory on August 12, and presented a check for $750,000 to establish an endowed scholarship fund to assist students at any campus within the UH system.

Mary Emma Dillingham Frear was a daughter of Benjamin F. Dillingham, one of the most prominent businessmen and entrepreneurs in Hawaiʻi, and Emma Louise Smith, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Lowell Smith, who had come to Hawaiʻi from New England in 1833. She was an active member of the Daughters of Hawaiʻi and helped to establish the College Club of Honolulu and the local YWCA. A gifted author of prose, particularly on Hawaiian subjects, she served as a regent of the University of Hawaiʻi for 23 years.

Walter Francis Frear was a lawyer, a jurist, the Chief Justice and the Governor of the Territory of Hawaiʻi, an innovator in civic organizations and a published author on subjects concerning Hawaiʻi. He served as chairman of the Hawaiian delegation to the Republican National Convention in 1912, president of the trustees and a deacon of Central Union Church, trustee of Oahu College (Punahou School) and vice-president of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association and the Pan-Pacific Union. He assisted in the development of the local YMCA, the Social Service Bureau, Palama Settlement, the United Welfare Campaign and the Hawaiian Historical Society. Judge Frear was instrumental in obtaining a grant from Andrew Carnegie to build the Library of Hawaiʻi.

"Walter and Mary Dillingham Frear helped shape the Hawaiʻi we know today," said Donna Vuchinich, president of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation. "They were true innovators who devoted their lives to serving the people of Hawaiʻi. Thanks to the expert management of the funds by the Bank of Hawaiʻi over the years, this endowment will continue to perpetuate the Frear family legacy. We are especially honored that the estate of a former member of the UH Board of Regents will continue to benefit our students in perpetuity."

The funds will be used to assist students in any area of study with all costs associated with attendance such as tuition, books, fees, meals and supplies for students pursuing studies at the undergraduate or graduate levels. Recipients must be graduates of a Hawaiʻi high school and must demonstrate financial need.

FOR UH • FOR HAWAIʻI, The Campaign for the University of Hawaiʻi, is focused on raising $1 billion to support UH priorities on all 10 campuses across the state, including student success; research that matters; kuleana to Native Hawaiians and Hawaiʻi; sustainability, resilience and conservation; innovation and entrepreneurship; building Hawaiʻi’s workforce; and engaging our community. Learn more at uhfoundation.org/4UH4HI

About Endowed Scholarships:

• The minimum amount required to establish an endowed scholarship is $35,000 at UH Mānoa and $25,000 at UH Hilo, UH West Oʻahu and the Community Colleges.
• Scholarships are usually awarded one year after becoming fully endowed.
• To find out how to establish a scholarship fund, contact Malia Peters, Director of Scholarship Development at [email protected].
• Students may search for UHF scholarship opportunities at www.uhf.hawaii.edu

The Office of Estate and Gift Planning at the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is committed to helping donors achieve personal and family philanthropic goals while supporting the university’s mission of ensuring access and excellence in higher education for the state of Hawaiʻi. We encourage you to remember the University of Hawaiʻi in your will or trust by leaving a bequest to the UH Foundation. Please visit us at www.UHFLegacyGift.org to read inspiring stories and to learn more about estate and gift planning.

 

The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.

The Centennial Campaign is an historic private fundraising initiative to raise $250 million to support the University of Hawaiʻi’s commitment to our students, our community and our world. For more information about the Centennial Campaign, please visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu.