Chairs, Professorships and Distinguished Lecture Series

Endowed chairs and professorships greatly enhance the prestige of academic institutions. These awards of celebrated distinction are given to scholars or teachers who are widely recognized as leaders in their field, and 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.

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.

More donor investments in Chairs and Professorships »

UHWO Welcomes First Distinguished Visiting Scholar Dr. Franklin Odo

UH West Oʻahu selected Dr. Franklin Odo, an outstanding researcher and chief of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress, as its first Distinguished Visiting Scholar. The well-known and respected author, scholar and cultural historian, and Princeton University alumnus addressed students in Dr. Christen Sasaki's Asian American History class on December 6, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Celebrating Native Hawaiian Culture

Judith Pyle, a successful business executive, University of Hawaiʻi Foundation board trustee and philanthropist, established an endowed dean's position at the UH Mānoa Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge with a $2 million pledge. This gift will greatly enhance the school's ability to advance its mission and build a healthy, vibrant Hawaiʻinuiākea where indigenous scholarship, learning, and community engagement inspire faculty, students and the community.
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Stimulating Global Linkages

For 12 years, Chancellor Rose Tseng worked with students, faculty, staff and community members to make UH Hilo a 21st century model of higher education and an engine for social, cultural and economic progress.
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Celebrating Commitment to Democratic Ideals

In 2005, Senator Inouye and his beloved wife, the late Maggie Inouye, established the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals at UH Mānoa. To date, more than 100 donors have contributed to the fund, creating an impressive $3 million endowment.
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Advancing the Missions of the Medical School

In 2008, Barry and Virginia Weinman established the Dean's Chair in Medicine at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) to inspire additional gifts in support of the University of Hawaiʻi and JABSOM, and enhance the dean's ability to positively impact the future quality of health care in Hawaiʻi.
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Understanding Issues Facing Indigenous Peoples

One of the great citizens of Hawaiʻi was revered Hawaiian kūpuna, Gladys Kamakakūokalani ʻAinoa Brandt. Her life was shaped by the history taking place around her - from the funeral of Hawaiʻi's last reigning monarch Queen Liliʻuokalani to the movements for self-determination in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Hawaiian Renaissance we feel today.
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Donors Investing in Our Educators

The Gift of Knowledge

For students to fulfill their potential, our educators need to fulfill theirs. Private support of faculty helps create enriching learning opportunities for our educators, and builds leadership skills. When we encourage new ideas and energize teaching practices in the classroom, students succeed.
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