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.
Eric Yamamoto, named the Fred T. Korematsu Professor of Law and Social Justice UH Mānoa, has a special connection with the professorship’s eponym.
Barry and Virginia Weinman established the Dean’s Chair in Medicine at JABSOM to positively impact the future quality of healthcare in Hawaiʻi.
Judith Pyle established an endowed dean's position at Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge to help build a healthy, vibrant place of indigenous scholarship.
For students to fulfill their potential, educators need to fulfill theirs. Bob & James Wo are helping community college teachers become “Learning Champions.”
Former UH Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng and husband Ray established a lecture series to bring international perspectives to Hilo and inspire faculty and students.
More than 100 donors have contributed to the Dan & Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals, creating a $3 million tribute to the Senator’s legacy.
Having a personal understanding of the importance of family medicine and the need for family physicians in Hawai'i and beyond, Frank has established the Jennifer Emma Frank Endowment to support the Family Medicine Residency Program at UH Mānoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine.
There are many ways to support the University of Hawai'i, and Robert wanted to explore the different, unique ways he could support his many charitable and financial interests. Robert wanted to make sure students with limited resources would have the opportunity to attend University of Hawai'i.
The Keiths established a charitable remainder trust for a term of twenty years. They received wonderful tax benefits, many years of income distributions, and also reduced the size of their estate. Eventually, when the trust terminates, the principal will go unrestricted to the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.
In life and through his estate, Jimmy made a significant contribution to advance the study of music at the University of Hawai'i, in loving memory of his wife Chie.
