The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business has received $1 million from William R. Johnson, Jr., president and CEO of Johnson Machinery Co., to establish the William R. Johnson, Jr. Study Abroad Endowment. The endowment will provide international study abroad scholarships for undergraduate students attending the Shidler College of Business.
“We are extremely grateful to Bill Johnson for his continued investment in our students and our future,” said Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business. “As a well-known community advocate and philanthropist in California and Hawai‘i, Bill has once again made a leadership gift to his alma mater. In 2006, he made his first leadership gift of $1 million to fund two endowed professorships at the College and since then has hosted several alumni events in the Newport Harbor for southern California Shidler alumni. He is a great example of alumni making a difference in our students’ lives.”
Johnson said, “I’m pleased to help the students at Shidler explore the world and graduate as global citizens. All of my children benefited greatly from their international study abroad programs, so I know firsthand the life changing experiences these opportunities can be.”
The California-based company Johnson Machinery Co., supplies heavy construction, industrial and mining equipments throughout southern California, Arizona, and Mexico through its five divisions: Johnson Machinery, Johnson Life/Hyster, Johnson Power Systems; Johnson Rental Services and Ever-Pac. The company has thirteen locations throughout Southern California and more than 400 employees.
Johnson earned his BBA from the Shidler College of Business in 1965 and was inducted into the Hall of Honor in 2007. He currently sits on the board of advisors of UC-Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering.
"It is wonderful to see alumni giving back in such a meaningful way," said Donna Vuchinich, president and CEO, University of Hawaii Foundation. She continued, "Travel abroad scholarships help our students be globally competitive and greatly enrich their experience of UH. This new gift builds on Bill's already generous legacy at UH and we are truly grateful."
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
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The Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa - Established in 1949 as the College of Business Administration, the College was named in 2006 after alumnus Jay H. Shidler, founder and managing partner of The Shidler Group. The Shidler College of Business is renowned for its expertise in international management education and is consistently ranked among the nation's top graduate schools for international business by U.S. News. Long recognized for its Asia-Pacific focus, the College is a professional school offering a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs. The UH Shidler College of Business is the only graduate program in the State of Hawai‘i accredited by AACSB International. For more information, visit www.shidler.hawaii.edu.
The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa serves approximately 20,000 students pursuing more than 225 different degrees. Coming from every Hawaiian island, every state in the nation, and more than 100 countries, UH Mānoa students thrive in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit http://manoa.hawaii.edu. Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/uhmanoa and Twitter http://www.twitter.com/UHManoaNews.
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.
