Isemoto Contracting Supports UH Hilo Centennial Campaign

May 12, 2008

"Isemoto Contracting is very happy to invest in the future of UH Hilo, an institution which is so vital to the economic and cultural well-being of our Big Island home."

Larry Isemoto

(Hilo, Hawaiʻi) — When Isemoto Contracting Chairman Larry Isemoto read in the newspaper that Barry Taniguchi had established five new Endowed Faculty Funds at UH Hilo on behalf of KTA Super Stores, he was inspired. Isemoto knew the university’s most important goal in its current Centennial Campaign is to increase the size of its endowment.

Last December, Isemoto Contracting Company stepped forward with a $50,000 donation. Like the Taniguchi gift, funding will be utilized to build an endowment for each of UH Hilo’s five degree-granting colleges: College of Arts and Sciences; College of Business and Economics; College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management; College of Hawaiian Language; and College of Pharmacy. The funds will be used at the discretion of the deans of the respective colleges, to support the recruitment and retention of faculty.

Isemoto Contracting has been involved in a number of construction projects over the years on the UH Hilo campus and is currently completing work on the new Student Life and Event Center, set to open this summer.

Isemoto Contracting is a major Hawaiʻi Island general contractor headquartered in Hilo. Founded in 1926, the company is headed by Larry Isemoto and Leslie Isemoto, who serves as COO. The company regularly appears on Building Industry magazine’s "Top Ten" list in revenue generated by Hawaiʻi contractors.

"This gift will have a transforming impact on UH Hilo because it responds to two of the university’s highest priorities: building our endowment and investing in our faculty," said UH Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng.

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The University of Hawaiʻi Hilo is a comprehensive university with six undergraduate colleges, six master’s programs and two doctoral programs. Enrollment has doubled since 1980 to more than 3,600 students coming from all fifty states and more than 40 countries.

The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is an independent, university-related, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise private funds according to priorities determined by the academic leadership of the University of Hawaiʻiand approved by the Board of Regents. Founded in 1955, the Foundation provides a full range of fund raising and alumni relations services for all 10 UH campuses.

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