HONOLULU — International accounting executive James A. Hassett established the James A. Hassett/Ernst & Young Endowed Scholarship for Accounting Excellence for $60,000, along with matching funds from Ernst & Young LLC for a total of $120,000. The funds will provide scholarships to full-time students majoring in accounting at the UH Mānoa Shidler College of Business School of Accountancy.
Hassett climbed up the corporate ranks fairly early in his career establishing an impressive resume that spanned several U.S. cities and countries in Asia. He began working at the Ernst & Young office in Houston, Texas, and proved early on that he had the passion, dedication, and drive to succeed in the competitive audit, tax, and advisory services industry.
By age 33, he was named the youngest partner at the Ernst & Young office in Houston. His success in Houston led to many other managerial roles in Cleveland, Memphis, New York and eventually overseeing the greater Lake Michigan area with its headquarters in Chicago. Most recently he was managing partner of the Asian region where he oversaw many of the firm's fastest growing markets. This region spans approximately a quarter of the globe and encompasses more than 21,000 employees in 16 countries including China, Vietnam, Korea, and Singapore.
Hassett received an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BBA in 1973 from the Shidler College of Business. He was inducted into the Shidler Alumni Hall of Honor in 2004.
Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business, said, "We are grateful for Jim's scholarship endowment for our accounting students and his life-long commitment to helping youth organizations in the communities where he lived. Jim's outstanding professional success and commitment to public service makes him the perfect role model for our students who have aspirations of working for a multinational corporation. Through his gift, we will be able to recruit outstanding students and cultivate new generations of accounting leaders prepared to work globally."
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The Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi 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 25 graduate schools for international business by U.S. News & World Report. 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 Hawaiʻi accredited by AACSB International. For more information, visit www.shidler.hawaii.edu.
The University of Hawaiʻi 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 matriculate in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit http://manoa.hawaii.edu.
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. Our vision is to inspire giving and partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi by fostering UH pride and passion among donors, alumni and the community. We value and strive to emulate service, honor, excellence, accountability, integrity, teamwork, and trust. www.uhfoundation.org.
