Gift will Enable the College to Attract and Retain Top Business Faculty
(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) — The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation has received a $250,000 gift from Outrigger Executive Jean E. Rolles to establish a $500,000 Jean E. Rolles Distinguished Professorship at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler College of Business. Rolles’ gift was matched one-to-one through Jay Shidler’s $3 million matching gift fund.
"Hawaiʻi’s economic and social future is very important to me," said Jean Rolles, Vice President of Community Relations for Outrigger Enterprises, Inc. "It is vital to bring top business professors into the classroom to share their knowledge and experience on global business and expose our students to real business issues."
"Jean has been a tremendous supporter of the College," said V. Vance Roley, Dean of the Shidler College of Business. She has been involved with the College at every level, as a member of the College’s advisory council, financial supporter of our strategic planning process, and most recently as a donor to fund an endowed professorship at the College."
Newly appointed UH Mānoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw noted: "Jean’s highly distinguished career in business, her involvement in the community and support of educational programs are an impressive testament to her passion for education and her affection for Hawaiʻi and its people -- she truly is an individual who makes a difference. I applaud her for establishing the Jean E. Rolles Distinguished Professorship -- her gift truly does increase the positive impact that the Shidler College of Business provides for the future of our community and state."
Rolles, born in Honolulu and a graduate of Punahou School, received her Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and Master of Science in Japanese Business Studies from Chaminade University.
Before joining Outrigger Hotels, Jean helped established the original Chuck’s Steak House restaurant in 1959 and worked 25 years for the company, which developed into a chain of 50 restaurants throughout the United States. Jean joined Outrigger Hotels Hawaiʻi in 1982 as property manager for five hotels and eventually expanded to all of the commercial space, which encompassed 300 leases in 21 hotels. In 1998, she was promoted to Vice President of Community Relations at Outrigger Enterprises, Inc.
Rolles currently serves on 13 boards including the American Red Cross, Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi, East-West Center Board of Governors, Pacific Asian Affairs Council, Honolulu Academy of Arts, and Chaminade Board of Regents. In addition, she devotes much of her time to community affairs, including the Advisory Council for the Shidler College of Business, Ahahui Koa Anuenue Executive Committee, and Kennedy Center-U.S. President’s Committee on the Arts. She has served as an Iolani Palace docent for over 30 years.
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About 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 College places a strong emphasis on the development of management skills, entrepreneurship and the management of business information technology. 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 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.
