Foundation Established by Robert Oshiro Donates $1.7 million for UH School of Medicine Scholarships
"John Burns never forgot that hope lies eternal in a man’s heart; that it is only this hope in the frame of the human spirit that gives us strength to strive for a better today and a better tomorrow for our children and for our children’s children; that ultimately, we are one people, we are one State."
Robert Oshiro, Founder,
John A. Burns Foundation
(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) — The partnership between Robert Oshiro and Hawaiʻi Governor John A. Burns was legendary. Together, they framed the future of Hawaiʻi.
Robert Oshiro, who founded the John A. Burns Foundation in 1974 and served as its president, passed away last February. Elected to the state House in 1959, the year Hawaiʻi became a state, Bob went on to become a stalwart in the state Democratic party, serving as Chairman from 1962 to 1968 and managing six winning gubernatorial bids by Burns, George Ariyoshi and John Waihee. "Governor Burns and my husband always envisioned education as the great equalizer, the way to improve yourself in so many ways," said Ruth Oshiro. "They dreamed of a medical school and law school for Hawaiʻi when none existed.
By just about anyone’s definition, three-term Hawaiʻi governor John A. Burns was a man of vision. Elected to his first term in 1962 just three years after Hawaiʻi became a state, Burns saw the University of Hawaiʻi as an institution that would help to fulfill his dream of improving the lives of the people of Hawaiʻi. He championed educational opportunities for people of Japanese ancestry, favored attracting mainland and foreign students and advocated a broad educational system. His political biographer explained the governor as having "a visionary utopian strain which saw Hawaiʻi as an education for all America."
During the Burns administrations and with his continuing support, UH Mānoa experienced unprecedented growth, the medical and law schools were established and construction began on the observatories atop Mauna Kea. In addition, Burns advocated four-year campuses at Hilo and West Oʻahu and presided over the establishment of the UH system of community colleges.
In keeping with their long history of providing critical support for education, officials from the John A. Burns Foundation recently announced a gift of $1.7 million to establish an endowed scholarship fund for first year medical students at the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine. The awards will be made to top-ranked candidates admitted to the medical school. The majority of the funding will be utilized to establish an endowed scholarship in perpetuity with the remainder to be used for immediate awards.
"It is very meaningful for us to have this support," said Jerris Hedges, Dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine. "Students with strong grades and strong scores are being actively recruited by schools on the mainland. The opportunity to offer them scholarship support and show a commitment from our school gives us a much greater chance of retaining them here in our student body."
"The John A. Burns Foundation was formed to carry out the dreams and aspirations embodied in the 'Burns Philosophy,'" said Burns Foundation executive Shirley Kimoto. "This gift to the John A. Burns School of Medicine carries out Mr. Oshiro’s final wishes for the Foundation as well as the medical school."
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The John A. Burns Foundation supports educational, literary and charitable purposes through grants, scholarships, fellowships and donations of funds to various persons, organizations, universities, colleges, schools, libraries and public museums in Hawaiʻi. Since its inception the John A. Burns Foundation has provided more than $2 million in educational, healthcare, cultural and other charitable grants.
The John A. Burns School of Medicine at UH Mānoa was established in 1967 and named in honor of Hawaiʻi Governor John Burns, who was a vital force in establishing the school. The medical school graduated its first four-year class in 1975 and has awarded almost 2,000 medical degrees to date. Today, more than half of the physicians practicing in Hawaiʻi are graduates of the John A. Burns School of Medicine MD or residency program. For more information about JABSOM, please visit http://jabsom.hawaii.edu.
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 Hawaiʻi and 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. For more information, visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu.
The Centennial Campaign is an historic private fundraising initiative to raise $250 million to support the University of Hawaiʻi’s commitment to our students, our community and our world. For more information about the Centennial Campaign, please visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu.
