HONOLULU — The Shidler College of Business Alumni Association (Association) has committed $100,000 to the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), Shidler College of Business. As part of a five-year commitment, this gift will support entrepreneurial education and help UH monetize research efforts. In recognition of this gift, the conference room at the renovated home of PACE at the College will be named in the Association’s honor.
From Left to Right: Jared Au, senior accountant, Alexander & Baldwin; Heather Yanazaki, director of business services, 'Ekahi Health System; Vance Roley, dean, Shidler College of Business; Lillian Rodolfich, controller, Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust; Susan Yamada, executive director, Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship; Kirk Horiuchi, senior vice president, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc.; Unyong Nakata, senior director of development, Shidler College of Business; and Maile Au, director of alumni relations, Shidler College of Business
The Association’s gift will go towards the five-year PACE Initiative that was launched in February 2014. The goal of the initiative is to raise $3 million to create new programs and expand existing ones. Funds raised through the initiative will also be used to renovate and expand the current location in the Shidler College of Business. The new center will enable PACE to create a vibrant co-working space for entrepreneurial activity at the University. Additionally the new center will double the number of entrepreneurial programs offered, introduce an entrepreneurial curriculum to other UH colleges, train key faculty on current entrepreneurial instruction, support the commercialization of UH technology and innovation, and establish UH as a leader in entrepreneurial education.
To date, $1.9 million has been raised with investments from various donors, notably Central Pacific Bank’s chairman and CEO John Dean, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, and American Savings Bank.
Stated Lillian Rodolfich, controller at Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust and Association president, “We are extremely proud to support the students of the Shidler College of Business by investing in the PACE Initiative. We have a long history of supporting Shidler students, most notably via our namesake scholarship endowment. We are committed to empowering students to achieve not only their academic aspirations but also their entrepreneurial dreams.”
Under the leadership of dean Vance Roley and executive director Susan Yamada, PACE has become a training ground for future entrepreneurs and global leaders. PACE has expanded to include more than 15 programs to cultivate and support entrepreneurs, encourage entrepreneurial thinking, spawn new businesses, and rekindle ties with Hawai‘i’s business community.
“The Association’s generous investment in the entrepreneurial education of students at the University of Hawai‘i PACE program will enable us to reach more students and faculty with our programs,” said Yamada. “PACE’s goal is to create more entrepreneurial thinkers; our graduates will be poised to accept the challenges of an ever-changing world.”
The Shidler College of Business Alumni Association is one of the largest and most active chapters of the UH Alumni Association (UHAA). Originally formed in 1997 and formerly known as CBA Alumni and Friends, the Shidler Alumni Association offers its members exclusive benefits such as professional development seminars, social events, and networking opportunities. Its mission is to support and promote the Shidler College of Business and connect Shidler alumni worldwide.
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The Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) is the home for an integrated set of leading-edge entrepreneurship programs at the University of Hawai‘i. Based in the Shidler College of Business, PACE is dedicated to fostering the entrepreneurial spirit among all members of the University and local community. For more information, visit pace.shidler.hawaii.edu or follow us on Twitter @PACEhawaii.
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.
