Mabel Inada Ito's $35,000 Endowment to Provide Undergraduate Scholarships at UH Mānoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) - University of Hawaiʻi alumna Mabel Inada Ito recently established an endowed student scholarship fund with a $35,000 gift to UH Mānoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). The Mabel Inada Ito Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships to undergraduate students in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at CTAHR. Ito, who graduated from UH Mānoa in 1941 with a BS in home economics, served as a home demonstration agent and county extension home economist at CTAHR for more than 30 years.
"We are very grateful to Mrs. Ito for her dedicated service and generous support of the college," said CTAHR Dean Andrew Hashimoto. "Her involvement with the University of Hawaiʻi, beginning as a student in home economics and continuing as a long-time supporter and committed employee, is truly admirable. She continues to serve the university as an outstanding role model for the students who will benefit from her scholarship fund."
Added Donna Vuchnich, president of the UH Foundation, "Private investments, particularly through endowments, are critical to providing that important measure of financial stability that is needed at all educational institutions. Endowed scholarships ensure that the University of Hawaiʻi's commitment to providing access to all students and recruiting outstanding undergraduates are fulfilled."
Ito and her husband George live in Kahului Maui. Other university units that have benefited from her support include Maui Community College and the Cancer Research Center of Hawaiʻi. She was also instrumental in getting Maui Association for Family and Community Education's popular local cookbook 50th Anniversary Best of Our Favorite Recipes 1946-1996 published. Funds from the cookbooks were used to support the building of the organization's Community Services Building and they continue to be used to provide scholarships for Hawaiʻi high school students going on to college.
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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.
