SPRING 2012
Understanding
HAWAI‘I
its culture, history and traditions
President’s Message
T
HE 21ST CENTURY has been called the “Pacific Century” for a good reason. The countries lining the Pacific Ocean boast the fastest growing economies in the world. The Pacific Rim has become a powerful political region once again, and Hawai‘i is positioned to have a significant role in the region’s development. I have long been aware of the Pacific region’s economic importance, but its cultural values are equally important. As a youth in New Zealand, I learned the value of respecting the host Māori culture, and today, at Hawai‘i Pacific University, I see our students learn that the islands are more than a place for fun and sun. Our students learn to become citizens of a global society, while at the same time remaining appreciative of their good fortune to study at one of the finest universities in the Pacific.
Our curriculum offers many opportunities to grow as a global citizen. Our Native Hawaiian Speaker Series features presentations by prominent Hawaiian business and cultural leaders. Our numerous study abroad and service learning programs offer authentic cultural experiences that our students describe as unforgettable. Those of you who have graduated from HPU are going to find your degrees more valuable in the future, no matter where you call home today. You have experienced the true diversity and multicultural influences that make you more valuable to your communities. You are our ambassadors of aloha to the world. Geoffrey Bannister, PhD President
FEATURES
2 Understanding Hawai‘i Spring 2012 Volume 13 Number 1 EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP President Geoffrey Bannister, PhD
10 A Prestigious Pairing
The Oahu Country Club and HPU Partnership
12 Pitching Science Research
Vice President Alumni and University Relations Mary Ellen McGillan
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Bill Kline Vice President Enrollment Management Scott Stensrud Vice President and General Counsel Janet Kloenhamer Vice President Community Engagement Claire Cooper HPU TODAY STAFF Managing Editor Lianne Yamamura Associate Editor Kilei Nelson Alumni Class Links Editor Kris Smith Student Editor Alisha Kong
HPU Today is published three times a year by Hawai‘i Pacific University, 1132 Bishop Street, Suite 307 Honolulu, HI 96813. It is distributed at no charge for alumni and friends. This is the Spring 2012 issue, Volume 13, Number 1 If you are receiving duplicate copies of the magazine or need to update your mailing address, please notify the editorial office. Phone: (808) 356-5210 Fax: (808) 543-8079 E-mail: hputoday@hpu.edu Web site: www.hpu.edu/hputoday
8 Students become teachers during visit to Cambodia
26 students study abroad and work in orphanage
Vice President Academic Affairs John Kearns, PhD
Vice President University Marketing and Communications Todd Simmons
New Hawaiian culture programs
Exploring synthetic organic chemistry
13 Marathon Number Cruncher Honolulu Marathon economic impact research On the cover: Kupuna in Residence Lynette Cruz, PhD, (right), sharing her teachings with student Tara Sakamoto (left) and Emily Kandagawa (BA Anthropology ’11) at Hawai‘i Loa Campus, photo by Gary Hofheimer Right: Dr. Cruz and Nicole Lemas (BA Anthropology ’11) at Kaniakapupu, Kamehameha III’s summer house in Nu‘uanu Valley.
DEPARTMENTS 15 On Campus 19 Sea Warrior Sports 20 Alumni Spotlight 21 Class Links 24 Back Page
HAW
Understanding
New Hawaiian Culture programs
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WAI‘I give students a “sense of place.” By Georgette Woo
by georgette woo Photos courtesy of Dr. Lynette Cruz
W
hen we experience true aloha, we know it, even when the word is not spoken. Aloha is subtle, but pervasive, the essence of Hawai‘i’s specialness, and derived wholly from the native culture. Unfortunately, Hawaiian traditions and values often seem lost in the rush to survive, or to acquire more. Even worse, they may be commercialized and canned for the tourists, becoming a caricature of the culture.
With true Hawaiian culture so elusive, what chance do visiting HPU students have to experience its real beauty? This year, under the leadership of HPU’s new president, Geoffrey Bannister, PhD, the University has begun to encourage exploration of the host culture with several programs. Each of them offers thoughtful perspectives on Hawaiian traditions, values and practices.
“When students develop an affinity for Hawaiian culture, it can become an integral part of how they act, strive and communicate.” Malia Smith, EdD
Opposite: Poi pounders at Hawai‘i Loa Campus Above right: Playing the ipu (gourd) at Ha‘iku Valley
“Ideally, we’d like every HPU graduate to leave here with a deep understanding and appreciation for Hawai‘i,” says Malia Smith (MA Communication ’04), EdD. “When students develop an affinity for Hawaiian culture, it can become an integral part of how they act, strive and communicate. They can take it out into the world and live it.” The best way to instill culture is to integrate it into the curriculum, Smith says.
Native Hawaiian Speaker Series Smith is assistant dean of General Education Curriculum and Programming and coordinator of HPU’s new Native Hawaiian Speaker Series. Each semester, she invites prominent Native Hawaiian speakers to share their mana‘o (knowledge) about Hawaiian culture, traditions and values. One of them was Ramsay Taum, CEO of the Life Enhancement Institute of the Pacific and a sought-after speaker who helps introduce Hawaiian values and principles into business practices and workplaces. Taum spoke at Sharky’s Cove in front of about 100 students, faculty and staff who listened raptly as he explained that Hawai‘i’s spiritual essence is embedded in its name.
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“Know where you belong. We often strive for belongings, when what we truly want is to belong.”
Ramsay Taum
culture, what Taum calls “staged authenticity,” results in experiences that feel choreographed and contrived. Thus, West Coast and Japanese tourists have begun to see Hawai‘i as a “done” destination. “Eventually, it comes down to the people and the atmosphere, the ha—the spiritual essence and ambience … that reflects the way people relate to one another and their surroundings,” Taum writes. “Consistently, the spirit of aloha and the people of Hawai‘i rise to the top of the list of what makes a visitor experience memorable and worth coming back for.”
HPU students on a field trip to Keoki Fukumitsu’s taro farm in Hakipu‘u
According to Taum: “Ha is the breath of life, the spiritual essence of who we are. We don’t own the breath, and we can’t keep it. It nurtures us as it nurtures others. Wai is fresh water that starts as mist, becomes a cloud, then rain, a river or stream and, ultimately, the sea. A good part of us is made up of this water. I is the energy that created all things and is in all things. It’s in all of us and connects us. Every place in the world has a name for it. In Hawai‘i, we call it i.”
“The Value of Hawai‘i” Taum encouraged the students to get to know the Hawaiian culture in the homes of the people who live here. He told them, “Know where you belong. We often strive for belongings, when what we truly want is to belong.” Several students were moved to tears. One said afterward that, although she had been at HPU for a year, this was her first cultural experience. Although the gatherings are fairly large, Snyra Campollo, Nursing major and
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historian for HPU’s Student Government Association, says the approach is very personal. “It’s as if they are talking to you and no one else,” she says. Other speakers included Pono Shim, CEO of Enterprise Honolulu, the O‘ahu Economic Development Board, who explained the application of Native Hawaiian values through the word aloha. William Aila, Jr., chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, talked about protecting Hawaiian burial grounds and other sacred spaces. Kumu Hula Mapuana de Silva and entertainer Robert Cazimero shared stories of the history and significance of hula in Hawai‘i. And respected Native Hawaiian facilitator and community development consultant Puanani Burgess spoke of Hawai‘i’s relationship to the world. Taum’s talk, beautiful and uplifting, is balanced by his critical essay in “The Value of Hawai‘i.” In it, Taum wonders about the future of tourism. The industry has created jobs and made Hawai‘i known to the world, but it has also displaced local and indigenous populations, turning them into cheap sources of labor. In addition, focusing only on the presentation of
Micheline Soong, PhD, associate professor of English and chair of HPU’s Common Book Program, says “‘The Value of Hawai‘i’ is HPU’s first common book with Hawai‘i as the focus.” In it, various local authors examine problems Hawai‘i currently faces, the history surrounding them, and steps we might take to help resolve them, she says. The essays are grouped under four themes: The Way We Live, Business, Government, and Our Relationship to the Land, with sub-topics including ethnicity, transportation, labor, sovereign land, and public education, to name just a few. The broad focus enables many HPU teachers to incorporate it into their curriculum; thereby, providing a deeper, richer learning experience for students and common ground for discussion across disciplines. A further advantage of this book is that it has a dedicated webpage and a game. The game was created by educator and media designer David Goldberg, who seized upon the popularity of game cards to make the book’s concepts accessible to students. On the webpage is a tool students can use to create their own game cards in four suits, corresponding with the book’s themes. Each card is assigned a positive or negative point value, based on the problem or solution it represents. Participants play the positive cards (potential solutions) against the negatives (problems), and the team that is able to negotiate to reach 0—balancing out the negative with the positive cards—wins.
In 2010, Mililani High School teacher Claire Gearen was already using the book for her senior class when Goldberg offered to teach them how to implement the game. The students became the test group, and created a completed deck of 200 game cards. HPU invited Goldberg and Gearen to show teachers how to replicate the project on a college level. Gearen’s students demonstrated and played the game with HPU students, who have since created about 200 cards of their own. HPU will continue this process into next year, when students will ultimately vote for the five best cards. “It’s basically a negotiation,” Soong says. “They have to use what they have to find solutions, so it engages them in an experience that mimics the legislative process.” In concert with the Common Book, the Viewpoint Films for the year addressed Hawaiian and Polynesian issues. Among them: “Mai Ka Piko Mai A Ho‘i: A Return to Kanaloa,” a documentary about the return of Native Hawaiian activists to Kaho‘olawe 14 years after they succeeded in halting the U.S. military bombing of the island.
When Cruz retired last year from a full-time position as a professor of anthropology, HPU asked her to lead the program as part-time Kupuna in Residence. The Kupuna’s task is to give students an understanding of Hawaiian history and culture, with a focus on sustainability and connection to the land and community through field trips that introduce students to different sites and to the communities that oversee these places. The objective is to instill in students Hawaiian values HPU students at the Hawai‘i Loa Campus taro mala‘ai (garden) and perspectives that will before, they had unrolled their sleeping help them create harmony and build relationships, here and as global bags in an empty house on the property, and left their cooler, which contained citizens after they graduate. salami, cheese, tuna and snacks, just These values are expressed through outside the house. “When we woke up, program themes of caring: for the land, for the food was gone,” Van Wyck remembers. one another, to ensure wise government, “The farm dogs had gotten into it and for the spiritual intent of the ancestors, licked every container clean.” and for the world. In daylong trips around Their first response was mild panic. O‘ahu, Cruz takes the students to learn “But then we saw that there were papayas about Hawaiian medicinal herbs and and bananas growing on the land,” he massage, the proper protocol for visiting says. “We began harvesting taro and sacred heiau (Hawaiian temple), and other foods.” the constellations the Hawaiians used to navigate on the ocean. Twelve days later, Van Wyck’s outlook on The most enlightening excursions, however, are off O‘ahu and “off the grid”— away from computers, cell phone reception, convenience stores and, sometimes, electricity.
Path of the Ancestors Kaho‘olawe, considered sacred by Hawaiians, is largely inaccessible, but a lucky group of students visited the island with Lynette Cruz (BA Pacific Island Studies ’87), PhD, as part of a new HPU program, He Ala Kulaiwi (the path of the ancestors).
One excursion involved 12 days on a farm owned by the Oliver Duklow family. “The theme is food sustainability and security,” Cruz says. “On an island, everything comes to us by boat or plane. If we get cut off, what will we do? The lesson is that people can feed themselves. It’s a shift in focus.” On the farm, students give their labor in exchange for the stay. Anthropology major Patrick Van Wyck’s personal paradigm began to shift the morning after they arrived. The night
food had changed. “I used to stock up on canned food, but now nearly everything I eat is fresh and locally grown, purchased from farmers markets,” he says. Anthropology major Nick Needle, who is from Baltimore County, Maryland, says the excursions helped him resolve some personal issues and uncertainties about where he wanted to go with his life. After the farm excursion, Needle cultivated a taro mala‘ai (garden) on the Hawai‘i Loa Campus. He also works as an intern at Papahana Kuaola, a malama ‘aina (to care for the land) education organization that teaches school kids about growing taro. “I want to farm and feed people healthy food, to inspire them, and to create more
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Ramsay Taum (third from the left) and Dr. Malia Smith (third from the right) at the Native Hawaiian Speaker Series with other faculty members and HPU students
would help each other.” For students away from home, that can mean the difference between leaving early and staying to finish a degree program. The overwhelmingly positive responses indicate just how important it is to emphasize aloha and the Hawaiian sense of place at HPU.
Aloha is… more than a greeting, opportunities for people to connect with the land,” Needle says. Needle and Van Wyck were also part of the group that traveled to Kaho‘olawe. “Because it’s a sacred place, and perhaps because of its history and inaccessibility, you come to feel very close to each other,” Van Wyck says. “It was very spiritually opening. I felt a presence there, almost as if someone was sitting right beside me.”
“I think being a good Hawai‘i citizen is as important as being a good global citizen.” HPU Anthropology major Nick Needle
Needle hopes HPU will expand the program to accommodate a greater number of students. “I think being a good Hawai‘i citizen is as important as being a good global citizen,” he says. “It’s a great start, but there were only 15 of us. I think it’s important that more students get to have these experiences.” Nicole Lemas (BA Anthropology ’11) says her decision to apply to the Peace Corps was directly influenced by the program excursions. Two of her favorites were Kaniakapupu, off the Old Pali Road, and Mokauea Island, O‘ahu’s last remaining fishing village.
was disappointed to find she had missed Auntie Joanie Bagood’s stories about the village’s history. Cruz had taught her that, in order to be fully present in a place, one must know its story. So before heading down to the shore to clear invasive seaweeds, she asked Auntie Joanie to repeat the story for her, so that she could connect with and serve the land.
Appreciating the ‘Aina “Then we lined up, about 40 of us, and passed coral and concrete from the shore, hand to hand, to line the fish pond,” she says. “Moments like those give students a sense of presence and purpose, why they’re there.”
“When you’re on those excursions, you’re selfless,” Lemas says. “You go without expectations, but you end up getting so much more back. It made me realize that being of service is part of who I am and why I’m an anthropology major— the humanity.”
Another day, when the group paddled outrigger canoes to Mokauea Island, Lemas was one of the last to arrive and
At the debriefing following their return, they reported feeling like a family, Cruz says. “They’d built trust and knew they
kilei nelson
At Kaniakapupu, King Kamehameha III’s summer house, Cruz chanted them in and taught them the proper way to enter a sacred ancestral site, by asking permission, Lemas says.
hpu today
“An overarching principle, condition, way of life, mind set, and attitude. A spiritual principle that conveys the deepest expression of ones’ relationship with oneself, creative and life-giving forces, family, friends, community and strangers. A natural response of respect, love, and reciprocity, and not a contrived series of motions or expressions that have been rehearsed and perfected for economic gain.”—From “The Value of Hawai‘i,” Ramsay Taum
On every excursion, the group does some kind of work, whether cutting bamboo or clearing weeds, whatever is needed. Part of the lesson, Needle says, is that when you are contributing to the health of the land, you are also contributing to your own health.
The excursions also stretch the students to be independent and find solutions within themselves. “At the farm, there was some tension in the beginning,” Cruz says. “Not everyone got along. I told them they had to work it out.”
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salutation, slogan or pitch line. It is:
The beautiful Hawai‘i Loa Campus
Hawaiian Culture Speakers Are you passionate and knowledgeable about Hawaiian culture? HPU would like to invite alumni working for or involved with culture-based organizations to share their mana‘o with HPU students and faculty. If you would like to be a part of HPU’s new direction, please contact Malia Smith, EdD, at (808) 721-2174.
Pounding taro at Hawai‘i Loa Campus
Live Hawai‘i HPU’s Live Hawai‘i program was started in 2006 to give new students an opportunity to see some of O‘ahu’s historical and cultural sites. Megan Kaptik, HPU director of First-Year Programs, has been coordinating the field trips since 2008. “I always have a wait list for excursions,” Kaptik says. “It’s a chance to explore with their peers.”
Tying the field trips to the year’s Common Book and curriculum is a positive, Kaptik says. “That’s a huge change.”
Chris Aguinaldo
The program, which started with six outings per year, now sponsors eight to 10 events. In addition to introducing students to popular historic sites such as the USS Arizona, the Bishop Museum, and the Plantation Village, it included meeting local artists at the Hawai‘i State Art Museum and discussing sovereignty at ‘Iolani Palace. The Mission Houses will be included next year.
(Above) Dr. Justin Vance, HPU history professor, takes a look at the interior of a grass hut. (Left) HPU student Maxim Kononov of Russia examines items in a plantation home.
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Students Become Teachers During Visit to Cambodia by Chris Aguinaldo Photos courtesy of Theodore Jaquith
HPU volunteers take a break with smiling students at Palm Tree School.
“Our goal was to make sure they want to stay dedicated in their education so they continue to excel. I wanted to be practical in my help and not just be some random American just showing up.” HPU Political Science major Ryan Tinajero
When James Primm, PhD, first visited Cambodia in 1997, his life changed profoundly. He adopted his daughter, Samay, and brought her home to live with his family in Hawai‘i. However, the faces, smiles and warmth of the other Cambodian children he met there always remained in his heart. Over the years, Primm has returned to help the children residing at Cambodia’s Palm Tree School. He and other volunteers build facilities and offer support to the staff, who toil in one of the most economically disadvantaged countries in Southeast Asia. For the Hawai‘i Pacific University associate professor of International Studies, his volunteer efforts have become second nature. “We sit in a classroom and we talk about globalization—theoretical perspectives, historical case study perspectives. Two times a year, I go out there and practice globalization. I realized how much it changed my life,” Primm says. So why not share the experience? In January, for the first time, he accompanied a class of 26 HPU students, who visited
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Cambodia for a three-week study-abroad experience they will never forget. Through a partnership with Cambodia’s Pannasastra University in Phnom Phenh, HPU offered a winter intersession course: INTR 3900 Contemporary Nations: Cambodia. The course requires HPU and Pannasastra students to add a service learning component to their studies of international relations. Pannasastra University attracts students from the upper classes and is the only school in Cambodia that teaches courses in English, according to Primm. To team up with HPU students and visit poor areas helped the Pannasastra students “see themselves as part of an entire society, rather than just an elite, and that’s a good thing,” he says. “That’s an even better awakening for them because they’re going to stay in that country and be the power brokers of the future,” he adds. That future will include more youth who are better educated and poised to take advantage of Cambodia’s developing economy. The HPU and Pannasastra students worked side-by-side with each other and with aid groups on a variety of projects.
“These kids have so little and when you’re playing with them, even small things make them happy.” HPU International Relations major Matt Lau
“Our goal was to make sure they want to stay dedicated in their education so they continue to excel. I wanted to be practical in my help and not just be some random American just showing up,” he says.
Business administration major Nick Monticello tutors English at Palm Tree School.
The HPU students’ efforts were very appreciated, especially when they visited schools to help teach English. “They became teachers and learners at the same time and I think that freaked them out a little bit, because I think they thought they were only going to be students. All of a sudden, in Cambodia they are asked, ‘Can you teach me English?’” Primm says. As a teacher, HPU student Matt Lau of Honolulu was teamed with Pannasastra students to work with children at Palm Tree School. “I was trying to teach the children English, whatever I can do to help their curriculum,” he says. Before attending HPU, Lau served 10 years in the Hawaii Army National Guard and had been deployed to Iraq. “Cambodia reminded me of Iraq a little bit because of the poverty,” he says. An International Relations major, Lau plans to enter the HPU Military and Diplomacy Studies graduate degree program after he earns his bachelor’s degree. He studied Cambodia’s checkered history in preparation for his study-abroad experience. “It was so traumatizing for Cambodia in the ’70s. You still see remnants of that and that’s one of the reasons why they’re so poor. The country is still recovering as a whole after civil wars,” he says. Lau learned that teaching English is very difficult, but there was plenty of time for fun, too. During breaks, the younger
children wanted to draw, play and enjoy time with their newfound friends. “These kids have so little and when you’re playing with them, even small things make them happy. They were grateful for the help,” he says. Ryan Tinajero, a Political Science major from Kane‘ohe, found himself becoming a human jungle gym while helping at the pleasantly titled Happy School. The Happy School provides free education to students who otherwise could not afford to go to Cambodia’s private schools. Cambodia does not have a public school system. “They would play everywhere. Sometimes, they were even climbing on us. I’d look down at my leg and there would be a child climbing up.” Such joy amidst hardship struck a chord in him, he says.
He was gratified to learn that the people of Cambodia have an inherent sense of optimism. Even the children whose mother had surgery have a sense of hope about their own future. “They still know there are people who care about them,” he says. Both Tinajero and Lau say they appreciated the opportunity to study in Cambodia and would like to return to the country. According to Primm, “at least a third of (the HPU students) has expressed an interest of wanting to go back.” This demonstrates that they are on their way to becoming citizens of the globe “who want to be part of it, instead of separate from it,” he adds. As a result, the course will be offered again this winter. “I think Ryan and Matt see people who are just so warm and caring, who want to be with their families and do have laughs, even when times are hard.”
“I actually got a chance to visit some of the kids’ houses and I was just shocked. It was worse than reading about it in textbooks.” The ground was visible under the low-lying plank floors, and roofs were thin pieces of tin, sometimes pocked with holes, he says. He visited a family’s home at which the mother, who had suffered painful abdominal surgery, could not afford her pain medication. Her limited resources were instead devoted to keeping her children in school. “She is sending her kids to the Happy School to make sure they get their education and vocational training so they can get more opportunities,” Tinajero says.
Psychology major Dona Walpola helps a boy learn English at Palm Tree School.
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Courtesy of Oahu Country Club
The Oahu Country Club clubhouse and private 18-hole golf course
A Prestigious Pairing:
The Oahu Country Club and HPU Partnership By Kilei Nelson
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A recently formed partnership with the Oahu Country Club (OCC) is giving some lucky Hawai‘i Pacific University business students a real-world learning opportunity to converse with the Honolulu business elite. As the state’s oldest country club and home to the historic Manoa Cup Championship golf tournament, OCC has been a gathering place for powerful business leaders since its founding in 1906. The HPU College of Business and OCC collaboration began from discussions between OCC past president James “Jim” Pappas and College of Business Dean Deborah Crown, PhD. Pappas has been involved with HPU previously through his generous sponsorship of The Pappas Entrepreneurial Leadership Series, a lecture series designed to enable students to meet professional business leaders and gain insights about entrepreneurial skills essential for career success.
he mentioned his connection to OCC and expressed interest in a collaborative project with HPU students,” Crown says.
Since teamwork and collaboration form the core of the University’s new Strategic Plan, Crown has prioritized helping the College of Business become a more partnership-based institution. When the HPU and OCC collaboration presented itself, Crown offered to conduct an OCC data-based research study involving business students on country club membership “HPU’s College of Business is pleased potential. In addition to Crown, the OCC to partner with Oahu Country Club study includes Assistant Professor of on this project. Through his generous Marketing Thomas Kohler, PhD, retired support of The Pappas Entrepreneurial Kellogg executive and HPU Executive in Leadership Series, Jim Pappas had already Residence Jeffrey M. Boromisa, students from HPU’s MBA Club, and students shown his dedication to enhancing the of Kohler’s Marketing Research and student experience. I was thrilled when Principles of Marketing classes.
Kohler received his PhD in Business Administration from the Innsbruck University School of Management. His research has been featured in Journals such as the Harvard Business Manager and MIS Quarterly, and he has conducted market research studies for major European companies such as PHILIPS, BMW and KUONI. After attending HPU as an undergraduate exchange student for the Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 semesters, Kohler later returned to the University as a professor in 2010 and received HPU’s Reflective Use of Technology Golden Apple Award in 2011.
According to OCC President and Hawai‘i law firm Kobayashi, Sugita, & Goda Partner Craig Shikuma, “It has been a terrific experience working with the HPU MBA students and faculty. The students’ enthusiasm for the project, intelligence and professionalism are very impressive.” HPU’s MBA Club continued the second half of the study in Spring 2012 semester. By the end of February, they completed the exploratory qualitative research portion, which was made up of 17 comprehensive interviews conducted
val cheung
The OCC research study has also benefited from having College of Business’s Executive in Residence Jeffrey M. Boromisa as an advisor. Since retiring in 2009, Boromisa, former senior vice president of Kellogg Company and executive vice president of Kellogg International, remains active in the community and has been sharing his professional knowledge and developing internship opportunities for HPU students since 2010.
In the Fall 2011 semester, the HPU MBA Club and students from Kohler’s Marketing Research and Principles of Marketing classes began the analysis stage of the study. The study employed a mixed-method approach to combine the in-depth understanding of qualitative methods with the rigor and precision of quantitative data. At the end of 2011, the OCC Board of Directors Executive Team was given a presentation and report summarizing the first half of the study’s research findings.
Clockwise left to right: Alexis L. Schroth, OCC Membership Director; Peter Hansen, OCC General Manager; Jeffrey M. Boromisa, HPU College of Business’s Executive in Residence; Dr. Deborah Crown, HPU College of Business Dean; Dr. Thomas Kohler, HPU Assistant Professor of Marketing; Chelsey Jones, HPU MA in Organizational Change student; Johand Cruse, HPU MBA student
To understand the current market and identify potential target markets for future members, the process was set up with three distinct phases: • Phase 1: to gain an understanding of the situation through industry analysis and best practice marketing case studies. • Phase 2: to generate data through qualitative and quantitative studies. • Phase 3: to derive insights and make possible strategy recommendations.
both face-to-face and over the phone. The semi-structured interviews had open-ended questions in an effort to gain an overall picture of the attitudes and perceptions of potential members and research the barriers that prevent people of the target market from joining country clubs.
survey contained multiple-choice, scaled and open questions. In early March, they met again with the OCC Executive Team to give a progress report on the initial analysis of the qualitative research and the survey questions generated thus far. Following the meeting, they revised and forwarded the survey on to OCC General Manager Peter Hansen. A week later, the HPU group reconvened with Hansen for further discussion before sending the revised survey to the OCC Board for final input. MBA Club members Johand Cruse, Chelsey Jones and Lani Kim took on leadership roles in researching and presenting their real-world client with a comprehensive market research study. “We are committed to improve our students’ learning experience by immersing them in real-world managerial situations. Students work closely with the (OCC) project partner and (HPU) faculty to close the knowing-doing gap. These experiences prepare them to thrive as our next generation of managers and leaders,” Kohler says. After spending hours meticulously transcribing interviews and synthesizing data, the MBA Club members had the opportunity to spend a couple hours relaxing like the Honolulu business leaders they are hoping to become— soaking in spectacular views and testing their golf skills on the challenging OCC course known for its tumbling fairways and lightning-quick greens. “I appreciate how the HPU team translated pages and pages of data into practical recommendations for OCC to consider,” Hansen says. “This is a great partnership—win-win for both organizations.”
“We are committed to improve our students’ learning experience by immersing them in real-world managerial situations. Students work closely with the (OCC) project partner and (HPU) faculty to close the knowing-doing gap.”
Crown, Kohler, Boromisa and representatives from the MBA Club used the interview findings to generate a survey Thomas Kohler, PhD for the quantitative research portion. The
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Pitching Science Research By Gail Miyasaki
Once an aspiring professional baseball player who worked summers as a carpenter while in college, HPU researcher Gideon Berger, PhD, now “builds” new chemical solutions and “pitches” to students his love of science.
Joining HPU in 2008, the northern California native is part of the rapid growth in research at HPU in the last decade. A $2 million National Institute of Health grant secured by Professor of Chemistry David Horgen, PhD, in 2002 helped create HPU’s biomedical research program. Under the second phase of grant funding, Berger, Horgen and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Yongli Chen, PhD, have formed a unique research team who investigate ion channels in human cells. Ions are charged atoms or molecules that are vital to cell survival. Found throughout the body, ions move in and out of cells through tunnel-like channels. Horgen, who specializes in natural products chemistry of soft corals and other marine life, and medical researchers at Queen’s Medical Center collaborated and discovered a natural product that is the only known chemical to close the ion channel. “The opening of the ion channel has been implicated in cell death due
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Gary Hofheimer
Knowing that the synthetic organic chemistry research he is doing at Hawai‘i Pacific University may potentially have medicinal or pharmaceutical use for cancer, strokes or other serious ailments is always on the mind of Gideon Berger, PhD. “It’s a long shot that what we do becomes a life-saving prescription. But in the process, we learn much more about the disease,” says Berger, assistant professor of chemistry and the principal investigator in a federally funded IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Project.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Gideon Berger teaching in lab with Chih-Wei Chang (BS Biochemistry ’11) and Damian D’Auria, Pre-Medical Studies major (seated)
to strokes,” explains Berger, who is working on a synthetic version. Chen, an expert on ion channels, is focusing on the chemical’s shut-down potential to “quarantine” cells, including from certain types of cancers. “I look at my work like solving a puzzle,” says Berger of his synthesis work. “Can we make one in the lab that replicates a valuable one in nature? Can we improve on it?” Using commercially available simple molecules as starting materials, his chemical creations—some of which have never existed before—can ensure that natural resources are not depleted to meet human needs. Furthermore, improved versions of the natural products (called analogues) might hold new and superior properties. Taxol, for example, is a popular cancer medication derived from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree that has treated patients worldwide in its synthetic form. Using the bark itself is unsustainable because it would take approximately one whole tree to provide a year’s worth of medication for just one patient. Additionally, analogues of Taxol have been developed that attempt to increase potency, delivery and reduction of side effects.
Berger says his molecular level research is possible because of HPU’s significant investment in “advanced instrumentation for a university of its size.” The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) instrument he employs—which uses the same technology as an MRI—is representative of the cutting edge research technology growth at HPU. “Research opportunities are now an important part of an HPU education,” adds Berger, who “loves to teach” his two to four classes each semester and currently has five undergraduates working with him. HPU undergraduate researchers use high-tech instruments to perform hands-on work that is usually reserved for graduate students at other institutions. One of his researchers is now pursuing a career in biochemistry as a result of her research experience. The majority of his undergraduate workers go on to a career in either research or medicine. “My most important product is young scientists,” says Berger. “Whether they go on to medical school or research, they learn transferable skills to solve problems using the discipline and knowledge of science.”
Marathon Number Cruncher By John Wythe White
$350/day
SPENT BY RUNNERS FROM JAPAN
59%
OF PARTICIPANTS FROM JAPAN
HPU students and Dr. Agrusa collecting surveys at the Honolulu Marathon
Last December, more than 22,000 people ran or walked the 2011 Honolulu Marathon. Approximately 13,000 of the participants came from Japan and stayed for six or seven days. About 1,400 came from the continental United States and stayed nearly nine days. Almost 700 runners came from foreign countries other than Japan and stayed for two weeks. These visitors generated more than $107 million in economic impact for the state of Hawai‘i, with each Japanese runner spending about $350 per day, $100 more than visitors from the continental United States. Income generated for the state topped $50 million.
$107M ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR HAWAI‘I
These numbers, detailing the economic impact of the Honolulu Marathon, were tallied by Jerry Agrusa, PhD, professor of Travel Industry Management at Hawai‘i Pacific University. He has been gathering data on the marathon since he came to HPU 10 years ago. Agrusa had previously conducted research on the economic impact of the Mardi Gras and the Nike golf tournament in Louisiana, as a professor of Hospitality Management at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
“In 2002, over 20,000 people were flying in to join the race,” Agrusa says, “and nobody was doing research on it. So I took a look at it. The first thing I noticed was that 80 percent of those registered were not residents of Hawai‘i. It was an outsiders’ race, a drawing card for Island tourism.” The first year Agrusa researched the marathon, he enlisted the help of a Japanese-speaking student, Atsuko Hirobe (BSBA ’03), to translate his questionnaire and assist in collecting the surveys. The two went to Kapiolani Park the day before the race, when the runners come to leave a post-marathon change of clothes for themselves. “We gave out Tootsie Rolls and lollipops to have runners complete the surveys because you need to give people something for their time,” Agrusa recalls. In the second year, a marathon public relations representative approached Agrusa about setting up a table for his research at the Outrigger Hotel, that year’s Honolulu Marathon headquarters. When the Marathon Expo event moved
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“They can see how what we teach them in the classroom applies to the real world.” into the Hawai‘i Convention Center, Agrusa was provided a booth. “As the research project grew, I became better at collecting the data,” Agrusa states. “Last year we collected almost 2,000 surveys. When you get that much data, your research is that much more precise. With 15,000 runners from outside Hawai‘i, surveying one out of every 10 runners results in a really good sample set.” Having his students involved in the research is important to Agrusa. “They can see how what we teach them in the classroom applies to the real world. Last year we had about 60 to 70 students volunteer to help collect data over the four days of the Marathon Expo.” Equally important is putting HPU’s quality and relevant research in the community spotlight. For the local media, Agrusa has become a reliable expert authority, and is often interviewed on television newscasts—with HPU banners prominently displayed in the booth background. “It’s a perfect opportunity for the University to gain some positive press coverage in the community, as well as to allow parents to see how their children are using real-world projects to develop into a profession-ready global leader.” Nationally, Agrusa has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. His knowledge is in demand because more than 500 marathons are held worldwide every year. Honolulu’s is the fifth largest, behind New York City and Chicago. Agrusa has studied several aspects of the marathon experience in Hawai‘i, including participants’ consumer behavior, service expectations and perceptions of “the ideal marathon competition destination.” Measured against this ideal, Honolulu received top scores in every category except for one: the cost involved. Agrusa says that his Honolulu Marathon research is facilitated by the fact that it is a closed event. “It’s unlike the Pro Bowl
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Jerry Agrusa, PhD
or the Sony Open,” he says, “because we know exactly how many people are registered and where they all came from.” Moreover, because the study involves economic impact, it tracks only visitor spending. Residents who participate would likely otherwise spend their money on something else in Hawai‘i. Another relevant fact: the Honolulu Marathon is totally self-supporting, requiring no subsidies from the state.
ship passengers and honeymooners as well as visitor attitudes regarding gambling and Hawaiian sovereignty. His methodology is primary data collection via written surveys. He uses the Likert Scale, which requests responses within a range of five choices ranging from agree to disagree or like to dislike. He prefers to limit the number of survey questions to 25 or 26, so that the questions will fit on two sides of a single page.
Agrusa’s research on the economic impact of the Honolulu Marathon is especially valuable to Hawai‘i’s hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants, rental car companies, tour companies as well as state agencies such as the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. The data enables them to plan in advance, as well as to fine-tune their products and services to cater to the desires of the unique subset, or “niche market,” of “sports tourists” among Hawai‘i’s known visitors. Sports tourism includes traveling away from home to participate in a sports activity for recreation or competition, as well as to observe sports games and visit sporting attractions such as sports halls of fame. In Hawai‘i, surfing and golf account for the lion’s share of sports tourism, but other athletic events such as the Honolulu Marathon, Ironman and Tinman Triathlete competitions in Kona and Honolulu, respectively, contribute to no small degree.
“You need to survey people directly,” Agrusa says. “When I was in Louisiana, a study came out estimating the economic impact of the Mardi Gras by weighing the garbage and extrapolating the increased tonnage into money spent. I said, ‘Why not just ask the people how much they spent on food and beverage and hotel?’ It would take more work but it would be more accurate.”
In Agrusa’s 2011 study, more then half of the runners from Japan stated that this was their first Honolulu Marathon, and more than 96 percent of these first-time runners stated that they plan to return to Hawai‘i other than to run in a Marathon. It confirmed sports tourism’s long-term benefit of translating into repeat visits, especially if the attraction creates what is called “event affinity”—a lasting relationship that survives regardless of the cost of travel and accommodations. Agrusa’s other research involving Hawai‘i tourism covers a broad range of topics. They include the habits and preferences of Chinese and Korean tourists, cruise
In 1991, for his PhD dissertation at Texas A&M University, Agrusa involved primary data collection on energy and water consumption by hotel guests. He discovered that, contrary to popular belief among hoteliers at the time, hotel guests were indeed willing not to have their sheets and towels changed every day. As a result, most hotels today worldwide offer their guests this option. “Whenever my mom stays in a hotel that provides this choice,” Agrusa says, “she says, ‘That was your idea.’”
ON CAMPUS
HPU Welcomes Todd Simmons
Darryl Calkins
Hawai‘i Pacific University welcomed Darryl Calkins as associate vice president of enrollment management in December. He oversees the University’s International Center, including admission, recruitment, credential evaluations and international student services.
“I’m honored to be joining Hawai‘i Pacific University. Under the guidance of President Bannister, the faculty, students, staff and senior leadership creating the new strategic plan are charting a tremendously exciting new course for HPU,” he says.
“It is a particularly exciting time for me and my staff to be a part of the developing strategic plan that will more fully integrate internationalization in all aspects of the HPU community.”
He was previously director of communications in the Department of Public and Government Affairs at the University of Oregon, director of marketing and media relations at Florida International University, and director of media relations at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Director of Research and Relationship Management
CHRIS AGUINALDO
Hawai‘i Pacific University has appointed Todd Simmons as vice president of University Marketing and Communications this spring. Simmons will be responsible for developing a unified communications division and strategy at the University in this newly-created executive position.
Simmons most recently served as associate vice president of university relations and marketing at Oregon State University in Corvallis. There, he helped lead a 28-member team responsible for marketing, print and web communications and university events. He also oversaw the News and Research Communication Services office, which is responsible for the University’s research magazine, media relations and internal communications.
Christopher Butler
Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management
CHRIS AGUINALDO
PHOTO COURTESY OF TODD SIMMONS
Vice President of University Marketing and Communications
Previously, he was director of college counseling at Wildwood School in Los Angeles and executive director and co-owner of Linden Educational Services, Inc., a leading university recruitment tour provider. He has connections with high school and university counselors in more than 100 countries. “I am looking forward to working with the students, staff and faculty of HPU to further build upon the long history of a significant presence of international students on campus,” he says.
Christopher Butler joined Hawai‘i Pacific University as director of research and relationship management in Alumni and University Relations (AUR) this February. In this position, Butler is responsible for the day-to-day management of the research needs of AUR. He also facilitates and assists in the operation of the key systems and services supporting the University’s strategic fundraising initiatives. “I am extremely excited to join the Hawai‘i Pacific University ‘ohana and work with such outstanding leadership, faculty and staff,” he says. “I am committed to helping HPU educate tomorrow’s leaders so that our students can create a better world for this and future generations.” Butler has more than 12 years of professional experience in prospect research in higher education. He was previously at Stanford University, serving as associate director of development research. He was also a research analyst at Georgetown University.
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ON CAMPUS
At campus aloha party: Natasa Subotic (BSBA ’06, MBA ’11), Kris Smith (BA ’95, MA ’97), Nathan Lawrence (BA ’10), Francis Chang (MBA ’91), Katja Silveraa (BSBA ’02, MA ’04), Brad Harrison (BA and BSBA ’85, MBA ’95), Associate Vice President of Alumni and University Relations Margi Ulveling, Debbie Durbin, Marine Biology major, Ivo Kerelski (BSBA ’02), Anastasia Markina, MBA major
A Date with History
Photo courtesy of Dr. Jon Davidann
History student David Rosehill took first prize for best paper using primary sources at the Regional Phi Alpha Theta conference at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa on March 10. His paper was about the oil situation in Alaska.
HPU Welcomes Guests from Yamagata University
Three HPU history department faculty members also participated in the conference: Jon Davidann, PhD, chaired a panel on the history of oil in the 20th and 21st centuries; James Corcoran, PhD, chaired a panel on American history; and Linda Lierheimer, PhD, served as a judge.
Representatives from Yamagata University in Japan visited HPU’s Alumni and University Relations department to develop international relations and discuss alumni engagement efforts.
chris aguinaldo
Margi Ulveling, associate vice president of Alumni and University Relations, retired in March after 14 years of service to HPU. After joining the University in 1998 as the Director of Development, she led many significant University fundraising and alumni engagement efforts. Ulveling helped create and develop The President’s Fund, which grew from 41 donors in the first year to 400 donors. The funds raised benefited new programs, including teacher education, health sciences and performing arts. The HPU community acknowledges Margi’s dedication and leadership.
kilei nelson
Mahalo and Aloha
From left to right: Tara Wilson, HPU Assistant Vice President, Annual Giving and Constituency Relations; Atsushi Takahashi, Associate Director, Enrollment Policy Division; Shinji Fukushima, Professor, Office of Enrollment Management; Norihiko Tsuji, Enrollment Management Manager; Mary Ellen McGillan, HPU Vice President, Alumni and University Relations (AUR); Nancy Chancellor, HPU Associate Director, AUR; Reiko Hata, HPU MA in Communication student; Lianne Yamamura, HPU Director of Communication, AUR
Award-winning writer Tyler McMahon gave a speech at Hawai‘i Pacific University’s 15th Annual Ko‘olau Writing Workshops on March 3. The event was held at the Hawai‘i Loa Campus in Kane‘ohe. McMahon is an assistant professor and HPU’s fiction writing specialist in the English Department. He was runner-up in the Ian McMillan Writing Contest in 2011, nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2009, and authored the recent St. Martin’s Press novel
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“How the Mistakes Were Made.” McMahon was a finalist for the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for the novel “Chloroquine Dreams.” McMahon has also published more than 35 short stories, essays, reviews and interviews. His short story, “A Pocket Guide to Male Prostitution,” was shortlisted for the 2009 “Best of the West” anthology, and short story “Deeper into Sicness” was nominated for the 2009 Million Writers Award.
kilei nelson
Annual Ko‘olau Writing Workshops Local writers were invited to listen to McMahon speak and to take workshops in scriptwriting, fiction, poetry and non-fiction. HPU’s James Vaughan Poetry Contest winner was also awarded at the event.
ON CAMPUS
From Ontario to Hawai‘i to HPU
In an exciting come-from-behind finish at Aloha Stadium, Hawai‘i Pacific University cross country runner Dany Malley made a final push to take first place with a winning time of 41:57 in the 28th Great Aloha Run in February. Malley, a senior
in marketing, joins a long list of HPU cross country runners who have won the 8.15 mile course. In November 2011, the Canadian native was awarded All-Region honors for his 16th place finish at the West Regional Championship. HPU Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach Christian Friis (MA Communication ’02) calls Malley’s performance his “crowning achievement,” since Malley was the only runner from the PacWest to qualify. Malley recently took second place in the Hapalua Half Marathon and capped his HPU cross country career with a 3rd place finish at the Pac-West Championship.
HPU on an athletic scholarship in 2008. “And to be able to surf,” says Malley, who played ice hockey back home. He is vice president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, which helps raise awareness of HPU sporting events and works with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He serves as the Business Administration senator in student government and is looking ahead to a corporate sales career in pharmaceuticals. Malley credits Marketing Professor Malia Morrow “who took me to the next level as a presenter” and Marketing Instructor Kristian Pangilinan who brought his real life pharmaceutical sales experience to the classroom. After graduation with a BA in Marketing in May, Malley plans to return to ice hockey in Canada and to keep on running.
A high school long distance runner from Mississauga, Ontario, he came to
Shaka Sharky! with
It is easy to see why everyone loves Sharky—with his HPU tattoo, shaka, and friendly grin!
Receive 20% off until June 30, 2012, with the coupon code “sharky hpu”
www.hpu.edu/bookstore
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ON CAMPUS
photos by Gary Hofheimer
Class of 2011: December Commencement
Left to right: President Bannister; College of Humanities and Social Sciences Associate Dean Bill Potter; Jack Lockwood, Board of Trustees; Dr. Michael Chun, Chairman Board of Trustees
Keynote Speaker Ramsay Taum, CEO of the Life Enhancement Institute of the Pacific
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Valedictory speakers Harald Rittersbacher (BA Psychology), Devin Kibler (BS Computer Science), Courtney T.K. Matsuki (MA Communication)
SEA WARRIOR SPORTS
HPU Hosts the National Girls and Women in Sports Day Event “It is important to show these young girls that they have role models that they can look up to and admire, women who will encourage them to stay in athletics.”
BY ALISHA KONG
Hawai‘i Pacific University Athletics Department hosted its second National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) event at the Hawai‘i Loa Campus on January 29. NGWSD, an event that originated in 1987, is celebrated across all 50 states. Its primary goals are to inspire more females to become involved with sports, to award accomplishments and to bring communities together. The event was first created in remembrance of female Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman, who passed away from Marfan’s Syndrome during a volleyball tournament in 1986. NGWSD became a way to honor her athletic accomplishments and her efforts to promote female equality in sports. For the past 25 years, NGWSD has expanded into a positive movement that embodies everything that Hyman stood for. “I really wanted to bring this event to HPU because I have recently had a big appreciation of what I gained from being involved in athletics as a child, leading to the opportunities I had as a college scholarship athlete, and now as a head coach,” says Lauren Conching, Athletics Marketing Coordinator and Head Women’s Tennis Coach. HPU joined the NGWSD movement a few years ago and is hosting the event for the second time. “Lauren Conching had a vision a couple of years ago and it has become a reality. The National Girls and Women in Sports Day
Lauren Conching
Girls grades K–8 gathering with Lauren Conching, Athletics Marketing Coordinator and Head Women’s Tennis Coach
has proven to be a tremendous success here at HPU. This type of connection between HPU and the community is what sets the Sea Warriors apart as a premier institution serving Hawai‘i,” says Darren Vorderbruegge, HPU Athletics Director and Head Men’s Basketball Coach. This year’s participation turnout was good with about 80 girls from grades K-8. They gathered together with HPU’s female student athletes and coaches for some fun games, free t-shirts, lunch and worthwhile health tips. Clinics were held in basketball, softball, volleyball, soccer and cross country. “I think it is very important to encourage young girls to get involved with sports,” Conching says. “There are thousands of female collegiate athletes out there every
day, competing and working just as hard as the men. It is important to show these young girls that they have role models that they can look up to and admire, women who will encourage them to stay in athletics.” With this year marking the 40th anniversary of the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act (formerly known as Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act), passed in 1972 that mandates gender equality rights in educational programs receiving federal funds, HPU’s student athletes and coaches could not have been happier with the number of young girls who participated in this year’s NGWSD. The Athletic Department plans on making NGWSD an annual event at HPU.
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
GARY HOFHEIMER
At the December 2011 HPU commencement ceremony, the Alsagoffs’ cousin who is an HPU student Raja Nabil Imran Aziz Raja Dzurkarnain, Syed Iskandar Alsagoff, Syed Saifullah Alsagoff, President Bannister, Syed Shareef Alsagoff, Raja Nazhatul Shima, President Bannister’s wife Jerri Ross, Syed Redzuan Alsagoff, and Syed Idris Alsgoff; not pictured Syed Ibrahim Alsagoff
Princes of Perak The Alsagoff Brothers BY GEORGETTE WOO
Saifullah Alsagoff (BSBA Marketing ’97) came to Hawai‘i Pacific University in 1994 as the first of five brothers to be educated at HPU. Shareef, 11 years old at the time, traveled from Malaysia with the rest of his family to see his brother off. Saifullah had decided to attend HPU instead of University of Texas. The tropical climate and large Asian population made Hawai‘i feel more like home, and Saifullah has always felt he made the right decision. “Actually, he always says, ‘Thank God!’” Shareef laughs. Saifullah currently manages the family’s palm oil estate. Their mother, Raja Nazhatul Shima, has always stressed the importance of education. Tengku Dottie, as she is called, is the daughter of the late Sultan Idris Shah of Perak. Her cousin, Raja Azlan Shah, is the reigning king, one of nine kings ruling nine of the 13 states of Malaysia (the other four states have governors). The kings rotate the position of Supreme Head of Malaysia, each serving a five-year term. As Sultan Azlan
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Shah’s son, is the crown prince, Shareef and his brothers are not heirs to the Perak throne. “So we must get jobs and work,” he says. The younger Alsagoff brothers, encouraged by Saifullah’s enthusiastic reports, also decided to study at HPU. Ibrahim (BS ’01) received a degree in Applied Mathematics from HPU, earned a second BS in Aerospace Engineering from USC and works in aerospace design. Redzuan (BSBA ’09) studied Business Economics and Public Administration at HPU, went to University of Sydney for his MA in Cross-cultural Communication and continues to study history at University of Oxford online. The youngest, Iskandar (BSBA ’09), earned a degree in Finance, currently teaches business mathematics at Quest International University in Ipoh, Perak, and plans to pursue a PhD. Shareef (BSBA ’11), who studied Travel Industry Management, is currently completing a 600-hour internship in Hawai‘i. Only Idris, who was accepted into the prestigious University College London, opted to study in the United Kingdom, where he is currently earning his master’s in Human Resources and Organizational Analysis at King’s College. It is a path many Malaysians take. Because the country was a British commonwealth until 1957, their educational systems are very similar. UK classes may include more than 100 students, so many instructors
do not track attendance, using mostly the final exam score to determine the grade, Shareef explains. In contrast, HPU’s small class size and culture made it easier for Shareef to adjust to life in a foreign country. When he struggled with a writing class his first semester, his teacher, tutor and classmates all helped him. “They gave me confidence,” he says. “I’ve never had a problem since.” Shareef ’s ultimate ambition is to help his country gain international recognition and increase tourism. “Everyone knows of Singapore and Thailand, but I’ve had people ask me if Malaysia is near Madagascar,” he says. He will take back much of what he has learned about the guest experience here. “Hawai‘i’s customer service standard is very good,” he says. “Everyone gets treated like a VIP.” When his work experience is completed, Shareef will return to the palace in Perak. Until then, he lives like anyone else, taking the bus to work, ironing his own clothes, meeting friends at the mall. “At HPU, I have friends from all over the world,” he says. “I just love it.” Managing on his own and experiencing different people and cultures have helped him to grow, he says. “Coming to Hawai‘i has made me a better person.”
CLASS LINKS
College of Business Leadership Seminar HPU MBA alumni returned to campus to share their leadership experiences with MBA students enrolled in the Leadership Seminar. During the month of February, Chief Information Officer of Bank of Hawaii, Nash Subotic and Dr. Aytun Ozturk Derek Baughman (BSBA ’08, MBA ’09), and President and Chief Executive Officer of Wealth Strategy Partners, Nash Subotic (BSBA International Business ’02, MBA Finance ’03), spoke in Dr. Aytun Ozturk’s MGMT 6930 course. Successful alumni talked to students about challenges they faced as they climbed up the career ladder and how they adjusted their leadership style as their responsibilities changed within the organization. The MBA Program’s Leadership Seminar helps students learn about characteristics of successful leaders. Students also get a chance to receive valuable advice from successful leaders in Hawai‘i on how best to plan their career trajectories before they graduate.
1990
Sophie Breton (BSBA Accounting) was a featured artist in the annual HPU ‘Ohana Exhibit at Hawai‘i Loa Campus March 13 to April 27. Sophie’s “My Little Gecko” captures the hearts of everyone who admires him. Remarks such as “I love ‘My Little Gecko’” and “He’s Cool” echo the rooms where viewers observe the fascinating creature playfully circling a noni fruit. Jim Temple, CPA (MBA) is retired in southwest Michigan wine country where he teaches part time at Andrews University School of Business. Jim has taught individual taxation, macroeconomics, as well as money and banking. Jim is on the local boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Five Pines Ministries (Christian youth and family recreation) and the Berrien
Springs Rotary Club. He also volunteers as an IRS-certified income tax preparer for lower income taxpayers. In Hawai‘i, Jim worked for Tesoro (previously BHP Hawaii and Pacific Resources, Inc) and Deloitte.
1996
Jill Castilla (BSBA Finance), executive vice president, chief financial officer and member of the Board of Directors of Citizens Bank of Edmond, joined Citizens Bank in 2009 and represents the fourth generation of her family to work at Citizens. Jill is very generous in giving her time and talents as a volunteer for numerous organizations. These organizations include: United Way, Sequoyah Middle School, University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma Council on Economic
Education and Alumni Council for the Graduate School of Banking. Jill is also a member of the Oklahoma Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers Association.
1998
Andrew Tay (BSBA International Business) (center) met with Ariez Halim (BSBA ’94) (left) and Adyl Halim (BA Communication ’99) (right)
earlier this year during their visit to Cambodia. Andrew is director of Himawari Hotel Apartments in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
1999
Ioanna Mavrou (BA Communication) completed a master’s in Creative Writing at Oxford University and is running Book Ex Machina, an indie publishing house in Nicosia, Cyprus.
2001
Ray Galas (BA) was on hand as a member of the press corps to greet President Obama when he landed on O‘ahu this past holiday season.
Originally from Denmark, Kristian Nielsen (BSBA Business Economics, MBA Finance) moved to Hawai‘i to attend HPU, graduating with two degrees. Post university, Kristian moved to London, United Kingdom, where he spent a year, and to Tokyo, Japan, where he has lived for the past 10 years working in executive search/recruiting. In 2009 he launched Diamond Head Group K.K., a Tokyo based executive search firm. The dream to move back “home” to the Aloha State with his wife came true in January. Kristian launched HawaiiJobEngine.com
2002
Martin Mansson (BSBA Management ’01, MA Organizational Change) bought a large stone house in 2010 half a mile from a beautiful beach on the south coast of Sweden. The house, which dates back to the mid 1800s, is being carefully renovated. He is using one of the buildings on the property for his woodshop. Martin delivered a commissioned piece of furniture in 2011 to the Swedish state church Hyby Kyrka and is working on a second piece for the same church. www.nordisksnickeridesign.com
2003
2nd Lieutenant Michael J. Ariola (Certificate, International Management, BA Human Resource Development ’02) graduated from the Army’s Basic Officers Armor Course on May 5, 2011 and is currently stationed in Camp Hovey, South Korea.
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Kristi (Hoecker) Isaac (BSBA Travel Industry Management), husband Holden and big brother Andrew welcomed Leilana Naomi Isaac to their ‘ohana on February 24. She weighed 6 ½ pounds and was 19 ½ inches long.
2004
Frank Afzelius (BSBA Management) is sports director of Youth Basketball for Solna Vikings in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also the assistant coach for the women’s team of Solna Vikings in the Swedish women’s league and head coach for the men’s development team, who plays in the U18 Swedish Championship and the second highest league in Sweden BasketEttan.
Manny (BA Justice Administration ’99, MSIS Knowledge Management) and Janell Pulido (BSN ’99) report it has been an adventure living in the D.C. / Metro area this past year. Janell is busy working at Walter Reed, which has merged with the Navy Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Manny is working at the Pentagon with the Army’s Data Center consolidation effort.
Thomas Troxler (BSBA Marketing) is working as a recruitment consultant with HAYS in Australia.
2008
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Whitney D. Masamitsu (BS Biology) completed the Navy Nuclear Power Training Unit course with Nuclear Power Training Unit, Ballston Spa, New York. Whitney received instruction about nuclear theory, chemistry, physics, reactor operations, safety and security. Upon completion of the course, Whitney was designated a nuclear power operator.
Alumni Chapter Events SF Bay Area
2010
2006
Mayuko (Shimamura) Farinas (MBA Marketing) and her husband Allen opened GRYLT in Manoa Marketplace, July 2011. GRYLT is a fresh and savory foodie haven serving grilled proteins, veggies and other tasty health foods.
William Lawrence (BA Economics and Political Science) and Eliza M. Prusia (BA English) welcomed the arrival of daughter, Cailin Nicole Lawrence, on October 9, 2010. The happy family lives in Bloomington, Indiana where Will attends law school at Indiana University.
2011 2007
David A. Morris (AS Management ’05, BSBA Computer Information Systems) has been admitted to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law.
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Maria Barrett (BA International Relations) is pursuing a law degree at Penn State Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Alumni in the SF Bay area attended a reception on February 25 prior to the HPU and Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) basketball game at NDNU. Left to right, front row: Mallory Giunchigliani (MA Communication ’11), Mari Skudlarick (BA International Relations ’11), Britt Yap (BA Journalism ’06, MA Communication ’08) and Mary Ellen McGillan, Vice President of Alumni and University Relations. Back row: Dr. John Kearns, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Bill Stipinovich (BSBA ’96).
Portland, Oregon Tara Wilson, Assistant Vice President Alumni and University Relations, joined Katie Wilson (BS Environmental Studies ’09) and Suzy Prenovost (BSBA Travel Industry Management ’94), Associate Director of Admissions, on March 31 at one of the annual Mainland Informational Receptions for incoming students.
CLASS LINKS
U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MARSHALL FUKUKI
2010
Katie Vanes (MA Communication) is the Media Relations Manager for Congressional & Public Affairs, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. Through the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP), a Navy civilian program providing work experience directly related to a student’s academic program and career goals, Katie began working in Navy public relations in August 2009 while pursuing
Hawai‘i Pacific University MA Communication alumna and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Media Relations Manager Katie Vanes interviews Machinist’s Mate 1st Class (SS) Cody Davis in front of the USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) project. Davis received the title Vice Chief of Naval Operations Sailor of the Year on March 13.
her master’s degree at HPU. A crisis management class taught by Adjunct Communication Professor Kerry Gershaneck re-focused her career path toward public relations opportunities to “help make peoples’ lives better” in the Navy, she says. Every day is different in her job, which includes helping to produce the Navy’s Shipyard Log publication, coordinating the “Wakeup 2Day Navy News” segment on KHON-TV, planning events and handling emergency crisis planning. She serves as public relations mentor/advisor to Kalani High School’s Robotics Team. Katie recently achieved her personal goal of completing Half Marathons on all four major Hawaiian Islands.
Anthony Cooper
2011
“I represented Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Receiving Sailor of the Year (honors) was humbling because we have a very talented workforce,” says Cody, originally from Pell City, Alabama. Among his responsibilities as leading petty officer in the shipyard’s production resources department, he supervised and trained more than 200 sailors on numerous mechanical, hydraulic and electrical systems; mentored 20 enlisted Sailors in weapons training; served as career counselor for the largest command department; was the shipyard’s assistant command fitness leader; and led the shipyard community relations for fundraisers and community activities. A member of the Navy since 2003, Cody enrolled in Hawai‘i Pacific University’s Military Campus Programs in 2009. With his
U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY LAURA LAKEWAY
Cody Davis (BA Justice Administration, AS Economics ’10), was selected as a Vice Chief of Naval Operations 2011 Shore Sailor of the Year in March. A Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Sailor Machinist’s Mate 1st Class (SS), Cody was selected earlier in January as the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) 2011 active-duty Sailor of the Year (SOY) in Washington, D.C. Selected out of 3,000 enlisted men and women, Cody exemplifies the Navy’s core values and embodies its institutional and technical expertise, professionalism and character.
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Machinist’s Mate 1st Class (SS) Cody Davis (winner). The 2011 NAVSEA Sailor of the Year Award Ceremony “Celebrating the Red Carpet Ride” was hosted by Vice Admiral Kevin McCoy, Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command and held in the auditorium of Bldg. 197 at the Washington Navy Yard.
Alumni Online Community iPad Drawing Winners
By registering in the HPU Alumni Online Community, you are entered into a drawing for an iPad2. Congratulations to our first two iPad2 drawing winners: Captain Anthony Cooper (BSN ’02) and Brijanie Agbongiague (BA ’11). To enter the final drawing, register by June 30, 2012. Already registered? Improve your chances of winning by referring other HPU alumni. Your name will be entered into the drawing again every time a friend signs up. The more friends you refer, the better your chances are of winning! Limit of one prize per person. Enter at http://alumni.hpu.edu
military background and after receiving an AS in economics, he found his calling in Justice Administration and received his BA in just two years while still on active duty. Davis was inspired by Economics Professor Ken Schoolland, Law Professor James Goodrich and Art Professor Jamie Allen who all brought their real life experiences to the classroom. “I loved the classroom interaction, militaryfriendly and flexible classes, and environment conducive to learning at HPU,” says Cody.
Brijanie Agbongiague
SPRING 2012
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IN MEMORIAM
John Heckathorn, PhD
Alumni and University Relations Relocates
Hawai‘i Pacific University Assistant Professor John Heckathorn, PhD, died on December 28, 2011, at Straub Clinic & Hospital after suffering a heart attack on Christmas Day.
Heckathorn is survived by his wife and three daughters.
VALDETE SYLAJ
Heckathorn, 65, joined HPU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences in the fall after a long tenure as editor at HONOLULU Magazine. “It is such a loss. We can hire another journalism instructor. We cannot hire another John Heckathorn,” says John Hart, PhD, professor and chair of the HPU Department of Communication.
Alumni and University Relations held an open house on February 10 to celebrate its office’s relocation to 1132 Bishop Street, Suite 307. Reverend Dale Burke performed a ceremonial blessing and Mary Ellen McGillan, vice president of Alumni and University Relations, symbolically untied a maile lei that was strung across the office’s entry. This Hawaiian tradition brings forth a positive energy of peace, harmony and prosperity to the new workplace.
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Alumni and university relations 1132 Bishop Street, Suite 307 Honolulu, HI 96813
Hawai‘i Pacific University Strengthening the Future of Your Sea Warriors as They Strive for Success “I guess you can say this has been a ride for me. I’m excited where the future could take me and where I could end up.”
Chance Bukoski–Kapa‘a, HI Men’s Soccer Class of 2012, BS Computer Science 1st team All-American 2011
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