UH Board of Regents approves establishment of new master's degrees at UH Manoa

Honorary degree awards for Kaoru Kashiwagi and Tommy Lasorda also approved

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Carolyn Tanaka, (808) 956-9803
Mia Noguchi, (808) 956-9095
External Affairs & University Relations
Posted: Apr 22, 2005

KĀNEʻOHE, Oahu — At its monthly meeting held this week at Windward Community College, the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents (BOR) approved the establishment of two master‘s degrees at the UH Mānoa campus, a Master of Arts in Hawaiian through the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, and a Master of Arts in Hawaiian Studies through the School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies.

UH Mānoa Chancellor Peter Englert said of the approvals, "These programs are deeply linked to our mission, and provide Native Hawaiians and all who are interested in a richer understanding of Hawaiian cultures, views, and language, a chance to continue their education. We anticipate that these new programs will also nourish the community by providing leadership for future generations."

The master‘s degree in Hawaiian will emphasize education in Hawaiian language and literature as an integral part of the efforts to revitalize Hawaiian as a living language. It will create scholarship in Hawaiian in new domains, and research will emphasize the study of literature and the development of resource and curriculum materials to enhance teacher training for Hawaiian medium schools.

The master‘s degree in Hawaiian studies through the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies will emphasize visual and performing arts, land and ocean resource management, and other cultural studies. The creation of this graduate program will contribute to the expansion of the world‘s knowledge of ancient and recent Hawaiian culture using native sources. The program will work in partnership with science and engineering programs and other disciplines at the Mānoa campus.

In other action, the BOR approved the awarding of honorary degrees to Dr. Kaoru Kashiwagi and Tommy Lasorda. Kashiwagi is recognized as an outstanding senior attorney among international lawyers in Tokyo whose firm has provided long-standing support for the William S. Richardson School of Law, allowing for the establishment of a program in Japanese law and summer and permanent job placements for students and alumni.

Lasorda, a National Baseball League Hall of Fame inductee, senior vice president and former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has excelled in his professional life and made many notable contributions worthy of recognition. Lasorda was the commencement speaker for UH Mānoa in December 2004.

The board also presented a certificate of recognition to QiongJie Huang in honor of her earning the national championship in the 1-meter springboard event at the 2005 NCAA Women‘s Swimming and Diving Championships.

In addition, UH Interim President David McClain announced the creation of the 1st Annual University of Hawaiʻi Sustainability Awards Program involving all 10 campuses of the UH system. The first awards will be presented on Earth Day, 2006.

"The University of Hawaiʻi Sustainability Awards will celebrate the university‘s commitment to the conservation, sustainable use, and enhancement of the local, regional and global environment for the present and future," said McClain. "They are a significant vehicle to actualize the university‘s Charter of Sustainability, initiated in July 2003, and an opportunity for the university community to demonstrate solution-based leadership to the larger community beyond the boundaries of our campuses."