New dean selected to lead College of Social Sciences

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Jul 8, 2011

Denise Konan
Denise Konan
Denise E. Konan, currently a Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, has been named the new Dean of the College of Social Sciences at the campus. Her deanship is effective January 1, 2012.
 
Konan started her career 18 years ago as an Assistant Professor in the UH Mānoa Economics Department. She also served in senior executive positions as Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and, subsequently, Interim Chancellor for UH Mānoa. Konan is the Founding Director for the Center for Sustainable Coastal Tourism within UH Mānoa’s Sea Grant program.
 
She has also held numerous consultant positions for international entities such as the World Bank in Washington, D.C.; the Ministry of Economy in Cairo, Egypt; Ministry of International Trade and Investment in Tunis, Tunisia; Ministry of Finance in Saudi Arabia; and the Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, to name a few. 
 
“We are certainly grateful for the strong interest of the outstanding candidates for the position of Dean of the College of Social Sciences,” said Chancellor Virginia S. Hinshaw. “Dr. Konan clearly has impressive expertise, academic and administrative experience, and strong recognition in the global economic arena, so we enthusiastically welcome her leadership in this new capacity. Our respect and appreciation also go out to Dean Richard Dubanoski, who will be retiring at the end of the year, for his dedicated service of 23 years. Mahalo nui loa to Dick.”
 
In addition to Konan’s current position as Department Chair of Economics, she serves as the Senior Advisor to UH President M.R.C. Greenwood on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that is scheduled to be held in Hawai‘i this November. Her expertise on the subject matter of economics and international experience make her invaluable to the state in this important endeavor. 
 
Konan obtained her PhD in Economics from the University of Boulder, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Goshen College in Indiana.
 
Said Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Reed Dasenbrock, “We continue to make progress on hiring new permanent deans to carry Mānoa forward, particularly in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences. The College of Social Sciences is the largest college at Mānoa, so we are particularly pleased to announce the appointment of longtime Mānoa faculty member and administrator Denise Konan as its new Dean.”
 
For more information about the College of Social Sciences, see http://www.socialsciences.hawaii.edu/.