UH Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Service to the Community

University of Hawaiʻi
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Posted: Aug 6, 2004

HONOLULU — University of Hawaiʻi faculty members Roberta Lynn Brashear, Kathy Ferguson, David A. Krupp and Kem Lowry were selected as recipients of the Hung Wo and Elizabeth Lau Ching Foundation Award for Faculty Service to the Community. Established in 1997, the award recognizes significant contributions that strengthen ties between the university and the community. It is presented annually to two faculty members from UH Mānoa and two from other UH campuses.

Roberta Lynn Brashear is a lecturer in the natural sciences department at Hawaiʻi CC. She is an active volunteer with numerous educational, community and environmental organizations, including serving as group chair and national delegate for the Sierra Club, mentoring students in the service learning program, and serving as project coordinator for National Make-a-Difference Day, among other activities. In addition, Brashear spends many hours attending county meetings and public hearings, and providing testimony on environmental issues that impact the lives of Big Island residents.

Kathy Ferguson is a professor of political science and chair of the Women‘s Studies Program at UH Mānoa. Her activism is tireless and includes service on the Kokua Food co-op board, P-20 Council, Teacher Education Committee for Social Sciences and the Faculty Ambassador Program. Ferguson, who has two children who are dyslexic, has trained herself in the Orton-Gillingham method and in Project Read to learn how to teach dyslexic learners to read, write and spell.

David A. Krupp is an associate professor of biological science at Windward CC and an affiliate faculty member at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology. He is also an advisor to Windward CC‘s Phi Theta Kappa chapter. Krupp brings his strong academic credentials and high level of commitment and enthusiasm to many local environmental-related organizations including the Kaneohe Bay Regional Council, Hawaiʻi Reef Check and the Windward Ahupuaʻa Alliance. He has led community group tours to the waters off Coconut Island to observe coral activity, thus raising public awareness on the need to protect Hawaiʻi‘s reefs. Krupp also speaks before numerous community groups on a diverse range of scientific and environmental topics.

Kem Lowry is a professor and chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at UH Mānoa. His dedication to community service, which spans more then 30 years, has set a standard of service that few have matched. Not only has Lowry dedicated countless hours working with community organizations, his entire career has been dedicated to improving the lives of people in this state as well as other countries. He has been involved with many organizations including Queen Liliʻuokalani Children‘s Center, Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution and the H. John Heinz II Center for Science, Economics and the Environment.

Recipients of the Hung Wo and Elizabeth Lau Ching Foundation Award for Faculty Service to the Community will be recognized for their contributions to the university along with other UH award winners at a system-wide ceremony in September.

For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/about/awards/ching.php