The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Commission on Diversity has honored Professor Brenda Cartwright of the College of Education and Vice Dean of Admissions Satoru Izutsu of the John A. Burns School of Medicine with 2011 Faculty Diversity Awards.
The recognition is made annually to faculty demonstrating an exemplary and ongoing commitment to enhancing diversity.
Brenda Cartwright
Cartwright obtained a multi-year federal grant to support students in the rehabilitation counseling program. Through this funding and her close work with KOKUA, the program is entirely online and accessible to students with vision and hearing disabilities. She also created guidelines for rehabilitation counselors, which assists them in respectfully interacting with culturally diverse client groups.
Cartwright is a staunch advocate for increasing diversity among faculty. She took a lead role in planning for and analyzing situations facing faculty of color, leading to the groundbreaking Report on the Status of Faculty of African Descent across the UH system.
Satoru Izutsu
For nearly 25 years, Izutsu has worked tirelessly to recruit, admit and graduate students from diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in medicine. His impact begins with the annual selection of admissions committee members to cull through 1,800 medical school applications. He strives to assemble a committee of diverse ethnicity, professional discipline, country of origin and gender.
In addition, since some applicants come from disadvantaged backgrounds, up to 12 of those on the cusp of acceptance are annually offered intensive support via a post-baccalaureate program, Imi Hoʻola, with provisional admission into JABSOM. This program has garnered the distinction of graduating over 200 physicians since its inception in 1973.
