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From left, Donna Vuchinich, UH Foundation president and CEO; Mitch Kaaialii, First Hawaiian Bank vice president and area manager of Mililani Branch; Robert Harrison, First Hawaiian Bank president and CEO; Vance Roley, Shidler College of Business dean; Sharon Brown, First Hawaiian Bank Foundation president; Brandt Farias, First Hawaiian Bank executive vice president of marketing communications and Tom Apple, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa chancellor.

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business has received a $500,000 gift from the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation to establish the First Hawaiian Bank Distinguished Professorship of Banking Endowment. The First Hawaiian Bank Distinguished Professor of Banking will help expand the college’s ability to recruit and retain faculty of the highest caliber in the area of banking.

“We are truly grateful to the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation for funding an endowed professorship at the college,” says Shidler College of Business Dean Vance Roley. “In today’s competitive environment, this professorship will provide continuous funding to attract world-class educators and researchers in the area of banking, thereby strengthening the college’s overall business program.”

“We see this partnership as an exciting opportunity to gain access to top-rated professors who will inspire, motivate and educate students about banking,” said Bob Harrison, First Hawaiian Bank president and CEO. “The banking industry is going through an evolution as new technologies change the way we connect with our customers.”

First Hawaiian Bank has been a long-standing supporter of the college. In 1999, First Hawaiian Bank donated $1 million to the Shidler College of Business to establish the First Hawaiian Bank Endowment Fund for the Distinguished Professor of Management and Leadership that supports the dean’s position. The bank has also assisted the college by supporting student awards, internships and job placement.

Read the UH Mānoa news release for more information.

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