Skip to content
Reading time: 3 minutes
Robert Arthurs, Interim Chancellor Joni Onishi and Barbara Arthurs

Longtime Hawaiʻi Community College administrator Barbara Arthurs and her husband Robert (Bob) Arthurs have pledged $127,000 to establish three endowments to support University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi CC students.

These endowments build on Barbara Arthurs’ significant philanthropic and educational contributions to the Hawaiʻi Island Community. She served the University of Hawaiʻi System for more than 20 years as a counselor, acting dean of student services, head counselor and ice chancellor for student affairs at Hawaiʻi CC.

“Dr. Barbara Arthurs had a positive impact on so many students, faculty and staff during her decades of service at Hawaiʻi Community College and UH Hilo,” said Hawaiʻi CC Interim Chancellor Joni Onishi. “These endowed scholarships ensure that her positive influence on students and our community will continue in perpetuity.”

A diligent and dedicated educator and administrator, Arthurs made it her life’s mission and work to improve the university’s educational system through student services. In recognition of her outstanding dedication, she received the 2010 Hawaiʻi Community College Chancellor’s Award.

Robert Arthurs was a consul and first secretary with the U.S. Department of State and is now retired. He is currently a member of several fraternal and community organizations involved with volunteer work.

“Behind every scholarship is a person or family with a connection to the university and a desire to help our students,” said UH Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney. “I hope others in our university and island communities will be inspired by the Arthurs’ spirit of paying it forward and make an investment in the future of our island by funding scholarships such as these.”

Three new endowed scholarships

  • Barbara Bongo Arthurs Scholarship Endowment at Hawaiʻi CC:
    Established with $50,000 this endowment will provide scholarships to full-time undergraduate Hawaiʻi CC students.
  • Barbara Bongo Arthurs Scholarship Endowment at UH Hilo:
    Established with $50,000, this endowment will provide scholarships to full-time undergraduate UH Hilo students who obtained a degree or certificate from Hawaiʻi CC.
  • Lyman Squadron Civil Air Patrol Scholarship Endowment:
    Established with $27,000, this endowment will provide scholarships to full-time undergraduate students who were cadets in the civil air patrol and are pursuing a degree or certificate at any campus in the UH System with preference to students who desire to pursue a career in aerospace or aviation.

These new scholarships build on the impact the Arthurs are already making in the lives of UH students through the four scholarships they established earlier. Previously, they established two scholarships in honor of their children, both of whom are UH alumni, a scholarship at Honolulu Community College in memory of Barbara Arthurs’ brother who attended Honolulu CC and a scholarship at Hawaiʻi CC in honor of family members who supported her academic success.

Read more about the Arthurs’ contributions to the UH community at the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation website.

Robert and Barbara Arthurs
Back To Top