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A portion of the funds from a $9.2 million donation to the university will support the construction of a new lab for the Hawaiian Rare Plant Program at Lyon Arboretum.

The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation recently announced that one of the largest gift commitments to the University of Hawaiʻi by a private individual has been made to benefit UH students and research.

The donor’s $9.2 million gift will fund scholarships for underrepresented students on 10 campuses, and support university science and culinary programs.

Through endowed and expendable accounts in the areas of astronomy, microbial oceanography, culinary arts, geriatric medicine, Hawaiian plant conservation and student scholarships, the donor’s impact will be immeasurable for many years to come.

Director’s Chair in Astronomy at the Institute for Astronomy at UH Mānoa

These funds will give the Institute for Astronomy director flexibility to enhance the institute’s programs, and advance the institute’s education and research missions. Funds will be used to recruit and retain talented faculty, support quality research and provide seed research funding, particularly among promising junior faculty.

Chair in Microbial Oceanography at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at UH Mānoa

The chair will support, reward and help retain talented faculty. Examples of how funds may be used include a salary supplement for the chairholder, program support for research and education, support for graduate student research assistants, and graduate and undergraduate student internships and travel.

The Culinary Institute of the Pacific facility

This gift supports the Culinary Institute of the Pacific Planning, Design and Construction Expendable Fund, which is used for planning, permitting, design and construction of the new Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head project. In recognition of this leadership gift, the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head signature restaurant facility’s main dining room will be named after the donor.

Professorship in Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine at UH Mānoa

The professorship will support efforts to reward and retain talented faculty. The funds may be used in many ways including a salary supplement for the professorship recipient; program support; travel by the recipient to other universities and medical schools, government agencies and industry visits; educational opportunities; support for graduate student research assistants; and support for graduate and undergraduate student internships and travel.

Construction of the Hawaiian Rare Plant Conservation Lab at the Lyon Arboretum at UH Mānoa

This gift will support the construction of the Hawaiian Rare Plant Conservation Lab Fund through an expendable account. The Lyon Arboretum is currently storing in tissue culture about 160 of 350 identified Hawaiian rare plant species in vials, including five that are now extinct in the wild. A state-of-the-art facility to store at least 500 species in tissue culture, along with seeds that can be used for future restoration into nature, is envisioned by 2020.

Scholarships to attend any University of Hawaiʻi campus

This gift will fund scholarships up to full tuition for up to four consecutive years to undergraduate students in any area of study at any campus in the University of Hawaiʻi System. Recipients must be full-time, undergraduate students and show academic promise. Preference may be given to students in underrepresented groups as determined by the university.

Read the UH Foundation news release.

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