University of Hawai'i University Relations Media & Publications Honolulu, HI 96822	(808) 956-8856 Telephone (808) 956-3441 Facsimile ur@hawaii.edu E-Mail
For Immediate Release:	November 20, 2000
Contact: Marlene Hapai, associate dean College of Tropic Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 956-6997

UH professor receives national teaching honors

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education have named Associate Professor Linda Arthur the 2000 Hawaii Professor of the Year. Arthur, who teaches textiles and clothing courses at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is the curator of CTAHR's Asian, Hawaiian and Western Costume Collection, was recognized as one of the most outstanding instructors in the country.

"Dr. Arthur is truly an exceptional and outstanding facilitator of student learning ­ students love her classes, she has a contagious enthusiasm for her subject matter, and she possesses a positive philosophy about helping students," says Associate Professor Wayne Iwaoka, who nominated Arthur while he served as interim associate dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. "Her enthusiasm and innovative ideas for helping students learn has not diminished since she first arrived at the University of Hawai'."

Arthur received her master's and bachelor's degrees from California State University. She began teaching at UH in 1993 after earning her doctorate from the University of California ­ Davis. Arthur was also awarded the UH Regents' Medal for Teaching in 1996.

Arthur uses active learning methodology to stimulate students' curiosity about the connection between culture and clothing. Her research and teaching specializations are centered around the intersections between culture, gender and ethnicity, as seen in dress. Arthur specializes in the use of dress as a means of social control, and her most recent work focuses on traditional dress in Hawaii and Asia.

Twelve of Arthur's research articles have been published in top journals, and she has recently had three books published. Aloha Attire: Hawaiian Dress in the Twentieth Century came out early this year; Religion, Dress and the Body came out last year; and Undressing Religion is due out next month. She has mounted nine exhibitions on Hawaiian and Asian clothing and textiles in the past seven years.

This year, CASE and the Carnegie Foundation recognized 47 winners nationwide. Nominees were selected by colleagues at their respective institutions, and these faculty members were judged nationally by panels of deans, professors and other education specialists. CASE is the largest international association of educational institutions, with about 2,900 colleges, universities and schools in 44 countries.

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