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University of Hawai'i |
(808) 956-8856 Telephone |
For Immediate Release: |
November 17, 2000 |
Contact: Louise Pagotto, Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences, Kapiolani
Community College, 734-9517
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| UH Community Colleges receive $1 million pledge for faculty and staff enrichment |
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents today accepted a $1 million pledge from the Robert and Betty Wo and James and Juanita Wo Foundations in support of the UH Community Colleges. UH will establish an endowment that will provide support for faculty and staff enrichment programs in the UH Community College system.
The plan is to build a program that encourages faculty and staff to become "champions for teaching and learning."
"Excellence in teaching and learning is consistent with the mission of the community colleges," said Joyce Tsunoda, Senior Vice President and Chancellor for Community Colleges. "Our goal is to foster an environment where our faculty and staff work together to encourage new ideas, concepts, and practices that help students learn. Through the Wo Foundations, generosity, we will be able to increase our effectiveness and give teachers the tools they need to be great teachers."
According to Bob and James Wo, "A good teacher affects the lives of multitudes of people, helping them to determine and achieve their goals. We wanted to support the community colleges because of their commitment to teaching excellence and because they offer hope to people who desire to improve themselves and work toward a better life."
The Wo Foundations, gift will also help raise awareness of the status and value of teaching in higher education. "Community college students comprise the most diverse group of students in higher education in Hawaii, ultimately making community college teaching one of the toughest jobs within the UH system, " says Louise Pagotto, Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences at Kapiolani Community College and project lead for the system. "It sounds like an old cliché to say this but great teachers have the ability to transform students, learning experiences and provide them the means to lead quality, productive lives."
This is one of the largest gifts ever made to the UH Community Colleges and the first of its kind in support of teaching and learning in public higher education in Hawaii.
The endowment will be fully funded by the year 2006. Start-up funds will be made available to the community colleges for the first two years of the project, after which the project will be funded by the interest of the endowment.
Established in 1964, the UH Community Colleges have grown into a major force in education and economic growth in Hawaii, serving 25,000 credit students a year and up to 100,000 people annually through non-credit programs.
