John Conner is a professor of English literature at Leeward Community College. His 32 years of service to the college and community include his tenure as chairman of the arts and humanities division, coordinator of the Japanese studies program and a member of the committee to develop the college day-care center.

Conner’s scholarly accomplishments include an impressive list of lectures, publications and poetry. But most noteworthy are the accolades that he receives from students. Conner has dozens of letters thanking him for his knowledge, inspiration and caring. One student writes, “You not only talk about caring for the students in your class, but you demonstrate your care by the material you select to enrich our lives, and the time you take in preparing for your classes.” Another admiring student refers to him as “the Confucian ideal of good educator, husband, father, friend and citizen.”

Conner is a much-loved teacher who has inspired a generation of students with his own passion for literature and learning. He is known for his colorful delivery, such as singing haiku poems in a foreign language, imitating Noh theater actors, playing recordings of novels being covered in class and bringing in visual aids such as books, pictures, videos and maps.