Dean Louie, a 2011 LIS alumnus, has received tenure as an assistant professor specializing in culinary arts at UH Maui College. He has also been appointed as the Internal Program Coordinator for the Maui Culinary Academy. His duties include teaching a course in purchasing and cost controls, balancing program finances for the Pa‘ina Facility, and leading the culinary arts faculty in setting critical future goals.
How has his LIS coursework helped him in his professional work? Dean said: “I increased digital technology use for our students. We launched a shared laptop cart system to encourage more interaction in classrooms, develop team video production, and increase industry certification as well as online academic research.”
Dean indicated that the academy is currently using mobile touchpads for immediate LiveText digital data collection. He reported that they have also “installed new Point of Sale systems using iPad mobile capability that allows us to instantly send tableside orders to kitchen printers.” Even more exciting plans are underway. According to Dean, the vision is to develop a UHMC Food Innovation Center that will give students an opportunity to “explore a unique industry pertinent to Maui’s future sustainability in agriculture linked with emergent technology.” Congratulations, Dean!