Business leader, venture capitalist and philanthropist John C. Dean has pledged $75,000 to the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business. The gift will seed the John Dean Challenge, which will be Dean’s latest call to action for Hawaiʻi’s business community to support the entrepreneurship center.
The funds raised will go to support entrepreneurship education at the University of Hawaiʻi and facilitate activities that support innovation, transfer of knowledge, and private sector investments in UH-based technology.
PACE is home to an integrated set of leading-edge entrepreneurship programs at UH. In the last two years, PACE has provided assistance to more than 100 businesses and has had more than 2,000 people participate in its programs.
“As business models rapidly evolve through advancements in technology, the spirit of entrepreneurship continues to drive the vision and innovation that benefit our entire Island community,” said Dean. He is currently the president and CEO of Central Pacific Bank and serves on the board of directors for PACE.
“John’s challenge is a testament to his commitment to facilitating new ideas that could potentially become real commercial business enterprises for the State of Hawaiʻi,” says Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business.
—Adapted from a UH Mānoa news release
