Each year, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa honors the leadership and service of its faculty, staff and students committed to enhancing the university’s mission of excellence. The annual in-person UH Mānoa Awards ceremony has been transformed for another year due to the ongoing pandemic. UH President David Lassner addressed the 2021 UH Mānoa Awards recipients in a video message. Congratulations to all our awards winners!
2021 Mānoa Awards winners
Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching
The Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching is awarded by the Board of Regents as tribute to faculty members who exhibit an extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, teaching effectiveness and creativity and personal values that benefit students.
- Mark Branner, associate professor, College of Arts, Languages & Letters
- Jane J. Chung-Do, associate professor, Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health
- Derrick Higginbotham, associate professor, College of Arts, Languages & Letters
- Wendy K. Meguro, assistant professor, School of Architecture
- Mary Mostafanezhad, associate professor, College of Social Sciences
- Scott K. Rowland, specialist, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research
The Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community.
- Bruce Houghton, professor, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology
- Fei-Fei Jin, professor, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology
- Angelicque White, associate professor, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology
The Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
The Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for a faculty and a graduate assistant recognizes dedication and demonstrated excellence as teachers of undergraduate students. It was established as a memorial to the late Frances Davis, who taught mathematics at Leeward Community College and UH Mānoa for 19 years.
- A Zachary Trimble, associate professor, College of Engineering
Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Graduate Teaching Assistants
- Heewon Kwon, PhD candidate, College of Social Sciences
Robert W. Clopton Award for Distinguished Service to the Community
The Robert W. Clopton Award for Distinguished Community Service recognizes a UH Mānoa faculty member for playing a socially significant role by applying intellectual leadership and academic expertise to the improvement of the community. The award was established as a memorial to longtime UH Mānoa College of Education Professor Robert Clopton and first awarded in 1977.
- Thomas E. Jackson, specialist, College of Arts, Languages & Letters
Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching
The Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching recognizes UH Mānoa faculty members who have made significant contributions to teaching and student learning.
- Kasey Barton, associate professor, College of Natural Sciences
- Sonia Ghumman, associate professor, Shidler College of Business
- Betsy Gilliland, associate professor, College of Arts, Languages & Letters
- Kristi Govella, assistant professor, College of Arts, Languages & Letters
- Pratibha Nerurkar, associate professor, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
- Prisic Sladjana, associate professor, College of Natural Sciences
Presidential Award for Outstanding Service
The Presidential Award for Outstanding Service honors a UH Mānoa staff member who demonstrates outstanding work performance, service and leadership.
- Barbara Bruno, specialist, Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
- Yosuke Jo, maintenance and repair supervisor, Buildings and Grounds Management
- Lisa Kam, secretary, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
- Lyn Nakagawa, head athletic trainer, Intercollegiate Athletics
Dr. Amefil “Amy” Agbayani Faculty Diversity Enhancement Award
The Dr. Amefil “Amy” Agbayani Faculty Diversity Enhancement Award from the UH Mānoa Commission on Inclusion and Diversity recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to enhancing diversity. The award was established to recognize Agbayani’s lifetime commitment to diversity and social justice in Hawaiʻi. For more than 40 years, she served as the founder and director of the Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity.
- Jennifer Engels, research affiliate, Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
Peter V. Garrod Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award
Established by the UH Mānoa Graduate Division in 2005, the Peter V. Garrod Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award allows graduate students to nominate faculty for excellent mentoring, one of the foundations of outstanding graduate education.
- Lois Yamauchi, professor, College of Education and graduate chair, Department of Educational Psychology
Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research & Creative Work
The Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research and Creative Work was created in 2020 by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at UH Mānoa. The award recognizes up to two tenured/tenure-track faculty mentors each academic year (one from a STEM discipline, and one from a non-STEM discipline) who have shown dedicated and sustained excellence in faculty mentoring of undergraduate students in their research and creative work endeavors.
- Lisette Marie Flanary, associate professor, Academy for Creative Media
- Megan Porter, associate professor, School of Life Sciences
Outstanding Academic Advisor and Academic Unit of the Year Award
The Pakela and ʻOikela Awards are presented by the Council of Academic Advisors which recognizes an individual or unit who, over the past two years, has demonstrated excellence and/or innovation in advising, and/or has made a significant contribution to the advising community.
Pakela Award—Kēhau Newhouse, Maui program coordinator/transfer specialist, UH Mānoa Transfer Coordination Center
ʻOikela Award—College of Natural Sciences Student Academic Success Center
Student Excellence in Research Award
The Student Excellence in Research Award is awarded by the UH Mānoa Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research in recognition of outstanding scholarly research endeavors by students while they pursue a degree at the doctoral, master’s or bachelor’s level.
- Travis Berger, PhD candidate, Institute for Astronomy
- Viet Sang Doan, MS candidate, College of Engineering
- Victor Kilonzo, BS candidate, molecular cell biology and psychology
Student Employee of the Year Award
The Student Employee of the Year Program was created in 1986 by the Mānoa Career Center to recognize and highlight the achievements and contributions of student employees on the UH Mānoa campus.
- Kaylie Hayashida, university scheduler assistant, Office of Undergraduate Education
Related UH News story: UH Mānoa student employee critical to campus schedule, April 26, 2021
View President Lassner’s message and read more about the winners on the UH Mānoa Awards website.