UHAA Announces 2002 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Award Ceremony Planned for May 14 at the Sheraton Waikiki

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Jim Manke, (808) 956-6106
External Affairs & University Relations
Kristen Cabral, (808) 956-5039
Public Information Officer
Posted: Apr 17, 2002

The University of Hawaiʻi and the University of Hawaiʻi Alumni Association (UHAA) will honor seven outstanding alumni at the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner on Tuesday, May 14, 2002, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

This year‘s recipients are Warren Haruki, president of Verizon Hawaiʻi; Kevin Hughes, leading developer of the World Wide Web; Daniel Lau, founder and chairman of the board of the Finance Factors family of companies; Kurt Osaki, CEO and founder of Osaki Design, Inc.; Donna Tanoue, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Alan Wong, world-renown chef and owner of Alan Wong‘s Restaurant. The UHAA 2002 Founders‘ Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to former senator Hiram Fong.

Warren H. Haruki (MBA ‘77) is the president of Verizon Hawaiʻi, the state‘s leading telecommunications company. Among his many community commitments, Haruki is also the current chairman of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation and has been a supporter of numerous university programs, both academic and athletic, for many years. Haruki serves on the boards of First Hawaiian Bank, Pacific Guardian Life Insurance, The Queen‘s Health Systems, Hawaiʻi Business Roundtable, and the Aloha Council of Boys Scouts of America. He is a past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaiʻi and is currently vice president of the Blood Bank of Hawaiʻi. In 2001, Haruki was honored as "Distinguished Citizen of the Year" by the Boy Scouts. He earned a bachelor‘s degree in industrial management from Purdue University before obtaining his master‘s degree in business administration from UH. He also is a certified public accountant.

Kevin Hughes is one of the pioneer developers of the Internet‘s World Wide Web. He established many of the conventions still in use on the Web while studying at Honolulu Community College, putting Hawaiʻi in the forefront of high technology development. Recognized worldwide for his expertise and contributions to developing the Web, Hughes is one of six original members inducted into the World Wide Web Hall of Fame. He is a leading contributor to e-commerce growth and high-tech training in Hawaiʻi.

Daniel Lau (BA ‘41) is one of the founders, chairman of the board, and a director of the Finance Factors family of companies. He is also a trustee of the UH Foundation and a director of the East-West Center Foundation. A former UH baseball batting champion and track medallist, and 1995 and 2000 Senior Softball World Champion, Lau is a strong supporter of UH athletics programs, youth sports and the Special Olympics, and has a long history of philanthropy to UH. A World War II combat-wounded veteran, Lau has received numerous honors. He was named Chinese "Father of the Year," a UH College of Business Administration Outstanding Alumnus, and has been inducted into the McKinley High School Hall of Honor. He is a former president of the Hawaiian Humane Society; chairman of the United Church of Christ; vice president, American Council of Life Insurance Hawaiʻi; and director of American Security Bank.

Kurt Osaki (BFA ‘88), founder and CEO of Osaki Design, Inc., is a nationally and internationally recognized graphics designer. With over 10 years of professional experience in design and sports branding, he has worked on a wide variety of national and international projects. A tireless community member, he is involved with the Japanese Community Cultural Center of Northern California and is the co-founder/vice president of the Hawaiʻi Chamber of Commerce of Northern California. Osaki has always kept close to his Hawaiian roots and has even tapped into the entertainment industry, successfully co-producing an on-going Hawaiian music and cultural event called "Sounds of Hawaiʻi," promoting Hawaiian music and culture throughout the West Coast. His most momentous conception though is the recreation of the UH athletic and UH Foundation logos.

Donna Tanoue (BA ‘76) is currently vice chair of financial services at Bank of Hawaiʻi. She has had an outstanding career in the private sector and in public service. She formerly served as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in Washington, D.C., overseeing the agency that insures nearly $3 trillion in bank deposits. Prior to the presidential appointment, she was a partner in the law firm of Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel and was the former Commissioner of Financial Institutions for the state of Hawaiʻi. Tanoue is a former UH Regent and a former board member of the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi. She has also served on the boards of Aloha United Way, Palama Settlement and Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi.

Alan Wong (AS ‘79, KCC) is a world-renowned chef who established Alan Wong‘s Restaurant in 1995 and developed it into the number one restaurant in Hawaiʻi for five of the last six years. A 1996 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef — Pacific Northwest, his restaurant was voted by Gourmet magazine (October 2001) as one of the nation‘s best, ranking at No. 6. The restaurant has won numerous other awards. Wong is very active in the community, serving on the boards and committees of several organizations.

The UHAA 2002 Founders‘ Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to former Hawaiʻi senator, Hiram Fong (BA ‘30). Senator Fong was the first Chinese American to serve in the U.S. Senate. A son of Chinese immigrants, he is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi and the Harvard Law School. His political career began in 1938 with his election to the Territory of Hawaiʻi House of Representatives, where he served as speaker for six of his 14 years there. He represented Hawaiʻi as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 1977. The recipient of numerous national and international awards and degrees from American and foreign universities and governments, he is also a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and chairman of the Board of Directors of Finance Enterprises, Ltd., Market City, Ltd., and several of Hawaiʻi‘s most venerable local companies. Senator Fong maintains an active schedule, spending his mornings working at Finance Enterprises and afternoons at his award winning nature preserve and bird sanctuary, Senator Fong‘s Plantation and Gardens.

For more information about the event, contact the University of Hawaiʻi‘s Alumni Affairs office at 956-ALUM (2586). The cost is $65 per person, or premium tables can be purchased for $1,500, $2,500 and $3,500.

For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/uhalumni/2002_distinguished_alumni.htm