Native Hawaiian group donated nearly $1.4 million to University of Hawai‘i programs

Hawaiʻi Pacific Foundation, a Native Hawaiian organization, gave a total of $1.395 million to more than a half dozen programs at the University of Hawaiʻi in 2022.

The gifts support programs and scholarships at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine, School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology, Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, linguistics department and Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, as well as programs at University of Hawai‘i-West O‘ahu.

• $260,000 to support the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, including the creation of a new endowed fund.
• $80,000 to support a graduate assistantship and efforts to foster a Native Hawaiian place of learning at the School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology.
• $200,000 to support the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, including the creation of a new endowed fund.
• $100,000 to support research on Native Hawaiian-English bilingualism in the linguistics department.
• $380,500 to support the Ke Aʻo Mau graduate assistantship, fellowship, scholarships, stipends and interdisciplinary clinic at the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health.
• $375,000 to support various programs at University of Hawai‘i-West O‘ahu.

“We’re proud to partner with UH to support these programs that nurture the future leaders within the Native Hawaiian community,” said retired Brig. Gen. Edwin A. “Skip” Vincent, an alumnus of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business and the group’s chairman. Vincent founded the Hawaiʻi Pacific Foundation after retiring from a long career in the Hawaiʻi Air National Guard.

“We’re grateful for the support from Native Hawaiian organizations such as the Hawaiʻi Pacific Foundation,” said Tim Dolan, vice president of advancement at the University of Hawai‘i and CEO of the University of Hawai‘i Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises private funds to support the University of Hawai‘i System. “Their mission to improve lives through education within Native Hawaiian communities is an inspiration.”