The August 2004 of the BYU-Hawaii Alumni e-Newsletter contains the following:
The annual pre-school "family meeting" focuses on awards, past achievements and future challenges.
BYU-Hawaii maintains sixth-place in U.S. News & World Reports ranking.
Sports: Men's basketball team plays in China. The women start their season ranked 18th in the nation but second in the Pac West.
BYUH/PCC team meet with alumni in Kiribati and Fiji
An update on the alumni directory
A new chapter forms in Shanghai; and we hear from Colorado, Idaho, San Francisco, Utah and Washington state.
After telling his customary fishing story, President Eric B. Shumway continued off the faculty and staff "family" meeting on August 18 in the Auditorium at the beginning of the 2004-05 school year that marks the University's golden jubilee by presenting a series of annual awards, recapping highlights from the past school year and encouraging the faculty and staff to be committed to the mission of BYU-Hawaii.
President's Council Teacher of the Year
"From our perspective this is agonizing, because we deeply reverence so many of our faculty," President Shumway said in naming history professor J. Michael Allen as the President's Council's "Teacher of the Year."
He compared Allen to "the clerk, the scholar from Oxford who Chaucer describes, no doubt with greatest affection" in Canterbury Tales, "who would rather have at the head of his bed 20 books," who "on study took most care" and "gladly would he learn and gladly would he teach."
Dr. Allen "is most certainly loved at BYU-Hawaii for his superior learning and superior teaching," President Shumway noted, adding he has "contributed significantly to the University this past year:
"First, Michael was the chief organizer and writer of our proposal to the Western Association [which] was written so clearly and so consistent with the mission of the University, it was not only approved but rated as the best proposal that the Western Association had ever received. Second to it was the proposal from Berkeley."
"Michael also played a key role in the success of the Concert Choir tour to Japan and Korea," President Shumway continued, pointing out he has also "received outstanding teacher ratings from students as he continues an aggressive scholarly agenda as he supports the administration of the Arts & Sciences as the Associate Dean."
The award included a check for $1,000 from the Polynesian Cultural Center, presented by PCC assistant to the President and Alumni Association president Les Steward ('72, Accounting and Business Management). Read more about Dr. Allen's award…
Annual service awards
This year the University also presented its annual outstanding service awards to 14 staff members:
Ivy Kahalepuna ('92), Executive secretary to President Shumway who was cited for her intelligence, compassion, and handling "everything necessary to keep order and dignity in the president's office complex."
Thomas W. Wride, internal auditor, who "has done an amazing job of keeping order and accuracy in the internal auditing department . . . and serves as a positive mentor to his students and employees."
Irene Lesuma ('74), administrative assistant to Keith Roberts, whose "experience working for the Church and the United Nations in the target area have given her insights and a professionalism that have been insurmountable in giving the vice president's office and the university credibility as we move into new international areas."
Marilee Ching, academic advisor in School of Education, "displays consummate customer service and personality while maintaining the ethics of the program requirements."
Charles Goo, International Student Services: "…a cumulative award for many years of unselfish service on behalf of the students."
Eugenia Lawrence ('04), Risk Management and Safety: "Many of her successes will never be seen, because they didn't happen. That is, there was no accident."
Jack Burgess ('82, Industrial Education), Housing/TVA maintenance supervisor, "a team player who's committed to our housing mission in providing a clean living and learning environment for the students."
Rusia Mamea-Pauga ('02), Travel Services: "Rusia's organizational skills, attention to detail and desire to excel in the responsibilities of her job have won her the admiration of her fellow office workers."
Lei Liua, Travel Services, was "commended for her professionalism, expertise and knowledge in handling her duties and responsibilities."
Loren Holly ('90), executive chef, was cited for his "thorough professionalism" and working "tireless hours in providing our campus with special events."
Judd Whetten, Director, Physical Plant, "is well-burdened with his job responsibilities, yet he does not complain when asked to shoulder even more."
Sonny Ah Puck ('84), Instructional & Media Systems, was cited for "his service beyond his duties as our University sound specialist."
Glenn Kau ('72), Instructional & Media Systems lighting specialist, "has gone beyond his duty as just the lighting guy. He serves the university in greater capacities as a member of many committees."
Rex Frandsen ('68, Business Management), Associate CIO, "has always had good ideas and was never selfish with his time and many talents" on University special events.
"As you all know, there are many, many people in this room who deserve awards, but we only give a few each year. I want you all to know how deeply we appreciate what you do, and what you do so well," President Shumway said.
Last year's highlights
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President Shumway next listed the following highlights from last school year:
• The largest graduating class in the history of the school, including the largest number of international student graduates: "As always, the graduation was a stunning verification of the strength of the school, the quality of our graduates, and the tremendous force for good represented within the faculty and staff," President Shumway said, also recognizing interns, special instructors and service missionaries on campus. Read more...
• U.S. News & World Report again ranked BYU-Hawaii among the best universities in its category, and Consumers Digest identified the University as the best educational value in the whole nation among private institutions. Read more...
• Sports achievements, including women's tennis team third consecutive NCAA Division II national title, with a record of 101 consecutive matches which included many Division I universities. "We also honored Chelsea Smith for winning the national women's cross country championship in NCAA Division II," President Shumway said.
• The completion of Iosepa's maiden voyage: President Shumway noted every aspect of the voyaging canoe, from its inception, has been "accomplished with faith and inspiration." Read more…
• The Concert Choir's very successful tour to Korea and Japan, that included "amazing coincidences we know as miracles" and a special performance in "Meiji Jingu, the most celebrated Shinto Shrine in Japan. This is the shrine where only Shinto priests, the emperor and his family and very high dignitaries are allowed to approach the inner courtyard and the altar that is there," President Shumway said.
Look for a detailed story on the choir tour in the upcoming issue of BYU-Hawaii Magazine; and if you did not get a copy of the magazine earlier this year, please update your alumni contact information.
• A record number of successful international internships: "I would like again to make it very clear that as faculty and staff who work with students we all bear the collective burden to help prepare students to be employed and/or to attend graduate school," President Shumway stressed.
• The front entrance enhancements, including a new rock wall and changes in the little circle, which because of strike and weather delays will not be completed until October.
• And "perhaps one of the most powerful events of the last year was the First Presidency's approval of a joint fundraising set of priorities that link us even more tightly with the Polynesian Cultural Center," President Shumway continued.
"We often say that these two institutions are joined at the heart. Actually it's the same heart. It's the heart that throbs with the same force and inspiration that informed the original vision of Laie, the temple, and this University," he said.
"President Hinckley and the Board of Education have made it clear that the educational purposes of the Church are to be fulfilled by these twin institutions in preparing young men and women with the learning, the skills, the testimony, and a world view of brotherhood and peace that will help build Zion across the world. Those who are employed at both institutions have the same responsibility to teach and train students. We must all be models of what an honest work ethic and a performance excellence should be."
A sacred responsibility, a heavenly partnership
After reviewing several areas of concern — including occasional incidents of violence in the community and violations of the Honor Code — President Shumway told the University family they all have a sacred responsibility to carry the purposes of BYU-Hawaii forward in a partnership with Heavenly Father.
"We must all ask ourselves, am I worthy to be here and to be part of this noble enterprise? Am I a worthy partaker of the blessings of this place? Am I sufficiently competent, completely committed to a strong, honest work ethic? Can Heavenly Father count on me to be a worthy example to students here and throughout the world to whom I might say 'Follow me, do as I do'?"
"I pray that this jubilee year will be a time of full repentance, change and cleansing for all of us. We must be stewards of an environment that the Savior himself would visit happily."
"I know with all of my heart that Heavenly Father's hand has been on this community and these institutions from the very beginning. I believe in the prophecies. I revere all those who have gone before who have clung to those promises and have worked diligently to carry through in the fulfillment of not only the prophetic statements but the on-gong directions from our Board of Trustees, which we have accepted as if by prophecy," he continued.
"I also revere you who are faculty and staff who work so hard and so well and serve our students with kindness and patience. This service is manifest in unnumbered acts of unacknowledged kindnesses."
A growing reputation
In the second half of the school's annual "family" meeting BYU-Hawaii Academic Vice President Dr. Keith Roberts next spoke to the faculty, special instructors, educational missionaries and their spouses on the significance and implications of the University's growing reputation.
Dr. Roberts thanked the teaching staff for their "hard work, commitment and professionalism," especially their contributions toward the 2006 Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation proposal.
"The positive comments from the WASC staff and the invitation to us to present at their spring conference this year and also an invitation to help in their Proposal Development Workshop next year are the kinds of recognition that slowly build reputations," he said. "As we continue to improve we must be sure to share our successes with our peers. This continues to establish us as a significant player in higher education."
Dr. Roberts explained that in 1986 the WASC accrediting team asked if an outcomes oriented data base could be developed to "prove that the Church's big investment in BYU-Hawaii is money well spent."
He added the outcomes would focus on four themes: Improving learning through instruction and assessment by focusing on major program and general education outcomes; improving efforts to help graduates find meaningful employment or go on to graduate school; and improving the ability of non-native speakers to communicate more effectively in English.
To accomplish this, he said the University needs to determine what work to do, what structures or groups will be responsible for implementing the key issues and topics identified for the review, the proposed process for reflection and coming to conclusion, and when each step should be completed.
Dr. Roberts said that Consumers Digest ranking BYU-Hawaii the number-one value private college in the U.S. also "builds reputation and trust." He added after making the list last year, he talked with the editor, who explained that the magazine uses a ranking index which actually put us ahead of many other schools including the number-one ranked public university, Oklahoma State, and even BYU in Provo.
"So it is with great confidence that I can state that we are not only the best value in private universities; but, in fact, BYU-Hawaii is the best educational value in the United States, period," he said.
Dr. Roberts added that our reputation is also growing through the achievements of our students, citing the award recently won by two students in the Seventh Annual International Autonomous Underwater Robotics Competition in San Diego, which included entries from such schools as MIT, Cornell, Duke, Southern Cal, Ecole de Technologie Superieure, University of Florida, University of Rhode Island, University of Victoria, and Virginia Tech.
"It was quite bold for our team of two computer science students, Anuj Sehgal and Jason Kadarusman, to enter the competition," he said. "Our team won the award for the lightest and most inexpensive robot. It was one of five awards that were given."
Other achievements Dr. Roberts listed include the recent establishment of the International Center for Entrepreneurship, the first David O McKay Center for Intercultural Understanding co-sponsorship, along with our Pacific Institute, of a select and prestigious conference on Religion and Culture in China, national sports championships and merit scholarships, and significant progress in the establishment of international internships.
For example, Dr. Roberts said BYU-Hawaii has recently made arrangements with the Fiji School of Medicine and the University of the South Pacific's School of Law in Vanuatu to work with our interns in the future, while another group of interns recently returned from the Health Sciences University of Mongolia, where they are helping to develop mediated training materials.
Finally, he reminded the teachers that the 1986 WASC accreditation team asked: "Does cultural diversity and sensitivity to student differences –academically, socially—result in a certain academic softness, a form of accommodation leading to mediocrity? Or is the threat in such a special environment on the other side—a threat to traditional but now discredited, lingering but inadequate ways of doing things?"
"Maybe, in fact, where diversity flourishes creativity leaps ahead," Dr. Roberts said. "We have spent seventeen years to improve our credibility, to be recognized by the mainstream. Now that we have credibility, and we do, we can concentrate on creativity."
"Now is the time to think of alternate ways of delivering the curriculum, alternate ways of portraying and sharing knowledge, alternate ways of knowing, and equally sharing western ways of thinking, Asian ways of thinking, and indigenous ways of thinking."
Still ranked sixth in the nation
U.S. News & World Report magazine has ranked BYU-Hawaii as the sixth-best comprehensive college in the western United States for the second year in a row. Read more…
BYU-Hawaii men first U.S. basketball team invited to China
BYU-Hawaii became the first U.S. university invited to play in the People's Republic of China when they appeared in a series of scrimmages and games from August 11-22, 2004. Read more about this exciting, historic opportunity…
In other BYU-Hawaii sports news, the women's volleyball team starts its upcoming season as the 18th-ranked team according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. Read more…
Meanwhile, Pacific West Conference coaches ranked the Lady Seasiders in second place, behind Hawaii Pacific University. Read more…
PCC, BYU-Hawaii officials meet alumni in Kiribati, Fiji
PCC President Von Orgill, human resources vice president John Muaina ('90, Human Resources) and BYU-Hawaii Dean of Admissions Jeffrey Bunker, accompanied by their wives, met with government, education, Church and alumni leaders during their recent visit to Kiribati and Fiji where they strengthened ties, helped conduct Church Education System workshops and held recruitment firesides.
CES Country Coordinator and stake president Iotua Tune ('86, Biological Science) hosted the group in Kiribati, where they enjoyed a culture night program and met with students, missionaries and alumni at Moroni High School. They also met with His Excellency, Anote Tong, President of the Republic of Kiribati, who expressed appreciation for the Church, the alumni and their contributions to the country.
In Fiji the group met with CES Director and stake president Tipo Solomones ('84, Accounting) and Peter Lee ('78) and spoke at the LDS Technical College's devotional. They also met with the Prime Minister of Fiji, the Hon. Laisena Qarase, who has visited Laie several times. He acknowledged the influence the University and PCC have upon his fellow citizens. Later, the group held a fireside at the Samabula chapel, followed by an alumni dinner.
President Orgill and Muaina also met with other government officials, including Mr. Konisi Yabaki, Minister of Fisheries and Forests, to express appreciation to the government and for his personal assistance with securing the logs used to carve the voyaging canoe Iosepa.
Alumni directory: Mahalo to all who have purchased a copy of the Golden Jubilee alumni directory from Harris Publishing. It should be ready for distribution by mid-fall. For more information, contact Rowena Reid at 808-293-3648.
Golden Jubilee: Speaking of the Golden Jubilee, don't forget the main concentration of activities will be held October 16-23, 2005. Plan ahead.
Some of you might also be interested in the BYU International Volunteer Leadership Conference, September 30-October 2 in Provo. For more information…
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San
Francisco: Charles Goo and his wife,
Helen (center), |
Colorado: The chapter invites all BYU alumni, family and friends to its second annual Hawaiian luau on August 28 at Piney River Ranch in Vail, starting at 1 p.m. There is a $12 charge for adults and $5 for kids under 12. For more information, contact chapter chair Mike Bright or register here.
Idaho: BYU-Hawaii alumni are invited to join the Pre-Game Party before the BYU/Boise State football game on September 24 starting at 5 p.m. at the Broadway LDS chapel at the corner of Broadway and Boise Avenues. Get more information or register online.
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Steward
and Hsieh |
Shanghai: In June Alumni Association president Les Steward asked Christian Hsieh ('03, International Business Management) to accept the assignment to serve as chair of the new Shanghai chapter. Hsieh, who is forming other chapter leadership, currently works for the NCH Corp.
Utah: The chapter is planning an activity in conjunction with the BYU/BYU-Hawaii basketball game on November 5 in Provo. Stay tuned for details.
Washington state: The chapter is still formulating plans for its annual Hawaiian luau, but mark your calendars for Saturday, October 9.
1950s & 60s
We received another update from Merv Tano ('69, History) who was recently invited by the National Academy of Sciences to present a paper on environmental justice issues related to the transportation of spent nuclear fuel at the meeting of the Academy's Committee on Transportation of Radioactive Waste in Albuquerque. Merv, president of the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management in Denver, spends a good part of his time examining societal impacts of science and technology. Sarah Lautaha Soakai ('02, Political Science) interned with his firm this past summer.
1970s
In memoriam: Band director Dick Ballou, who taught at BYU-Hawaii from 1970-80, and his wife, Jane, were recently killed in an auto accident in Idaho. Before coming to Laie, Ballou taught at BYU in Provo where he formed the Cougar marching band. His wife was a special education teacher in the community.
Paul Wing-Kuen Wong ('75, Accounting) works for a property management company in downtown Honolulu and lives in nearby Kaimuki. He reports that his youngest son is serving a mission in Canada.
1980s
Helena Kaaria Tuipelehake-Muagututi'a ('80, TESOL), is a psychologist working in Sundsvall, Sweden.
1990s
Valoula Scanlan Tapasa Suapaia ('91, English) and her husband, Nimoai Suapaia ('93, Art), have been living for the past three years with their three TVA-born children in Anchorage, Alaska, where she's an admissions advisor at the U. of Alaska-Anchorage. She writes: "I am also working on my M. Ed. in Adult Education, with an emphasis in Counseling & Guidance. We still miss Laie and BYUH. We can never forget the first class education received there, which prepared us for the real world! We will always be grateful for our professors and mentors, especially our families and friends who supported us academically, mentally, and spiritually at BYUH."
Dave Rickard ('92, Information Systems), who started at BYUH in 1985, recently wrote: "Although I live in Arizona now, I think of Laie from time to time and miss all the wonderful people I met there."
Theone Ta'ala ('93, Home & Family Development), recently became one of only four in Hawaii to attain the Certified Administrative Professional rating, which required her to meet certain educational and work milestones, and pass a four-part exam requiring expertise in finance and business law, office systems and administration, management and organizational planning.
Kimberly Rudy ('93, Travel Management), a flight attendant, writes: "I loved BYU-Hawaii. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I went as a non-member and joined the Church within two months of arriving. My husband and I have great memories of our time spent on campus and are grateful for the blessings of having attended the most beautiful campus on earth. We were so lucky." She and her husband, Derik Rudy ('95, Physical Education) live in Simpsonville, South Carolina.
Sheryl Hoopii ('93) now lives in Wailuku, Maui.
Lisa Merryweather Roberts ('97) lives in Cornelius, Oregon, and is a counselor for the Beaverton School District.
Chris Po On Siu ('95, Accounting) and his wife, Huey Miin Amy Tseng ('97, Psychology), recently had their third child. He now works for a biotech company in Palo Alto, California.
Manxiang ('98, Asian Executive Management program) reports he and fellow student, Fenfang Li ('01), plan to return to Hawaii soon to further their studies at the University of Hawaii.
1st Lt. Shawna M. Lynch ('98, Psychology), an officer in the Hawaii Army National Guard — Charlie Medical Company, 29th Support Battalion, 29 Brigade Combat Team — was recently mobilized to serve on active duty in Iraq for 18 months.
Editor's Note: Even though it's been quite a few years since I last took a class at BYU-Hawaii, it's still exciting to see everyone gear up for the new school year. New and returning students are filling the hallways, especially by the cashier's office and the Bookstore, and there are almost 90 new faculty, staff, service missionaries and volunteers. Of course, next semester marks the start of the University's golden jubilee, which is also a tremendous milestone. — Mike Foley ('70, TESL), Editor
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The BYU-Hawaii Alumni Newsletter is published by the University Advancement office, under the direction of Napua Baker ['59-61 and '70-72], Vice President; Rob Wakefield ['75, Asia/Pacific LTM], Director of Communications and Media Relations; and Rowena Reid ['76, Social Work], Alumni Association Director. Brigham Young University Hawaii Campus is a four-year comprehensive undergraduate institution sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About 2,400 students from 70 nations are currently enrolled.You have received this e-newsletter because you are an affiliate of BYU-Hawaii.If necessary, please update your alumni profile. If you have received this e-mail inadvertently, or wish to unsubscribe, please send a message with NEWSLETTER UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject line and your e-mail address in the body to alumni@byuh.edu. If you are aware of other BYU-Hawaii alumni who have not received this newsletter, please forward a copy and encourage them to update their profiles. Mahalo.
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