Chaminade University of Honolulu

University Communications & Marketing

Celebrating 430 Years of Employee Service

The house was packed with well-wishers of employees who were being honored for their years of service.  Poinsettias, Santa jars filled with candy, white tablecloths and folded red napkins, Christmas decorations, a brightly lit tree, lots of food and sweets, and of course, the eggnog added to the festive spirit.

Annually the Personnel team highlights employees who have been with Chaminade starting with 5 years and then in additional 5-year increments. This past December 9, they honored 39 of Chaminade’s finest. In total, these faithful employees have served the university for more than 430 years.

The top contender was Chitha R. Unni (Philosophy and Religion) with  50 years (yes, the big 5-0). He was followed by Steven Downey (Audio Visual) and Yukio Ozaki (Fine Arts) each with 30 years of service. The 20-year benchmark was achieved by Hector Mamaclay (Facilities) and Evelyn M. Sanqui (Purchasing/ Bookstore). Oh, the stories they could tell!

With lei and hugs, kind words and good cheer, Chaminade University offered the 39 its gratitude for the blessings they have brought to this campus.

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  • Richard Kido at Employee Years of Service
  • Faculty and Staff at Employee Years of Service
  • Staff at Employee Years of Service
  • Employee Years of Service

Chaminade Welcomes Middle School Students with Science

Chaminade University recently hosted students from Stevenson Middle School for a half-day as part of the College for Every Student (CFES) program. Dressed in their Chaminade-logo wear, student and faculty volunteers greeted 40 eighth graders and their escorts on the morning of November 18, as the young students climbed out of a yellow school bus in front of Clarence T. C. Ching Hall.

Stevenson Middle School students doing a science activityThe youth and their escorts were divided into two groups.  While one group toured the campus, the other group attended an “I am a Scientist” session hosted in the Henry Hall laboratories by Lori Shimoda, faculty member and research associate from the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Shimoda, who created the “I am a Scientist” program that has inspired thousands of students in Hawaii with science, coordinated the activities with graceful effectiveness.  Cheerfully she and her colleagues encouraged critical thinking and puzzle solving for the youth in white lab coats.  When done, the science group switched with the tour group.

Once everyone had completed the science session and the tour, it was lunch and reflection time. Chaminade volunteers led the Stevenson students in CFES-based activities helping the youth to reflect on the future probability of someday attending college with Chaminade as a top-of-mind possibility.

The Culture of Health Learned through the Lo‘i

While others were meandering through shopping malls on their annual holiday hunt, Eurina Kee, Ph.D. and 12 public health students from her Nursing 401 class were trudging through mud. Seven family members accompanied them into the wet outback. Instead of pulling items from sales’ tables, they were pulling weeds, clearing grass, and cleaning water sources. Rather than preparing gifts for wrapping at Ala Moana Center near Waikiki, they instead prepared a wetland kalo patch (lo‘i) for planting in Waialua on the North Shore of Oahu.

Nursing students working in the loi patch for service-learning activity

And they loved it! “It was my first time to crack a coconut, and it was fun,” said senior BSN student, Maria Talana.

The students were invigorated by the physical experience combined with the underlying academic purpose of the service-learning activity. The muddy, six-hour field expedition on Saturday, November 26, was the first time that Chaminade public health nursing students were invited to participate in the wetland experience.

They learned about public health nursing through caring for the land (mālama `āina) while working alongside Joan Takamori, chief of the Public Health Nursing Branch for Hawaii’s Department of Health. Takamori explained that Hawaii’s public health nurses listened and responded to community needs, based on professional knowledge and relationships with individuals, families, and communities. The Public Health Nursing Branch was an expansion of the Department of Health into all communities statewide. Priorities included emergency preparedness and response, control of communicable diseases, school health, elder health, and health promotion in high-risk populations. As a public health nurse before her leadership role, Takamori helped provide public health nursing services in Central Oahu, primarily in Wahiawa, Waialua, and Haleiwa.

Nursing students working in the loi patch for service-learning activity

As the Chaminade group labored in the lo‘i, the students discussed the culture of health and the value of being connected to community leaders. According to Kee, students were given a sense of place as they learned from the land. They “talked story” about the relationship between public health, community, and culture.

“It is important for public health nursing students to understand community health needs, know available community resources and be involved in efforts to preserve natural resources. It is also very valuable to discuss current public health issues with leaders such as Joan Takamori,” explained Kee.

Nursing students working in the loi patch for service-learning activity

Senior BSN students, Rebecca Maxey and Jeramae Marcellano agreed.

“Joan inspired me a lot,” recalled Marcellano. “Now I am so proud of my mom who has been a public health nurse in the Philippines for many years.”

Maxey concurred. “The experience was very educational, and it was an inspiring moment to listen to Joan speak about the community and her passion,” she reflected.

Throughout the coming year, there will be at least three more field sessions in the next three sections of Nursing 401. Consider them choice gifts of experience.

The Kathy Kawaguchi Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership Goes to Lanai Principal

The Education Division of Chaminade University announced Elton N. Kinoshita MED ’13 as its inaugural recipient for The Kathy Kawaguchi Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership.

Kinoshita, who serves the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE) as the principal of Lana’i High and Elementary School, humbly accepted the award and recalled how much of an inspiration Katherine Kawaguchi had been for him. He first met Kawaguchi when he chose to transfer from the graduate program at the University of Hawaii to the Chaminade Educational Leadership program. “I heard the Chaminade program was rigorous, and I wanted to learn as much as I could,” he recalled telling her.

Kinoshita was accepted and worked hard to successfully achieve his master’s degree in Educational Leadership. “Toward the end of the program, she asked me if my wish for rigor had been fulfilled. We both laughed as I told her ‘yes’, and that I was completely satisfied with the program and my decision to transfer to Chaminade,” he wrote. “I am so thankful for completing the Chaminade Educational Leadership program as the knowledge that I gained has helped me in my role as principal.”

Kawaguchi recently passed away, but her impact on educators, on the DOE, and on Chaminade and its students continues.

“I will do everything I can to live out the charge for recipients of this award: serving as a stellar role model, exemplary leader and dedicated mentor who will guide with intelligence and integrity,” said Kinoshita.

Chaminade Business Professors Spearhead Molokai Nonprofit Seminar

Chaminade Business professors, Richard Kido, Wayne Tanna and Aaron Williamson, flew to Molokai on a Saturday in mid-December to hold a day-long nonprofit seminar for residents.  For the three professors, it was an opportunity to do community service using their gifts and talents. The material had been well-received and meaningful for last year’s participants. So they gladly volunteered to return for a second year, responding to the Molokai Island Foundation’s request.

Thanks to the foundation, the seminar and refreshments were offered for free. Nonprofit executives and board members and anyone interested in starting a nonprofit were encouraged to attend.   Held in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Conference Room in Kaunakakai, Molokai, the seminar provided a rare networking opportunity for local nonprofit people to meet, as well as the chance to be updated on relevant tax changes.

Similar to the Honolulu seminar annually offered in September by Chaminade’s School of Business, the Molokai seminar offered guidance through the tricky maze of tax compliance for nonprofits and a review of the categories and governing instruments for tax-exempt organizations. Also covered were compliance law changes, and handouts were provided.

We Bid Aloha to an Exemplary Educator and Leader

The Chaminade ‘ohana was saddened at the news that Katherine Kawaguchi had passed away. She died on November 7, 2016, at the age of 69.

Earlier this fall, the Education Division had held a farewell retirement celebration for its director of Leadership and Education Projects who had served at Chaminade for nearly a decade. Kawaguchi had spearheaded two major project programs at Chaminade including the Castle K-16 Engineering Pipeline Project, as well as the Office of Naval Research Project and Educational Leadership Program.

Prior to Chaminade, Kawaguchi’s experience as an educator was extensive. During the course of her 33 years of educational experiences in different K-12 school systems, she taught as a high school science teacher in Indianapolis, Long Beach and on the island of Oahu (at Leilehua and Radford High Schools). She served for 20 years with the Hawaii Department of Education as an educational officer, a vice-principal, a State Environmental Education specialist, a Central District educational specialist, and as a state and district resource teacher. She also served Hawaii’s Department of Education as the assistant superintendent of the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Student Support.

At Chaminade’s farewell celebration, Bro. Bernard Ploeger, SM and interim dean of Education, Dale Fryxell, honored Kawaguchi with a special plaque. Deemed “The Kathy Kawaguchi Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership,” the plaque read: “The recipient of this award has demonstrated the highest level of professionalism in education. The Standards that Kathy Kawaguchi set forth for Educational Leaders are to serve as stellar role models, exemplary leaders, and dedicated mentors who guide with intelligence and integrity. The charge to those receiving this award is to instill these attributes in others.”

Everyone there expressed gratitude and aloha as she bid them a fond farewell.

Katherine Kawaguchi is survived by husband, Ray Kawaguchi; son, Lance (Lily) Kawaguchi; brother, Raymond (Gladys) Tamaribuchi; sister, Sandra (Elliot) Lee; five grandchildren and one hanai grandson.
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