Chaminade University of Honolulu

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Chaminade University Introduces New Scholarships for Incoming Students

HONOLULU, HAWAII (December 2, 2019) – As part of its commitment to improve the community through education, Chaminade University has introduced new scholarships for incoming students. The University will award $5,000 scholarships to new students who wish to pursue master’s degrees or online bachelor’s degrees in eligible programs.

“The legacy of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade is one that embraces education as a way to change society and ensure a community of justice and reconciliation,” said Dr. Lynn Babington, President of Chaminade University. “These new scholarships will enable new students to contribute to the fabric of Hawaii in honor of our longstanding tradition and commitment to improve the communities in which we live and serve.”

The $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to new full-time students. Among the eligible master’s degrees are teaching, business administration, education, criminal justice administration, and pastoral theology. The scholarships for bachelor’s students are exclusively for online programs and span a wide range of majors.

To apply, applicants are asked to explain how they serve the community when completing their scholarship applications. The deadline to apply for Winter 2020 is December 20, 2019, and the deadline for Spring 2020 is March 20, 2020. The scholarship is available to new students only and cannot be combined with existing institutional partnerships or agreements.

In addition to expanding its incoming student scholarships, Chaminade University continues to provide a variety of other scholarships including many endowed awards for current students. This provides eligible students the opportunity for financial support beyond the first few terms and well into the completion of their program.

For more information, visit chaminade.edu.  

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Chaminade University of Honolulu provides a collaborative and innovative learning environment that prepares graduate and undergraduate students for life, service and successful careers. Established in 1955, the university is guided by its Catholic, Marianist and liberal arts educational traditions, which include a commitment to serving the Native Hawaiian population. Chaminade offers an inclusive setting where students, faculty and staff collectively pursue a more just and peaceful society.

From Hawaii to Scotland: Chaminade Holds International Conference

What connects Hawaii and Scotland?

You might assume the answer is not much. But an international conference held at Chaminade University over the summer underscored just how much the two locales share – and how indigenous writers from Scotland and its isles and the Hawaiian Islands have much to learn from each other.

From June 28 to 30, the University hosted the International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures conference, welcoming researchers from around the globe to hear illuminating lectures around the theme, “Scotland and the South Seas: Writing the Wide Pacific.” The conference focused on how Scottish and Pacific literary works influenced each other thanks to rich cultural exchanges.

Chaminade’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts professors Dr. Allison Paynter and Dr. Richard Hill served as key organizers for the conference, partnering with historical organizations from across the state to offer plenary sessions that took their inspiration from author Robert Louis Stevenson’s writings and travels across the Pacific, including Hawaii. The conference also featured two leading scholars of Stevenson, Roslyn Jolly (University of New South Wales) and Penny Fielding (Edinburgh University).

As part of the conference, Chaminade’s Sullivan Family Library worked to bring Stevenson’s stories to life, coordinating with Hawaii artist Solomon Enos and others to create pieces inspired by his many writings.

Paynter and Hill said the conference was so rich, they’re planning to write a book about the takeaways.

Also over the summer, Paynter was named a James Weldon Johnson Foundation artist-in-residence. The foundation seeks to advance Weldon’s legacy through educational, intellectual and artistic works. Weldon was an author, diplomat, attorney and strong advocate for social justice.

2019 Fr. John F. Bolin Excellence In Scholarship Awardee

Dr. Junghwa Suh kicks off every semester with students by sharing this quote: “Happiness is the new rich. Inner peace is the new success. Health is the new wealth. Kindness is the new cool.” – Unknown.

Dr. Junghwa Suh

Suh, an associate professor of Environmental + Interior Design at Chaminade, said her goal is to help students understand that success in life comes from “embracing differences,” helping those around you grow right along with you and working to be thankful every day for all that you have.

Those are lessons Suh also takes to heart in her own work.

And her commitment to not only her research but the craft of teaching has earned her this year’s prestigious Father John F. Bolin Excellence in Scholarship award, which recognizes full-time faculty who have made notable academic and professional contributions to the University.

Suh, who received her doctoral degree in Architecture from the University of Hawaii in 2013, has an interdisciplinary background that also includes research in interior design, mathematics and fine arts.

She said in her teaching, she’s sought to challenge students to see the relationships between architecture and the urban-scape with sustainable, interdisciplinary and tech-driven design strategies.

“I encourage our students to think about design with people, culture, climate, and environmental contexts in mind,” Suh said, adding that she wants to help students become versatile designers who can connect the theory they learn with innovative practice. “It is crucial to educate our future designers to analyze and synthesize design solutions in the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary way.”

Suh helps bring theory alive with innovative techniques of her own.

She uses digital and social media tools with her students, seeks to extend learning outside the classroom, incorporates hands-on and project-based learning into lessons, and looks for opportunities that allow students to learn from each other as they think through a tough problem.

Suh is also passionate about fostering empathy in her students. They have to understand that design really is about people. Once they do that, “they are better able to understand the project and clients.”

As part of receiving the Bolin award, Suh received $1,500 and her photo displayed permanently in the Sullivan Family Library. But the real reward, Suh said, is the recognition and support from her colleagues.

“My time at Chaminade University has been a period of tremendous growth as a versatile instructor, curriculum and course designer, and scholar in innovative research, creative activity, and service,” Suh said. “This recognition encourages me to do more meaningful and innovative work for our students.”

Putting Down “Roots”: PsyD Program is Here to Stay

The next time you walk by Brogan Hall, look for the young kukui nut tree on the building’s mauka end. 

The tree — traditionally a symbol of enlightenment and spiritual guidance — was planted to celebrate the new permanent home of the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology degree program at the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology at Chaminade University.

The program’s faculty, staff and students attended the tree planting on November 6.

Dr. Sean Scanlan, director of Chaminade’s Psy.D. program, said the kukui nut is the perfect representation of the Clinical Psychology program at Chaminade. He added that the tree was planted following a suggestion from a student in a place where it will have lots of room to grow.

“The kukui tree was used by Native Hawaiians for candlelight and has become an emblem of the importance of seeking out opportunities for personal and academic growth,” Scanlan said. “As a symbol of enlightenment, the kukui tree we’ve planted at Brogan Hall will continue to grow and thrive in the years and decades ahead just as the Clinical Psychology program will flourish at Chaminade into the future.”

During the small ceremony, the students added soil to cover the kukui tree’s roots as a symbol of being the basis for the program to grow. The Psy.D. faculty and staff then poured water from an ipu as a symbol of their role in instructing, mentoring and supporting the students.

In March, Chaminade University announced it would host the Hawaii School of Professional Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program following the abrupt closure of Argosy University. Chaminade immediately welcomed approximately 100 students and faculty members into the program as it worked to ensure a seamless transition for those working toward their doctoral degree – and those helping them get there.

Today, the Psy.D. at Chaminade is a five-year, intensive program designed to build students’ skills and knowledge as they train to become clinical psychologists. Early courses in the program provide the foundation for the field, while later classes focus on therapy, research training and an internship.

Dr. Lynn Babington, Chaminade president, said serving as a hub for high-quality mental health instruction – and a source for excellent mental health providers who will serve their communities – is in line with the University’s mission to work every day to change the world for the better.

“The planting of the kukui nut tree at Brogan Hall is a powerful symbol that underscores our commitment to ensuring the Psy.D. program at Chaminade continues to grow and meet the mental health needs of our state,” she said. “We are excited about the next steps in building out this program and can’t wait to see how psychologists trained at Chaminade impact people’s lives in positive ways.”

For more information on the Psy.D. program at Chaminade or to apply, click on the Psy.D. program page.

Graduate and Undergraduate Student Recognized at “Top Cop” Event

Two Chaminade students were recognized recently at the “Top Cop” Law Enforcement and Security Awards, an annual event aimed at celebrating those who work to make their communities safer.

Top Cop 2019
L-R: Dr. Joe Allen, Dr. Kelly Treece, Jesus Moreno (MSCJA student), Dr. Ronald Becker and Andres Victoria (Criminology and Criminal Justice student)

Jesus Moreno, a Chaminade graduate student, was awarded the Anton Financial Scholarship after outlining his studies in criminal justice and detailing what he plans to do after graduation.

Undergraduate student Andres Victoria, meanwhile, took home the ASIS Hawaii Chapter award. Victoria is seeking his bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Chaminade online.

Both students received $1,000 cash scholarships.

The “Top Cop” awards banquet was held October 24 at the Ala Moana Hotel. The event is held annually to “promote, encourage and recognize excellence in the field of law enforcement and security in Hawaii.”

To be selected for the scholarships, Moreno and Victoria also had to submit letters of recommendation and be actively enrolled in a criminal justice program.

Worth noting: Chaminade’s Criminology and Criminal Justice program is the largest and oldest in Hawaii, and the University offers several degree options for those interested in pursuing careers in the field.

In addition to on-campus programs, students can seek Criminology and Criminal Justice undergraduate and graduate degrees entirely online.

Whether on campus or online, the degrees prepare students to pursue careers in law enforcement, public safety, criminal justice or graduate studies in law or criminology research.

E+ID Student Receives Interior Design Scholarship

Hawaii interior designers – and interior designers-in-training – gathered in October to honor those who are making significant contributions to the field.

E+ID student Jacqueline Harbin receiving her scholarship

Among those recognized at the inaugural International Interior Design Association (IIDA)-Hawaii Ho’ohuli Awards: Chaminade University student Jacqueline Harbin.

Harbin is in Chaminade’s Environmental + Interior Design program, the only accredited and degree-granting program of its kind in Hawaii.

And at the October 12 event, she took home the Student Scholastic Award, which recognizes a design student who exhibits a strong work ethic, team leadership and is a strong advocate for the International Interior Design Association.

Harbin was awarded $2,000 – and showered with no small amount of praise from her mentors.

To apply for the honor, Harbin wrote an essay about her craft. She also had to be nominated by a faculty member and underwent an interview with an awards committee.

Organizers from the IIDA Hawaii Pacific Chapter say the awards gala, held at the Prince Waikiki, was an evening dedicated to celebrating “outstanding and original commercial interior design in Hawaii.”