Chaminade University of Honolulu

Business & Communication

Designed for What’s Next: Training Strategic Marketing Leaders for a New Era of Business

Marketing is more than advertising. The field requires real technical know-how, including employees skilled at knowing their customer bases, researching customer needs, assessing marketing data, and devising new business strategies tailored to meet market expectations.

Marketing is fast becoming the key component for business success in an increasingly competitive business climate. That’s why Chaminade University is launching a new Bachelor of Science in Strategic Marketing degree program.

“Marketing is actually a strategic function of the business, which is why we’re delivering a Strategic Marketing degree, because we want our students to understand how marketing acts as a strategic function of the overall business model,” said Pamela Estell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Management, Human Resources, and Organizational Behavior at Chaminade.

Estell helped to organize the new Strategic Marketing degree, to be housed within the College of Business, Innovation & Technology. She said interested students should understand that modern marketing practices go well beyond branding and promotions, and the university designed this degree program to reflect that reality.

“It’s actually a very critical strategic arm of the overall business function,” she said.

The degree is designed to train students how to transform insights gleaned from consumer research and other market data into actionable strategies for marketing and business development. The industry requires creative problem-solving skills and an ability to acquire and analyze marketing information and business analytics, talents that can be applied to a wide array of industries where businesses routinely pursue strategic marketing.

The new degree program includes coursework in Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Research, Global Marketing, Social Impact Marketing, and much more. Classes will cover the latest business trends and techniques, tools that are increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into a host of routine business functions.

The Strategic Marketing major also incorporates a required internship molded into the curriculum, so students gain real-world business experience prior to graduation. The faculty have forged close relationships with area businesses and organizations to open up a variety of internship openings for students, including opportunities to intern in roles such as Marketing Coordinator, Digital / Social Media Marketing Manager, Brand Management Coordinator, and in Strategic Communications, among others.

Chaminade’s smaller classes and low student-to-faculty ratio mean students are afforded greater opportunities to interact with instructors and receive closer hands-on training. Strategic Marketing students will be prepped for careers guiding business strategy at major corporations, small businesses, entrepreneurial ventures, banking, finance, real estate, nonprofits, and more.

“Marketing is a foundational business function that helps organizations analyze the market, identify opportunities, and design integrated strategies that deliver value to meet customer needs,” Estell said.

“The Bachelor of Science in Strategic Marketing major emphasizes marketing as a strategic discipline.”

Launching in Fall 2027, Chaminade University’s College of Business, Innovation & Technology is accepting applications for the Strategic Marketing degree program now.

Designed for What’s Next: Chaminade Launches Accelerated 3-Year Applied Management Degree

A faster, more flexible path to a bachelor’s degree and career success is coming to Chaminade University in Fall 2027.

The new Bachelor of Science in Applied Management will allow students to earn their degree in just three years through a fully online, 90-credit program designed to help them get a head start on their careers.

In introducing a new three-year accelerated path to a diploma, Chaminade is responding to increasing calls for curriculum that allows students to complete their studies in three years as opposed to the traditional four-year track.

This new accelerated approach is designed to help students control the costs of their higher education while jumping on the career path faster.

“More and more institutions are looking at applied degrees,” said Amir Toosi, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Business, Innovation & Technology. “Not only domestic schools, but international schools are also going to three-year degree programs.”

The shorter time to graduate detracts nothing from the educational experience.

The curriculum is designed for working professionals and full-time students. Practical business and management courses will teach students the ins and outs of effectively and efficiently managing for-profit businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits.

Required courses for the new major will include classes in Business Foundations, Organizational Behavior, Applied Management Concepts, and more. Eligible electives include tracks in Leadership & Communication, Liberal Arts traditions, and Writing, Science and Ethics.

The coursework prepares students for a variety of management-related positions, from project coordinator and business analyst to account manager, human resources specialist, operations associate, and project coordinator, among other fields.

Toosi said the degree is particularly well suited for working professionals looking to “upskill” and acquire additional education and workplace know-how to advance their careers or win promotions at their existing workplaces.

In other words, the three-year Applied Management degree fits “people who know what they want to do, get their degree faster, and then move on quicker,” he said.

Administered by the College of Business, Innovation & Technology, the Applied Management undergraduate degree will become the newest academic program under Chaminade University’s Flex Online Undergraduate program. Flex allows students to complete course requirements online at their convenience. Applied Management

The degree will be Chaminade’s first three-year accelerated undergraduate program. 

Designed for What’s Next: Hawai‘i’s First Pre-Law Degree Launches at Chaminade University

Students interested in pursuing a career in legal affairs or a law degree now have the option to pursue a major that gets them closer to their dreams.

Starting Fall Semester 2027, Chaminade University will begin offering a new undergraduate pre-law training program, the first and only one of its kind in Hawai‘i. Applications for the new Bachelor of Arts in Law, History & Culture program will be accepted in the current cycle, and enrollment will likely begin starting late Spring through Summer 2027.

College of Arts & Sciences co-Dean Cheryl Edelson, Ph.D., said the new bachelor program is explicitly designed to steer students toward legal professions or law school.

“It’s a pre-law program,” she said. “A lot of students are interested in law, so we built this into our curriculum.”

The new major is designed to fulfill Chaminade University’s strategic plan of enhancing academic excellence and the career relevance of degree programs while improving student outcomes, gearing graduates toward career success. It marks a milestone in Hawai’i’s higher education landscape as Chaminade continually adjusts to meet the needs of the community it serves. 

The Law, History & Culture program prepares students for law school and/or the paralegal profession. Graduates will also be primed for success in business legal compliance offices and law administration, among other pathways.

The new major combines training in criminology, criminal justice, and forensic science with history, communications, and writing to create an applied, career-oriented education that meets expanding workforce needs. Students will learn legal and criminal justice concepts while honing their written and verbal rhetorical skills–at this while gaining a firm grounding in the historical contexts in which society’s laws emerged.

Edelson said the first pre-law program in the state is a natural fit with Chaminade University’s strong position in forensic science and criminal justice education, now with additional layers added in.

“The pre-law path is something that students have wanted for a long time,” she explained. “We have a good history of our students in historical, political studies, criminal justice, or criminology going into law school, but we’ve tried to build in more policy, especially policy about the Pacific region.”

Housed within the College of Arts & Sciences, Chaminade’s faculty leadership plans to introduce new courses over time as the new degree program is fully integrated into the broader university educational architecture.

“There are going to be some new courses developed as we move along,” said Frank Bailey, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Historical and Political Studies.

Yet the program is ready to accept students now, he emphasized, with existing and retooled courses meeting pre-law educational standards and goals.

“At the moment, it has selected history courses that are already developed, that are ready to go, and selected criminal justice courses already developed, ready to go,” said Bailey, who will co-chair the new degree program. “There are some forensic science courses, and then we also try to make it very interdisciplinary.”

Meaning Law, History & Culture students’ studies will couple their practical legal training with coursework in relevant humanities disciplines. About half the course load will be specific to the major, while students will be free to choose from a list of electives to fold into their major depending on where their interests and passions lie.

Pre-law foundations


The new four-year BA in Law, History & Culture degree is carefully designed to prepare students for the rigors of a juris doctorate (JD) program.

Of course, students interested in advancing to formal legal training must first gain admission to a law school. That’s why Chaminade’s new pre-law program includes solid preparation for the Law School Admission Test, or LSAT.

“That’s one of the things that is really important,” said program co-chair and Historical and Political Studies Professor Michio Yamasaki, Ph.D. “That’s central to our degree.”

Yamasaki noted the College of Arts & Sciences is working with LSAT preparation training companies to give Law, History & Culture students access to preparation materials and even full LSAT prep courses, in addition to the advantages they’ll get from the program’s curriculum.

Chaminade University has also secured an articulation agreement with St. Mary’s University, our sister Marianist Catholic institution in Texas, whereby St. Mary’s School of Law has agreed to fast-track acceptance of Chaminade’s Law, History & Culture pre-law graduates, so long as they meet entrance requirements.

Yet, one does not have to be law school-bound to pursue this specialization.

The curriculum is designed for students interested in pursuing careers in legal professions that do not require a law degree immediately upon graduation, including opportunities in government services and the private sector.

Scoping research conducted prior to launching the program unveiled an expanding job market for legally trained college graduates. Opportunities include jobs for new paralegals, legal researchers, claims adjusters, court clerks, compliance officers, and public affairs specialists. The program also offers applied training for those interested in becoming law enforcement officers, social service workers, child advocates, legal writers, and law and crime journalists.

“Paralegal, obviously that’s one,” Professor Bailey noted. “But there are also a bunch of jobs in business where they can use somebody with a law background.”

Pre-law students will also benefit from practical internship experiences before graduating. The faculty is leveraging connections to Hawai‘i’s legal and business communities to secure internship opportunities.

High school students, recent graduates, and working professionals interested in learning more about the new BA in Law, History & Culture degree program are invited to read up on its structure and degree requirements on Chaminade University’s website.

“There’s flexibility to enjoy college in the fields that you want, while getting a well-rounded education focused on legal studies,” Bailey said.

Designed for What’s Next: Chaminade’s New Ethics & Leadership Degree Program Launches Fall 27

Many colleges and universities train leaders, but few set out deliberately to forge the next generation of ethical leaders. Now, at least one institution in Hawai‘i will.

Chaminade University of Honolulu is introducing a new major under the College of Arts & Sciences focused on ethical leadership and thoughtful, humane business practices. The new Bachelor of Arts in Ethics & Leadership degree will launch in Fall 2027; meanwhile, the university is accepting applications to the program now.

The new degree program aligns with the university’s strategic vision of enhancing academic excellence, prioritizing education that meets communities’ and societal needs.

College of Arts & Sciences co-Dean Cheryl Edelson, Ph.D., said this unique business-oriented degree program trains leaders to put people first. “Understanding the human-first approach to all things makes a difference,” she said.

Combining courses in business operations and administration with philosophy and religious studies, the Ethics & Leadership program is designed to train students not only on how to run a business, but how to operate a business in a way that benefits society in a broader sense, said Chaminade Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Philosophy Dustyn Ragasa, Ph.D.

The program is also well-suited for those interested in pursuing careers in nonprofit management and charity work. Ragasa said the new major fits perfectly with “the intellectual heritage, philosophy, and theology of a Catholic university.”

“We want our graduates to be agents for good,” he said, explaining how he and his colleagues in the College of Arts & Sciences designed the new undergraduate degree program. “We realize that no matter what the students are doing, we want them to be able to be beneficial for people who might fall through the cracks.”

The program, Ragasa stressed, is a practical, career-oriented degree designed to train business leaders for a rapidly changing workforce.

Courses on business management, marketing, accounting, and finance are complemented with coursework in philosophy, theology, ethics, and environmental and social responsibility. Legal and ethical matters are covered in the program’s curriculum, as are justice and human rights.

Edelson said the degree program is designed to pair well with a wide variety of other educational pursuits, should students choose to add a minor or second major field of study.

“We really wanted it to be something that’s going to partner really nicely with other majors,” she said. “For example, someone could do Ethics & Leadership and Marine & Oceanic Sustainability.”

The program also includes a required internship, reflecting the importance of students gaining practical, real-world experience before graduation. Students will complete Chaminade’s general education requirements, building a solid academic foundation that prepares them for the major’s curriculum and training.

Ragasa said the Ethics & Leadership degree is suitable for students interested in not only breaking into the business world, but also for those interested in sculpting it. In other words, “people who want to be thought leaders, who want to be in management, people who want to go into politics,” he said.

“One of the things that I love about this new program is it takes the traditionally very abstract 40,000-foot view of philosophy and religious studies, and it answers the question: What is somebody going to do with it? How is it going to be put into practice?”

The hope is that graduates of the Ethics & Leadership program will emerge fully ready to devise ethical solutions to business, environmental, and social problems. Graduates would be taught to place the needs of people, especially vulnerable populations, front and center in their business leadership and decision-making.

Students will be taught how to thoughtfully contemplate core issues vexing society and how to navigate the corporate world through strategic thinking rooted in values and morals.

Ragasa said training in Ethics & Leadership is capped off with two seminars led by practitioners of ethical leadership, whether based at Chaminade University or in Hawai‘i’s larger business community. Individuals invited to lead seminars will be free to structure their lessons however they see fit.

New course offerings will be added over time. Meanwhile, existing courses are being reoriented toward the needs of the new Ethics & Leadership major, in particular courses on philosophy and religious studies. Emphasis is on building knowledge and skills applicable to the business world, not just scholarly theories.

Students will also be trained in ethical entrepreneurship.

Ragasa said he’s excited to launch the new Ethics & Leadership undergraduate degree and looks forward to introducing its eventual graduates to the business community.

“My hope is that this program will develop into something larger that will be known for producing socially responsible, forward-thinking, entrepreneurial leaders,” he said. “We are ready to journey with them as they undertake their vocation to transform the world in all possible ways.”

‘Just Get Involved’: Chaminade’s Hogan Students Hear Life Lessons From Nonprofit Leader

“Surfing is a metaphor. You fall off your board; you get back on. That’s life.”

So advised Dr. Richard Kebo, Executive Director of Surfrider Spirit Sessions, at Wednesday night’s Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program guest lecture held on campus.

The Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership lecture series invites business and community leaders, including Hogan alumni, to Chaminade University to share their experiences in entrepreneurship and to impart words of wisdom, advice, and encouragement. The series aims to expose Chaminade students to real-world examples of entrepreneurial success in Hawaii, demonstrating how what they are learning leads to real career outcomes post-graduation.

The last Hogan lecture of the 2026 speaker series featured a former consultant to Hawaiian Airlines and current entrepreneur, educator, and nonprofit leader.

In his talk, Dr. Kebo told Hogan students that success in all areas of life depends on commitment, hard work, and approaching endeavors not with the mindset of what you can get out of it, but rather what you can give.

Kebo assumed the leadership role at Surfrider Spirit Sessions just four weeks before he visited Chaminade University. Surfrider Spirit Sessions, established 20 years ago, is a not-for-profit organization that engages and mentors adjudicated and at-risk youth through surfing, exposing troubled young people to the ocean’s healing and equalizing power and the determination it takes to learn to surf.

As in surfing, success in life, entrepreneurship, and career depends on perseverance, Kebo said, a lesson just as relevant to all of us as it is to the youth partners Surfrider Spirit works with.

You also must be willing to show up, get involved, and chase opportunities wherever they may turn up, he said.

“I’m a local boy,” Kebo told the Hogan students. “Us local kids, sometimes we don’t get as many opportunities, but I’ve figured out a way to find those opportunities, and it’s just getting involved.”

During his lecture, Kebo shared the struggles his own operations are currently experiencing.

He owns a local surfboard and paddle board manufacturing company that’s still fighting to turn a profit. Kebo took over as leader of Surfrider Spirit at a time when it’s increasingly struggling to find outside financial support to keep serving the community.

“As a nonprofit, you have to find funding,” Kebo said.

Furthermore, a spinoff nonprofit founded to financially support Surfrider Spirit, a cultural tour company called Royal Adventures, is facing its own challenges in the current downturn in Hawaii’s tourism industry. Royal Adventures markets ocean sports adventures and other excursions to tourists with an emphasis on culturally relevant activities, or activities that educate guests on Hawaiian culture and history.

The challenges are real, but Kebo remains undeterred, sharing several initiatives he and his team are working on to turn their difficulties around.

Facing a tough, competitive, and shrinking market in Waikiki, Royal Adventures is branching out, marketing tours to active military members on the island. The nonprofit is also pursuing potential partnerships with schools.

In addition, Royal Adventures reached out to other local nonprofits to seek room for collaboration and growth. This effort is now bearing fruit, he said, taking tourists away from Waikiki and into the mountains of Oahu, where partner organizations are getting them involved in ecological restoration and invasive species eradication.

Never underestimate the potential power of collaboration, he said. “If you can amplify the people that you are collaborating with, it’s a win-win situation all the way around,” Kebo said. “It’s not easy to do.”

‘Flipping the Script’

Kebo keeps busy running his manufacturing business while leading two nonprofits, as both organizations work to find firmer footing in a difficult economic climate. The adventure isn’t over, but Kebo reflected on his more than two decades of success in business and community involvement, and said he regrets nothing. 

One winning strategy for success, he said, is counterintuitive: when pursuing any venture, don’t think about money first.

He called it “flipping the script,” approaching new ventures thinking about “not what I could get, but what I could offer.” Money will come from the value of your output and contributions, he advised.

That, and perseverance.

“It’s like surfing,” he said. “If you want to catch that wave, you’ve got to commit.”

“The same thing with business.”

Poet Laureate of Hawai‘i Shares Stories, Spoken Word, and Fun Life Lessons

Chaminade University freshmen need to “keep things in perspective,” according to a celebrated pidgin poet and writer.

Lee A. Tonouchi is the author of several books, including the award-winning “Significant Moments in da Life of Oriental Faddah and Son: One Hawai‘i Okinawan Journal” and “Okinawan Princess: Da Legend of Hajichi Tattoos,” a children’s book that won the Skipping Stones Honor Award. He’s also edited an anthology of Hawaiian and Okinawan literature and wrote a renowned play.

Earlier this week, Tonouchi was invited to Chaminade’s campus to deliver a special lecture, the second in the CUH 100 course series. The CUH 100 seminar, required for all freshmen, is designed as an orientation to Chaminade life and scholarship in Hawai‘i.

Tonouchi kicked things off by entertaining the crowd with a lengthy retelling of one of his short stories, delivered entirely from memory. His specialty is literature that celebrates pidgin, the unique dialect endemic to these islands.

With wit and a sharp memory, he shared the story of when he first submitted his writing to a fiction contest held by Honolulu Magazine. He was the runner up, which he thought was pretty impressive, until a famous local writer informed him that he was “never going to win” because of his emphasis on pidgin words and phrases, as he recalled.

Tonouchi would go on to win the Honolulu Magazine fiction prize in 2004. He took those top honors again in 2006.

Regarding that famous writer he met and her discouraging words, Tonouchi said she never unfazed him; rather, he came out of that exchange more determined than ever to keep pursuing his passion for pidgin and the local culture.

“Can we fault her?” he asked the students of this famous writer. “Yes, you can still fault her,” he said, saying she not only behaved rudely, but she was also at fault for restricting her own imagination of what’s possible in local Hawai‘i literature.

His determination and hard work has paid off.

This past February, the State of Hawai‘i named Tonouchi the Hawai‘i Poet Laureate after a competitive review of contestants held by the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities, the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System.

He’ll carry the title of state Poet Laureate until 2029.

The honor comes with a stipend that funds his travels across Hawai‘i to share his poetry and lead writing workshops.

Tonouchi was also granted a fellowship by the Academy of American Poets.

Despite his long list of accomplishments, Tonouchi came across in his lecture as affable, funny, relaxed, and supremely confident. That energy resonated with the student audience.

“Da Pidgin Guerilla” (the nickname given to him by a former professor) spent the Wednesday lunch hour sharing stories, poems, and anecdotes from his childhood growing up in Hawai‘i to his eventual pursuit of a career as a poet, book author, and playwright.

He recalled how, as a child, he once tried looking up the pidgin word “bumbai” in the dictionary because his classmate didn’t know what it meant. Bumbai is a pidgin word that loosely translates to “later” and sometimes “or else.”

The pidgin poems and stories he shared with the Chaminade community celebrated rice, spam, relationships, and a zeal for life and art.

Noted for his activism in linguistic justice, Tonouchi shared that, growing up, it never dawned on him that he was a pidgin speaker or speaking pidgin; he was simply expressing himself, and he understood that he had the right to share this part of himself with the world, and not hide it.

“I was born pidgin, but I never know I was talking pidgin,” he said.