Chaminade University of Honolulu

Catholic

Chaminade University Receives $1.5 Million Gift for Student Leadership Development Program

A signature, four-year program for undergraduates — made possible with a $1.5 million gift from the Marianist Province of the United States — is slated to launch at Chaminade in fall 2018.

The Marianist Center for Leadership Development will stress learning and community building opportunities aimed at helping students grow as lifelong learners, civic-minded members of society — and leaders.

And it will be uniquely place-based, incorporating Marianist, Catholic and Hawaiian values and the principles of ethical leadership.

Dr. Lynn Babington, Chaminade president, noted that the university already counts it as its mission to teach ethical leaders today.

To accomplish that vision, Chaminade sponsors a number of leadership opportunities for students, from peer tutoring to student ambassador programs and from athletics to ministry.

Those programs, university administrators say, offer a strong foundation for Chaminade as it prepares to launch the new center, which aims to:

  • Offer undergraduates a differentiated growth opportunity.
  • Place experiential learning and civic engagement as the focal point of a rich course of study that will introduce students to a variety of leadership theories.
  • And encourage participants to practice effective leadership in their own communities.

The program, Babington said, “is all about development.”

“The Marianist Center for Student Leadership will deliver a core set of content and experiences through which students will learn about leadership models and develop the skills they need to positively impact and transform the world around them,” she said.

And it will foster new connections among diverse groups of students.

Participants in the program will bring different scholarly interests, ways of viewing the world, and opinions about what ethical leadership looks like. They’ll also bring different ideas about how to carry it out.

“It’s not enough in this day and age to know how to lead. You must know how to lead ethically,” said Father Martin Solma, SM, provincial of the Marianist Province of the United States. “Effective, ethical leadership is central to creating a more peaceful world for all.”

Of course, Chaminade celebrates a strong Marianist heritage that dates to the University’s founding. Those values will prove central at the new leadership center.

Students who complete the center’s four-year program will also earn a certificate of leadership development, and they’ll be versed on differing leadership models thanks to hands-on learning and assessments.

The center will be directed by Chaminade’s vice president for mission.

Read Dr. Lynn Babington’s Pacific Business News Interview here.

Dean Schroeder, Minister Fineisaloi, Biology Student Ignacio Receive Founders’ Week Heritage Awards

As a highlight of Founders’ Week activities at Chaminade University, Vice President for Mission and Rector Bro. Edward Brink, S.M. presented the annual Heritage Awards to faculty and staff members and a student for their continuous commitment to Marianist values.

Receiving the Chaminade Award at the Founders’ Eucharist for exhibiting “traits of openness, hospitality, graciousness and faith in a loving God” was School of Business and Communication Dean Scott Schroeder.

“Colleagues describe Scott as gracious and welcoming,” Bro. Ed said. “His openness to new ideas and suggestions points to his collaborative style of leadership.” Students who worked with Dr. Schroeder describe him as “thoughtful, caring and approachable” and able to motivate and inspire them, Bro. Ed added.

A Marianist Educational Associate since 2014, Dr. Schroeder was a postdoctoral fellow in the Management and Leadership in Education Institute at Harvard University. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA, an M.B.A. from Arizona State University and a B.A. from Santa Clara University.

Dr. Schroeder donated the $250 cash award he received to the Accounting Student Scholarship Fund. This in memory of founding accounting faculty member and longtime Chaminade trustee James Wong, who attributed his success in life to the influence and hospitality of the Marianists dating back to his high school days.

Receiving the Marianist Award was Maimoa Fineisaloi, Minister for Peace and Justice with the Campus Ministry team. Bro. Ed praised her for “drawing others into the challenge of building a collaborative community, and commitment to the vision and mission of Chaminade University.”

“A nominator of Maimoa pointed to her work with the Feeding the Hungry program at Next Step Shelter as an example of her advocacy for justice,” Bro. Ed noted. “She is quiet and yet consistent in her efforts. She hopes to lead others to take action in support of those who are in need within our local community and beyond.”

Fineisaloi, who became a Marianist Educational Associate in 2014, earned a M.S. in Counseling Psychology and a B.A. in Psychology from Chaminade. She donated her cash award to the campus Micronesian Club and the Tales and Treats program, in which students read to children at community centers and provide them with nutritious snacks.

Presented with the Founders’ Award was student Vanessa Ignacio, who maintains a 3.4 Grade Point Average while majoring in Biology major and minoring in Chemistry. After graduating from Chaminade, Ignacio will attend A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri. She eventually intends to practice family medicine on the Big Island.

“One of Vanessa’s nominators referred to her as the ‘epitome of a servant leader’ and indicated that Vanessa was able to see the presence of God in the people who are part of her journey here at Chaminade,” Bro. Ed said.

“Vanessa knows that it is a privilege to journey with others towards God,” and friends describe her as “devoted, faithful, loving, caring, down-to earth, strong, independent and reliable.”

A member of the Eia Kou Makuahine Student Marianist Lay community, Ignacio serves as the Filipino Club social chair. She also served as a Vice President for Student Government and as Rectoress on the university’s Awakening Retreat.

Ignacio designated her cash award to support Campus Ministry, which has “given me priceless memories, unending joy and a lifetime family,” she said.

Chaminade Holds ‘Prayer for Healing and Peace’ Interfaith Service

In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre and natural disasters in Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas, Chaminade University held a “Prayer for Healing and Peace” interfaith service in the campus Mystical Rose Oratory.

Chaminade Vice President for Mission and Rector Bro. Edward Brink, S.M. described the Oct. 6 gathering as “an opportunity for healing, reflection , and comfort.”

A homily/reflection by Deacon Michael Weaver pondered the question of how God could have let the Las Vegas shootings and catastrophic hurricanes occur. Deacon Weaver emphasized that “God was there” when first responders rushed to help the shooting victims. And “God was there” in the global outpouring of aid relief following the deadly hurricanes.

Campus Ministry Director Bro. Allen Pacquing, S.M. shared a quotation from Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, who counseled that  “you will find peace for your soul through prayer.” Bro. Allen also pointed out that Bishop Joseph Pepe of Las Vegas urged people to “stand together in the face of violence because we cannot let hate and violence have the last word.”

The service also featured prayers for peace from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist religions offered by Nashawna Smith, Dr. Hank Trapido-Rosenthal (Associate Professor of Biology), Adam Perez and Lisa Furuta.

Concluding the interfaith gathering was a pledge for peace and candle-lighting ceremony. The pledge proclaimed “our firm conviction that violence and terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion,” while calling for mutual respect and esteem “to help bring about a peaceful coexistence between people of different ethnic groups, cultures and religions.”

Students with Hogan Entrepreneurs Program Raise Funds for Marianist School in Puerto Rico

The Oct. 11 kickoff event for this year’s Hogan Entrepreneurs Program at Chaminade University raised funds to assist a Marianist school impacted by Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm that caused catastrophic damage and power outages in Puerto Rico.

2017 Kickoff and Fundraiser

Students from the Hogan program’s 16th class collected more than $1,000 in donations for the school, Colegio San José. Established in 1938, this private institution in Rio Piedras educates boys in grades six through 12.

“Helping a Marianist school in its time of need is truly in keeping with our mission of social responsibility,” said Hogan Director John Webster. “After all, our motto is: Doing business things that make social sense. Doing social things that make business sense.”

The Hogan one- or two-year certificate program cultivates the entrepreneurial spirit in students through activities such as lectures, mentorships and study missions to China and India. The program is open to all Chaminade undergraduates and graduates, regardless of their majors.

Marianists Celebrate 200th Anniversary of Foundation

Members of the Society of Mary (Marianists) marked the 200th anniversary of their religious order’s foundation with an Oct. 2 liturgy at Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu. The ceremony also honored the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (Marianist Sisters) for their 201 years of service.

The cathedral, designated as a National Historic Landmark, was an appropriate setting for the bicentennial celebration, in that a Eucharist was held there in 1883 to give thanks for the Marianists’ safe arrival in Hawaii. The brothers and priests went on to staff and administer Saint Louis School on Oahu and St. Anthony School on Maui.

The Marianist family was established two centuries ago as the Roman Catholic Church struggled to rebuild following widespread persecution during the French Revolution.

Venerable Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon formed the Daughters of Mary Immaculate in 1816 in Agen, France, with a mission of caring for the poor.

The following year, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade established the Society of Mary in Bordeaux, France. The original community was comprised of seven young men who desired to “consecrate themselves to God and to Mary by the vows of religion.”

Two hundred years later, Marianists serve in 26 countries on five continents. Embracing education as a means of uplifting society, the Marianists founded the University of Dayton in 1850, St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 1852, and Chaminade University of Honolulu in 1955.

Chaminade Holding ‘Prayer for Healing and Peace’ Interfaith Service in Wake of Las Vegas Massacre

To bring the Honolulu community together in the wake of the massacre in Las Vegas and natural disasters in Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas, Chaminade University will hold a “Prayer for Healing and Peace” interfaith service. This public event is set for 12:30 p.m. Friday, October 6, in the campus Mystical Rose Oratory.

“We invite everyone who was touched by these tragedies to join us in praying for the many victims and their loved ones,” said Chaminade Vice President for Mission and Rector Bro. Edward Brink, S.M. He described the gathering as “an opportunity for healing, reflection and comfort.”

“Blessed William Joseph Chaminade counseled that  ‘you will find peace for your soul through prayer,’” Bro. Ed pointed out. “Moreover, Bishop Joseph Pepe of Las Vegas reminded us this week to ‘stand together in the face of violence, because we cannot let hate and violence have the last word.’”

The prayer service is presented by Campus Ministry.

Click here for more info.