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Fryxell Named Faculty Athletics Representative

HONOLULU – Chaminade University Athletics announced Friday the appointment of Dale Fryxell, Ph.D., as the new Faculty Athletics Representative. He will serve as the liaison between the faculty and athletics department and will report directly to Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington to ensure academic integrity and the welfare of student-athletes.

Dr. Dale Fryxell, Dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences

A member of the Chaminade faculty for over 25 years, Fryxell, a psychology professor, is in his sixth year as the Dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. He was previously the Dean of Education before the department merged with the School of Behavioral Science a few years ago. He teaches a sports psychology course for those who are interested in coaching or other aspects of athletics and exercise.

Fryxell participated in football, basketball and track & field in high school and earned an athletic scholarship as a freshman pole-vaulter at Augustana College. He has also coached in many youth leagues in football, basketball, baseball and soccer.

An avid sports fan, Fryxell has attended many Silverswords’ sporting events over the years and knows first-hand the experience of being a parent of a ‘Swords student-athlete; his daughter, Kelli, was a member of the women’s soccer team from 2015 to ’17. He was also on the faculty/staff basketball team which defeated several student squads en-route to the Chaminade 3-on-3 intramural championship in 2018.

Fryxell earned his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota, Master’s degree at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Hawai’i Manoa, the latter where he also earned his Ph.D.

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Media Contact:
Kevin Hashiro
Sports Information Director, Chaminade University of Honolulu
[email protected]
808-739-8579 (o)

Challenges of 2020 Pave the Way for Entrepreneurship

The Chaminade University Hogan Entrepreneurial Program officially kicked off its 2020-2021 school year on October 14, 2020.

The program held a virtual kickoff celebration for Chaminade leaders, faculty and staff; current Hogan students and alumni; and Hogan advisors, mentors and lecturers. As part of the celebration, the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program and American Savings Bank also announced the winners of their 2020 Nonprofit Business Plan Competition.

The Hogan Entrepreneurial Program at Chaminade University is a one- or two-year program for Chaminade students to learn successful entrepreneurial skills. Students participate in weekly lectures with guest speakers, network with Hawaii’s top business leaders and learn how to turn a business idea into a successful startup.

This year’s program seems incredibly timely as businesses across the state struggle with the economic impacts of COVID-19 restrictions. Some experts estimate that Hawaii’s economy will be one of the hardest hit. With the summer tourism season essentially canceled, Hawaii saw an unemployment rate of 23.5 percent—more than 10 percent higher than the national average. And while the islands are slowly beginning to reopen to visitors, one study recently named Hawaii as the worst state for unemployment recovery.

These struggles provided an opportunity for business leaders to pass down timely advice to this year’s Hogan participants.

Gary Hogan speaking at the virtual Hogan Entrepreneurial Program virtual kickoff event

“For the students out there: keep the faith,” said Gary Hogan, Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiian Hotels & Resorts and President of Royal Pacific Air Charters, Pleasant Aircraft Leasing LLC. “Things are going to get better. It’s going to take a while, but we will all get back together as a family again.”

Hogan continued by encouraging students to remain flexible because as this year has shown, you never know what is going to happen next.

“You can see things can change in an instance,” advised Hogan. “What you think is going to be successful and what you have planned may not be. Things change.”

Both Hogan and Dr. Lynn Babington, President of Chaminade University, pointed out that there will be a lot of good case studies for the students to learn from this year as businesses pivoted to adapt.

“We are in a time of opportunity to continue learning and creating new and interesting and dynamic changes as things move forward,” said Dr. Babington. “It’s a great time to be in the entrepreneurial space.”

Rich Wacker speaking at the virtual Hogan Entrepreneurial Program virtual kickoff event

Richard Wacker, the President and Chief Executive Officer of American Savings Bank, used the tourism industry struggles to highlight the importance of programs like Hogan, and to motivate the students to get creative and innovate.

“We know that our economy today is too dependent on the hospitality sector,” said Wacker. “It’s a wonderful business and it’s a great strength of Hawaii…but we have to be more than that. We have to be more diverse and resilient. The way we get there is through entrepreneurship and innovation.”

Wacker sees an opportunity for Hawaii to lead innovation in areas like clean energy, ocean studies, sustainable agriculture and digital media. But, he says, in order for businesses to succeed in Hawaii, we have to be all in.

“Doing business in Hawaii is not a spectator sport,” said Wacker. “We don’t have enough leadership, we don’t have enough businesses to have anybody on the sideline. Succeeding for the state, in our state, requires everyone to be in the game.”

The finalists of this year’s Nonprofit Business Plan Competition were a great example of Hawaii community members coming together to innovate and make Hawaii a stronger, more resilient community.

Forty organizations submitted proposals for new programs that would benefit society, eight were selected as finalists and presented their ideas to a panel of judges and four were announced as winners at the October 14 event.

IHS - winners of the 2020 Nonprofit Business Plan Competition

The first place prize of $12,000 went to the Institute for Human Services for a new program that will offer medically-monitored and clinically-managed high-intensity residential substance abuse detox services. It will be the first program of its kind in Hawaii.

The second place prize of $10,000 was presented to Family Hui Hawaii for their new pilot Hui in the Workplace program. The initiative offers corporations a 12-week peer-led program for employees that explore the joys and challenges of raising young children. The program has been proven to help enhance employee retention and productivity and support a culture of caring and wellness in the workplace.

Other winners included the Assistive Technology Resource Centers of Hawaii for their new program, The Music Club, that creates a safe space for individuals with disabilities to make music, and the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council for their pilot program that uses oysters to address sediment pollution on coral reefs.

“We learned so many things about the diligent efforts of quality entrepreneurs from all over our islands,” said Roy Panzarella, Director of the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program when introducing this year’s competition. “This competition, according to one of our judges, was one of the best to date.”

Mackey Lecture Explores Racism

Father Alapaki Kim knows a thing or two about racism. His paternal grandfather emigrated to Hawaii from Korea to work on the pineapple plantations. His paternal grandmother arrived as a mail order bride. Together they had eight children, one of whom was his father who married his Native Hawaiian mother.

He identifies as half Korean and half Hawaiian and he is the pastor of the largest Hawaiian parish, St. Rita’s Parish. His parish is on Hawaiian Homelands in Nanakuli, Oahu and celebrates both Hawaiian culture and Catholicism. They’ve found a way to seamlessly integrate the two.

Father Kim focused on his Hawaiian heritage as this year’s Mackey Lecture speaker, a lecture series that continues the legacy of Father Robert Mackey, founder and first president of Chaminade University.

This year’s lecture focused on racism in Hawaii, a timely discussion given current national events and sentiments. Chaminade students, faculty and staff joined St. Louis School, the Marianist Center of Hawaii and the general public to view the lecture, streamed as a YouTube video because of pandemic social distancing requirements.

Kapono Ryan, a lay community member, set the stage for an open and honest exploration of racism by sharing a prayer of humility and hope. “All of us have our personal ignorances and arrogances,” said Ryan. “Forgive us. We humbly ask for your mercy and for your discernment, understanding and wisdom. May this session awaken in us a new way…such a way that we can respond to each other with greater humility and greater love.”

Right off the bat, Fr. Kim created common ground by acknowledging that throughout history racism has affected people of all skin colors.

“In the U.S., it’s not just people of color who have suffered racism. The Irish did when they first came. The Italians did. The Jews did. The Chinese came to build railroads, and Chinese children weren’t able to receive an education until priests and nuns violated laws in San Francisco.”

But, he says, people of Native American and African American heritage have experienced the worst of it. He followed with an example of the horrific treatment of the people of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who protested the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Despite so many ethnic communities having similar histories based on discrimination, we struggle to find common ground when discussing systemic racism. “If we don’t have the same experiences, we have a hard time understanding,” says Fr. Kim.

But to Fr. Kim, the key to understanding is through education. That was what inspired him during this year’s Mackey Lecture about racism in Hawaii.

Fr. Kim took participants on a journey through Native Hawaiian history. Because, as he mentioned during the question and answer session at the end, “If we don’t know, we cannot empathize.”

Along the way, he used poignant examples to help everyone relate to Native Hawaiian experiences.

For example, when describing Hawaii’s first constitution in 1843, he explained that the constitution introduced division of land for the first time in Hawaii. “Hawaiians didn’t own land, they believed land was their grandmother,” he explains. “How can you sell your grandmother?”

Throughout the lecture, Fr. Kim spoke from experience. He has experienced racism and has seen it in his community throughout his whole life. And his upbringing was shaped by the racism his mother experienced as a child.

His mother grew up in a household that only spoke Hawaiian. By the time she went to grade school in the 1920s, Hawaiian was her primary language. One day, after speaking in Hawaiian with her cousin on the playground, a teacher called them over.

“She called them ignorant and stupid in front of all the kids,” says Fr. Kim. “Hawaiians were not rugged individualists at the time, and did not like to be singled out for praise or to be chastised. My mother was horrified.” The teacher then began to beat the two girls in front of the whole school.

The trauma his mother carried as a result was lasting. She hardly ever spoke in Hawaiian when he was young. His grandmother was the one that taught him his native language. She would come and stay at their home for a while and speak only in Hawaiian. But as soon as she left, his mother would pull him aside and say ‘you don’t talk that, it’s bad luck.’

As a young priest on the Big Island of Hawaii, Fr. Kim witnessed a family be evicted from lands they had lived on since before the arrival of Captain Cook. Their land had become Hawaiian Kingdom government lands earlier in history, but they were still allowed to live on it. Eventually, the lands became part of a seeded land trust which came under jurisdiction of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), and when they found the deed they handed it over to the National Park Service.

Suddenly, the National Park Service was telling the ‘ohana what they could and couldn’t do with their land. For centuries they had relied on a loi kalo and a fish pond for food. But the park service said that was no longer allowed.

“They ignored it, because it was how they got their food,” explains Fr. Kim. “Eventually the DLNR police came and evicted the family in riot gear. Now, the National Park Service brings tourists there to show them how Hawaiians used to live.”

With systemic racism dominating conversations across the U.S., Fr. Kim says the first step we can take is to educate ourselves. Once we understand the historical context of what is happening, then we can determine how we best fit in to tackling the issue of racism. And as Christians, it’s our duty to do the work.

“As Christians, we are called to stand for equal rights in racial issues and religious issues,” says Fr. Kim. “Jesus tells us that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. He also says if you say you love God but you hate your neighbor, you’re a liar. God chose to become human…therefore we must love our brothers and sisters, that’s a requirement. If we don’t love them, we can’t love God.”

Mackey Marianist Lecture: “Racism in Hawaii: A Faith Response”

Economics, Democracy and Entrepreneurship

Over decades of work as an educator and activist, Li Schoolland ’88 has appeared before young professionals in fledgling democracies around the globe to underscore the importance of cherishing—and fighting to preserve—freedom and to offer a path forward in crafting a free market future.

She counts among her former students the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania, along with countless policymakers, advocates and leaders of non-governmental organizations across Eastern Europe, China, the Middle East and elsewhere. Last year, she was on the road for 200 days—traveling to 24 countries.

Schoolland, speaking from her Waipahu home on a recent day, says she’s driven by two passions in life.

“One is God,” she says. “One is liberty.”

And even amid the pandemic, with traveling out of the question, she’s continued her work. In September, she was preparing to speak to virtual classrooms in Africa, China and Europe via Zoom, a medium that she admits took some getting used to but that she’s proud to have since mastered.

Schoolland accomplishes her work thanks to loose affiliations with a number of international organizations and strong relationships with an army of economists worldwide. She says she doesn’t ask for speaking fees—and kindly requests that they all do the same.

In return, she says, she gets to see the positive impact of her work.

“Coming from a Communist country inspired me to help,” she said.

Schoolland grew up in China, the daughter of a surgeon and a professor, and says she saw the cruel injustices of authoritarian Communist rule firsthand. When she moved to the United States in the 1980s, she vowed to do whatever she could to promote liberal economics and do some good in the world.

After completing a Master’s degree in Japanese literature at the University of Minnesota, Schoolland made her way to the islands to enroll in Chaminade’s Master’s degree in Japanese Business Studies. She describes the program, which was offered through a corporate partnership, as “intense” and immersive.

“The experience was very valuable,” she said. “Six days of classes and a lot of homework.”

As part of the degree, she was able to complete a three-month internship in Japan. She was interested in retail so sought an internship at a department store. During her time there, she helped the merchandising department develop a new brand that launched in the store.

After graduation, Schoolland remained in retail, working with Duty Free and then starting her own business as an art dealer. She also worked with a Japanese development company into the early 1990s.

The crash of the Japanese economy in 1991, though, changed the course of her life.

The business she worked for had to liquidate and Schoolland found herself with a new purpose: as the caregiver to elderly relatives. She went back into the workplace seven years later, as a teacher. By then, she wasn’t interested in the hectic, round-the-clock world of development or retail. She wanted a position that would allow her to spend time, especially the holidays, with her family.

Schoolland found a teaching position at Punahou, where her daughter was attending school.

And during breaks, she and her daughter would try to squeeze in as much travel as they could.

At every destination, Schoolland would wear her teaching hat, sharing what she knew with others.

That wanderlust grew into a mission: Schoolland and her husband, also an economist, started coordinating educational camps and conferences for young professionals. Oftentimes, the events were in partnership with local universities. The topics: Free market economics and democracy.

Schoolland’s work has taken her across Eastern Europe, from Lithuania to Latvia to Estonia to Poland.

About 10 years ago, she was delighted to finally set up an event in China. She partnered with Northeastern University there and developed a summer school program with about 100 students. Last year, more than 200 students attended to hear well-known economists from around the world.

The speakers, she said, “sacrifice and they don’t get paid” to attend the events.

So far this year, Schoolland has had to cancel more than seven trips internationally. That hasn’t discouraged her. If anything, it has redoubled her resolve to promote market economics, democracy and entrepreneurship. She said she can’t wait to get back on the road (and in the air) when she’s able to.

Lifelong Learner

By the time Lysa Rutledge decided to go back to school, she already had an extensive career under her belt and was approaching retirement. But getting her master’s was the perfect gateway to her long-time dream: becoming a teacher.

Lysa Rutledge, MSCJA '20

Rutledge first attended Chaminade as an undergraduate student over 20 years ago. She was in the Army at the time, stationed at Schofield Barracks, and enrolled for Chaminade’s on-base program. She graduated in 2000 with a degree in psychology and a minor in criminal justice.

At the time, Rutledge wanted to become a probation officer. She has family members that work in corrections in her home state of California, and she wanted a career that would make a difference. Her first job after graduating was as a case manager with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in California. And from there, her passion grew.

“My initial motivation was to get case management experience,” says Rutledge. “I wanted to be a probation officer and in federal probation they want you to have at least three years of case management experience. I ended up really enjoying working for the Bureau so I stayed with it. I’ve had a great career.”

As a case manager, Rutledge felt like she could really have an impact on the lives of the individuals she worked with. Her job was to work with inmates, review their progress and help them prepare for release and reentry into society. Essentially, she was a social worker in a prison setting. She’s always had an interest in social work and being a case manager was a way for her to tap into that passion.

“I was a case manager for ten years,” says Rutledge. “All of my inmates were females…they are eventually going to get out and go into our communities, and it was just a sense of responsibility to help these women come out and be better citizens in society. I would come across these women who have never had opportunities, and it’s really rewarding. It’s just very rewarding.”

Rutledge worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in California for 16 years. But in 2016, when an opportunity to return to Hawaii presented itself, Rutledge jumped at the chance.

“I came here on a promotion,” says Rutledge. “When I had the opportunity to come back, I kind of jumped at it. I love living here.”

Lysa Rutledge, MSCJA '20

Rutledge now works at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Hawaii. She’s a case management coordinator and is part of the management team. She oversees the receiving and discharge department and supervises all of the case managers.

It’s a hard time to work in federal law enforcement with so much divisiveness in communities across the country. But being in Hawaii and working in corrections, Rutledge has felt fairly removed from a lot of that.

“It does affect us, what happens on the streets every day with the police officers, but what affects us more are the policy changes,” says Rutledge. “Fortunately, in Hawaii, we don’t see as much of what goes on in the mainland. I have heard different things about what goes on with different parts of the country, some people feel they can’t wear their uniform to and from work. I haven’t found that here in Hawaii.”

If anything, Rutledge has encountered a more welcoming and supportive community in Hawaii. There’s also more support for those with a criminal past.

“I feel like there’s so much community support and so many resources for ex-offenders here,” she says. “It’s just part of the Hawaiian culture of helping out. All of the resources we can get in the community definitely help these inmates with reentry and make my job a lot easier.”

She’s also noticed a difference in the inmates she works with—they’re less aggressive in Hawaii than what she encountered on the mainland.

She enrolled in the Chaminade’s Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration program in 2017, and will graduate in December. Her motivation was mostly one of self-improvement—after an extensive career, she wasn’t looking for job growth. She was looking to learn and to expand her knowledge so that she could one day teach criminal justice.

“I feel like I have so much experience in corrections that I would like to teach undergraduates,” says Rutledge. “That’s what motivated me to get my master’s degree.”

But the program also helped give her a better understanding of her role at the Bureau and the policies they abide by.

“It has helped me with my writing skills and just kind of opening my eyes to what’s out there in the new age of corrections and law enforcement,” describes Rutledge. “With a lot of things that we do at the Bureau, I really see how they come out from laws that have passed or grievances that have gone to the supreme court. It’s neat to see where the policies and the laws have come from. For me, that’s been really interesting.” 

It hasn’t been easy to go back to school after 20 years in the workforce. She’s had to retrain herself to be a student and reestablish her study skills. But having a core group of supportive and knowledgeable professors has really helped. And even though most of her classmates are a lot younger and are just starting their careers, Rutledge has enjoyed hearing their perspectives.

“It was really nice to see and interact with that young perspective,” says Rutledge. “And I think they enjoyed picking my brain as well. There are actually two Chaminade students that just became corrections officers and joined the Bureau because I helped guide them. It’s nice to be able to recruit people in.”

Rutledge plans to retire from the Federal Bureau of Prisons in four years, and when she does, she’d love to come back to Chaminade—this time as a professor.

NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program

Two Chaminade students, Eri Leong ’23 and Andrew Ancheta ’21 were accepted into the 2020–2021 class of NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program (NUFP). Hosted by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) in Higher Education, the highly competitive fellowship gives students from traditionally underrepresented and historically disenfranchised communities a chance to learn more about careers in student affairs and higher education.

Eri Leong '23, 2020–2021 class of NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program
Eri Leong ’23

Students apply together with a mentor from their home university, and spend one year participating in on-campus mentorship, professional development events and scholarship opportunities.

For her mentor, Leong chose Allison Jerome, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Chaminade. “She seems to be brilliant at everything she does, and if I were to become a student affairs professional, I would want to embody that brilliance of hers as much as possible” says Leong when asked about her decision. “I chose Dean Allison because I look up to her immensely and I know she has an incredible amount of information to guide me with.”

Ancheta had similar praise for the mentor he selected, Joseph Granado, Chaminade’s Director of Student Activities and Leadership. “It is easy to tell that Joseph genuinely wants to see all of his students succeed,” says Ancheta. “He knows how to connect with them, how to understand them, and most importantly, how to challenge them to reach for the stars that they desire. He is a great inspiration to many.”

Leong and Ancheta both felt connected to the organization’s mission: to increase the number of historically disenfranchised and underrepresented professionals in student affairs and/or higher education, including but not limited to those of racial and ethnic-minority background; those having a disability; and those identifying as LGBTQ. And they both see student affairs as a potential long-term career path.

“I’ve always loved helping people and student affairs is a profession that has the joy of getting to do that everyday,” says Leong. “I’m drawn to the possibility of having a profession that allows me to assist the next generation in flourishing into the best possible versions of themselves.”

Andrew Ancheta '21, 2020–2021 class of NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program (NUFP)
Andrew Ancheta ’21

“My lifelong journey is one of self-improvement,” explains Ancheta. “I am really just hoping to gain the tools and skills that will help me be successful in improving lives. I want to walk with others on their journey toward self-discovery, internal reflection and professional development.”

Leong and Ancheta will have access to the entire Student Affairs division at Chaminade and gain a better understanding of what a profession in student affairs entails. They’ll also participate in the regional NASPA conference that will be held in November.

Although the conference will be virtual, they’re both excited about the networks they’ll create with students from other universities.

“I’m looking forward to meeting and connecting with other NUFP members,” says Leong. “People-oriented is a characteristic I heavily consider myself to have, so with every new experience I’m always looking forward to the people I get to meet and learn from.”

Similarly, Ancheta says: “As someone who was born and raised in the beautiful state of Hawaii, it is not too often that I hear fresh perspectives. Hearing new stories from new people is a great way to continue the development of my own personal outlook on life situations, social issues, etc.”

In the meantime, they’re just excited to continue learning from their mentors and gaining new insight into student affairs as a profession.

“As [Joseph’s] NUFP mentee, I am looking forward to learning more about all of the skills, techniques, and methods that he has picked up throughout his years as a student affairs professional,” says Ancheta. “I have absolute confidence that I will continue to learn from him.”