Chaminade University of Honolulu

Institutional

Dean’s Speaker Series

Eric Fujimoto ’94 advises students to persevere and show humility

The best rate of return and the stock market ticker symbol to keep a close eye on is YOU or ME. Sage advice from Ho‘ea Wealth Advisory Group Principal Eric Fujimoto, the guest speaker of the School of Business and Communication’s inaugural Dean’s Speaker Series. In his address to students, the 1994 Chaminade MBA graduate and Board of Regents member advised attendees to double down and invest in themselves.  

“There is nothing wrong with making money,” said Fujimoto, who was ranked Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors and #1 in Hawai‘i and Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors from 2018-2023. “But, do it ethically and use it to better your community. Shift the focus from money to people.”  

The Dean’s Speaker Series is designed to bring private, nonprofit and public sector leaders who have achieved recognition in their respective fields to share their expertise and insights on a broad range of timely issues, as well as share the highlights, challenges and turning points of their individual career paths.

The intent of the forum is to bring a diversity of social, cultural, economic and other business-related perspectives to the Chaminade community in order to engage in ways that inform and encourage sustainable business for good.  

Ho‘ea Wealth Advisory Group Principal Eric Fujimoto Eric Fujimoto shared his story and advice with students.

“The impetus for the Series is to provide co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for students to augment what they are learning in the classrooms with relevant and high-impact experiences,” said School of Business and Communication Interim Dean Annette Santos. “Ultimately, this event has an underlying call to action to students who are reminded that they are empowered to create a sustainable future that reflects the values and the priorities of their communities through the knowledge they glean from their educational experience at Chaminade.”  

Awarded the US Small Business Administration’s Small Business Person of the Year for the City and County of Honolulu in 2020, Fujimoto’s wealth of experience not only includes offering solid financial advice to his clients, but also serving as a member of various nonprofit organizations, including Drug Free Hawai‘i, Central Union Church and, one that he is particularly eager to help, Unity Prom, which is an effort to provide students with disabilities the experience of a normal high school prom.  

“We were the students and they were the teachers,” said Fujimoto, choking up in a video address that he played during his Monday evening talk. “The Ho‘ea Foundation is a proud sponsor of this event, which gives these high schools the chance to enjoy what other kids their age experience every year. And we’re always looking for dates, so if anyone wants to be a prom date, contact her—pointing to Jill Higashi, Chaminade’s Assistant Vice President of Advancement.”  

After Fujimoto’s talk, freshman baseball player Jacob Villacorte said he learned a lot, and the message of perseverance and giving back to the community especially meant a lot to him. “There were things I didn’t know about,” said Villacorte. “It was a good learning experience.”  

Consistent with Chaminade’s mission of community service, the Speakers Series is framed around the theme, “Sustainable Business for Good,” which also aligns with Chaminade’s CIFAL designation. Speakers are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to transforming lives and advancing communities.  

“I’ve had the privilege to visit other universities, but Chaminade is the only one where you feel a sense of community that genuinely wants you to succeed,” Fujimoto said. “The people here care about you; they put great ideas in front of you; so you were right to choose Chaminade.”  

Santos hopes students will feel the same way after they attend the Speakers Series.  

“There are several takeaways that I hope will resonate with students,” Santos said. “The first is to be inspired by the personal and professional journey of the featured speakers in ways that enhance their educational experience; the second is to understand that personal and professional growth is a process that involves challenges and turning points on the way to wins and transformation; and the third is to provide opportunities for them to build their network, possibly creating meaningful connections with speakers or those in attendance.”  

Gesturing as if he was steering a car on the H-1 freeway, Fujimoto made one final point to the students: they are in the driver’s seat and they determine the course of their destiny. “If you were just to turn the car by one degree, what do you think would happen,” he posed to the students. “You will end up at a different destination.”        

HaSTA Conference

Sixtieth Annual Conference themed ‘Aina, A.I. and the Next Generation of Science Teaching’

After attending a series of workshops over the summer, Shawna “Kumu” Nishimoto, Tina Chan and Clarissa Tores developed engaging curriculum for their students, teaching them the importance of place-based/‘āina-based learning, especially as it relates to our ahupuaʻa.

In a breakout session during the 60th Annual Hawai’i Science Teaching Association (HaSTA) conference, the three middle school educators presented “Creating Stewards of the ‘Āina,” an hourlong discussion that focused on incorporating Native Hawaiian practices into the field of science.  

“Attending the M2M:WET, which stands for ‘Mauka to Makai: Watershed Experience for Teachers,’ helped me deepen my knowledge of watersheds and our ahupuaʻa system,” said Nishimoto ʻ22, who teaches at Ilima Intermediate School. “In this six-day, eighth-grade unit, students had to investigate the ability of tilapia to survive in different types of water to develop an understanding of adaptations and natural selection.”  

Bringing the tilapia to the classroom and separating them into three different aquariums—some in fresh water, others in salt water and the third in brackish waters—Nishimoto had her students test the waters’ salinity with a Monitor Test that she learned how to use during Chaminade’s M2M:WET workshops.  

HaSTA communications director Gail Peiterson, left, and Dr. Katrina Roseler at HaSTA’s 60th Annual Conference at McKinley High School.

“They all said ‘No Way!’ How could the tilapia survive in salt water,” Nishimoto told attendees. “It really engaged them because it opened a lot of self-questioning and peer-questioning.”  

Thanks to a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Chaminade’s Teacher Preparation Programs Director and Education Associate Professor, Dr. Katrina Roseler, and Environmental Sciences Assistant Professor, Lupita Ruiz-Jones, Ph.D., were able “to enhance the capacity of Hawaii’s secondary science teachers to engage their students in ahupua‘a education and cultivate stewardship.”    

The summer workshops aligned with NOAA’s Bay Watershed Education (B-WET) initiative, an environmental education program that promotes place-based experiential learning for K–12 students and related professional development for teachers.  

“If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to take your students to Kapapapuhi Point (formerly called West Loch Community Shoreline Park), where they can help restore vegetation, remove invasive species and learn about the mo‘olelo of the place,” said Chan, who teaches at Highlands Intermediate School. “The goal is to create future stewards of our ‘āina.”  

In her “Malama ‘Aina—To Care & Honor The Land,” Clarissa Torres detailed the learning outcomes for her Mililani Middle students. At the end of her class, she said they should be able to define or explain the term ahupua‘a; describe the  Native Hawaiian’s view of the importance of streams; observe positive and negative human impact on ecosystems; and create their own solutions based on their new knowledge of ahupua‘a systems.  

Running through her PowerPoint presentation, Torres stopped on a slide with a salmon image that linked to the “Salmon Survival Board Game” developed by NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region. “The salmon could easily be substituted with one of our local indigenous fishes,” says Torres, ’20 (Bachelor’s in biology) and ’22 (Master of Arts in Teaching). “The dice game goes through the life cycle of the salmon and shows the many manmade and natural challenges throughout their lives. It really brings into question what we could do to help fish, in this instance salmon, survive in the open waters.”  

Although they weren’t presenting at the Saturday morning conference, Chaminade students Paige Garcia ’24, Gabe Zapata-Berrios ’24, Naomi Noguchi ’24, Madisyn Polendey, ’25, Kylie Ye ’25 and Kelsey Davidson ’24, attended the “‘Aina, A.I., and the Next Generation of Science of Teaching” to build connections with other educators.  

“It exposes us to teachers who are already in the field,” Garcia said. “We get to network and learn about resources that we might not be aware exist.”  

Also present was Jessica Mountz, a participant in the M2M:WET summer program. “The main drive for participating in the workshops was to better understand Hawaii culture and its relevance in teaching science,” said the Hanalani Schools high school teacher. “It was also a great avenue to connecting with other teachers and resources.”              

Out on a Limb

Elena Chen wants to help people walk again

Elena Chen and a fellow graduate student help an amputee with his prosthetic leg.

She vividly remembers the moment when she knew that she wanted to pursue her higher education in prosthetics. While a sophomore volunteer at Shriners Children’s Hawaii, Elena Chen ’21 witnessed something less than a miracle, as she describes it.  

“I saw a young kid get a second chance to run again,” Chen recalls. “After putting on a leg prosthetic, he got up and I’ll never forget the smile on his face; it was awesome to see.”  

Now attending the International Institute of Orthotics and Prosthetics in Tampa, Fla., Chen is working towards her master’s degree in Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P), a specialized health care profession that combines technical and clinical skills to care for patients with neuromuscular and musculoskeletal disorders and/or patients who have a partial or total absence of a limb.  

“I graduated with my bachelor’s in Forensic Science, which I really wanted a career in,” Chen says. “But when I learned about the field of prosthetics and orthotics, it personally connected with me because I know someone whose leg was amputated because of cancer.”  

Prostheses (artificial legs and hands) and orthoses (braces and splints) enable people with physical impairments or functional limitations to live healthy, productive, independent and dignified lives, and to participate in education, the labor market and social life. The use of prostheses or orthoses can reduce the need for formal health care, support services, long-term care and caregivers.  

“Prostheses and orthoses give people a second chance to perform activities that they once loved, like running, for instance,” Chen says. “When you lose your leg, you can quickly take a downward spiral into deep depression, which causes a persistent feeling of sadness and disinterest.”  

Without access to prostheses or orthoses, people who need them are often excluded, isolated and locked into poverty, which increases the burden of morbidity and disability. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that Member States—to which the U.S. belongs—are responsible for taking effective measures to ensure personal mobility for the greatest possible independence of people with disabilities.

Elena Chen laminated a prosthetic socket during one of her classes.

They also have a corresponding responsibility to promote and ensure the availability of and access to mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, including prostheses and orthoses.

As of June 2023, the CRPD has been ratified by 164 signatories and 187 parties, 186 states and the European Union. Members are thus obliged to ensure access to affordable, high-quality assistive products, including prostheses and orthoses. However, the World Health Organization estimates that, today, only 1 in 10 people in need has access to assistive products, including prostheses and orthoses.        

Chen wants to change this.  

From 2019 to 2020, Chen shadowed her mentor, Cameron Lehrer, an American Board Certified and Licensed Prosthetist and Orthotist, and owner of Prosthetics & Orthotic Associates of Hawaii, Inc, which prides itself in its creative and innovative approach to patient-centered care.  

“I was a student apprentice responsible for taking casts and measurements,” Chen explains. “I was making prosthetic sockets, and really building my skills.”  

Chen, though, just doesn’t want to learn about prosthetics and orthotics, she also wants to be able to translate the technical medical terms in Mandarin. This month, she received her X2 student visa and started her clinical rotations in Chongqing, China.  

“I’m so excited,” said Chen, after learning about the approval of her visa. “Not only will I gain more experience in making prosthetic limbs, but I’ll also learn more Mandarin. Eventually, I want to be able to utilize my Chinese language skills in Hawaii to help people with their language barrier in a hospital setting, which is a scary experience.”  

Due to return to Hawaii in December to visit her parents, mom Shanly Wu and dad Tommy Chen, the aspiring 24-year-old prosthetist and orthoptist is grateful for the experiential opportunities that Chaminade exposed her to while an undergraduate student, and taught her to be open to new ideas and to want to learn everything she can.  

“Outside of classes, I did volunteer work and joined various student clubs,” Chen says. “I also completed the one-year Hogan Entrepreneurial Program, and I was the only one who went to Shanghai, China to study abroad. What I appreciate most is that Chaminade taught me the importance of community service and giving back, which is what I want to do when I get my board-certified license in ’24 or ’25.”

New College Rankings

Chaminade makes 2024 annual listing by US News & World Report

The US News & World Report released its 2024 annual ranking list of the nation’s “Best Colleges” on Monday, and Chaminade University once again fared strongly in several categories, ranking No. 10—bumping up a spot from 2023—for Best Value among regional universities in the west. The University was also recognized as No. 29 in Social Mobility for graduates and No. 30 as Best in the Western Region.

“Chaminade combines many of the advantages of a large university—such as innovative programs, dedicated faculty, research programs and real-world learning opportunities—with the personal attention and close-knit culture of a small, private institution,” said Chaminade President Lynn Babington, Ph.D. “We offer a unique blend of liberal and professional studies that provides our students with the skills, knowledge and experience they need to build successful lives and achieve their dreams.”  

This year, US News made several changes to the metrics it uses to rank colleges, such as introducing new criteria tied to first-generation students, and placing more weight on retention of and graduation rates for students who received need-based Pell grants. The system also adds greater emphasis on “social mobility,” which generally refers to an individual making gains in education, income and other markers of socioeconomic status.  

“The significant changes in this year’s methodology are part of the ongoing evolution to make sure our rankings capture what is most important for students as they compare colleges and select the school that is right for them,” U.S. News CEO Eric Gertler said in a statement to USA TODAY.  

The rankings were calculated using as many as 19 key measures of academic quality to evaluate nearly 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions. These statistics reflect educational excellence and graduate outcomes, as well as considerations that vary person-to-person, like campus culture, strength in specific majors and financial aid offered.  

Chaminade was also recognized favorably from two other sources. Recently, Forbes ranked both Chaminade’s Master’s of Education online program and the Bachelor’s of Education online program in the top 10 across the country. Both programs accommodate working adults and others who need a flexible college experience.  

CounselingPsychology.org—a website devoted to providing educational resources for aspiring counselors and psychologists—also ranked Chaminade’s online bachelor’s degree in Psychology as #1. This recognition is a testament to Chaminade’s faculty, staff and students who contribute to making this program one of the best in the country.  

“Our comprehensive excellence is notable,” Babington said. “Many of our peer institutions are weighted heavily toward certain disciplines, but we are fortunate to have a balanced portfolio of strengths. Indeed, we have nationally recognized programs that range from nursing to forensics.”  

U.S. News and World Report Rankings*:  
Regional Universities West #30
Best Value – Regional Universities West #10
Social Mobility – Regional Universities West #29  
*These rankings are based on in-depth analyses of a wide variety of data points, as explained in the Best Colleges methodology article.  

Back to School

First cohort of Mu’o Scholarship recipients begin their journey to a teaching career

Efforts to address Hawaii’s teacher shortage have come in all different forms, from monetary incentives to scholarships. Recognizing the critical need for early education teachers in Hawaiʻi, Chaminade University and Kamehameha Schools have established the Mu‘o Scholarship, an innovative and community-focused teacher prep partnership that will provide tuition funding to educate, train and prepare aspiring teachers to lead Hawaii’s classrooms.  

“By providing these scholarships, we’re removing barriers that too often hinder many working adults in the state from obtaining a bachelor’s degree while still maintaining family and work commitments,” says Chaminade University President Lynn Babington, Ph.D. “Mu’o means to bud, and we believe our Mu’o Program will allow us to grow teachers, to bud teachers who will positively impact our communities through their teaching careers for generations to come.”  

This month, the first cohort of 49 Mu‘o Scholarship recipients began their path toward earning their teaching degrees. Of the 49 new students, 32 of them identified as Native Hawaiian, which matters because, like elsewhere around the country, the public education teacher workforce in Hawaii does not mirror the diversity of the student population. New York Times writer Claire Cain Miller cites research that says “students tend to benefit from having teachers who look like them, especially nonwhite students.”  

To address Hawaii's teacher shortage, Chaminade University and Kamehameha Schools have introduced their own new carrot: an innovative and community-focused teacher prep partnership that will provide 150 Muʻo Scholarships to educate, train and prepare aspiring teachers to lead Hawaiʻi’s classrooms.
Vice Provost Janet Davidson welcomes Muo scholars.

The same research shows that students perform better when they have teachers who reflect their race and gender, particularly in disadvantaged, high minority areas. However, this leads to another question: Do teachers who have a better cultural understanding of their students tend to stay longer in their roles? In Hawaii, the short answer is yes.  

“From Hanapepe to Hilo, we want to provide pathways to a college degree, and we believe that our Mu‘o Program will allow us to do that,” says Janet Davidson, Ph.D., Vice Provost of Academic Affairs. “By increasing opportunities for culturally relevant professional development, we significantly increase students’ success, and we see our students succeed to degree completion.”  

The Mu‘o Scholarship recipients also come from four of the major islands, with 14 from the Hawaii Island, 28 from Honolulu, eight from Kauai and five from Maui. Students’ majors also vary, with one concentrating on secondary education and another in elementary education, and the rest are majoring in either Early Childhood Education or Early Childhood Education with Montessori Credential.  

“We did some surveys and early childhood educators indicated their life situations didn’t allow them to take in-person courses,” says Dr. Elizabeth Park, Associate Professor and Director of Early Childhood Education with Montessori Credential. “So what we did was spend the energy and the time to design robust online courses to meet the needs of our educators.”      

Chaminade’s online bachelor’s degree program is designed for working adults in Hawai‘i who may already be serving as a teacher’s aide or, currently, in a similar position. The online delivery format will allow students to continue working while pursuing their bachelor’s degree. Program information is available and applications for the scholarships are being accepted. This transformative program is 100 percent online, with a requirement to complete a student-teaching track. Students will be paired with an academic advisor to guide them on the road to graduation.  

“Chaminade and Kamehameha Schools deeply value education, and we know a teacher-prep program, like our Mu‘o Program, will help address the teacher shortage here in Hawaii,” Davidson says. “And we know that education, especially from early childhood, has such a positive impact on our kids, their families and the community.”

39th Annual Maui Invitational

Tournament officials decide to shift location to Oahu  

It’s official. The 39th Annual Maui Invitational will be played on O‘ahu, from Nov. 20 to 22. Tournament officials attribute the necessity to relocate the event due to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s current use of Lahaina Civic Center as its Disaster Recovery Center for Maui wildfire recovery efforts.  

“We understand that circumstances warrant moving the Tournament, which has been held on Maui for the 37 years,” says Dr. Lynn Babington, President of Chaminade University of Honolulu. “However, this year is like no other, and it will stand alone in history as one of the most difficult for our West Maui residents.”  

Ironically, the tournament returns to the city where it all began. In 1982, Chaminade, then a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school, shocked the collegiate sports world by defeating No. 1 Virginia, led by two-time national player of the year Ralph Sampson, in Honolulu.  

Often considered one of the premier in-season tournaments, the 2023 Maui Invitational assembled one of the strongest fields in the tournament’s history with Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA and Chaminade University, which has hosted this event for the past 36 years. Combined, the eight teams boast 263 NCAA Tournament appearances, 17 NCAA Tournament Championship Titles and three AP Coach of the Year award—Mark Few (2017), Bill Self (2009, 2016) and Shaka Smart (2023).  

“While we have to move this year’s Tournament off of Maui, we are determined to celebrate and honor the culture and traditions that make this event so special,” says Tom Valdiserri, executive vice president of KemperSports LIVE, the operator of the Maui Invitational. “Throughout this process, we’ve seen the spirit of ‘ohana in action. Thank you to Governor Josh Green, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, and Mayor Richard Bissen, as well as the staff at Chaminade University of Honolulu and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for working tirelessly with us to keep this tournament in Hawai‘i.”  

Other college basketball programs across the country are showing their support for Maui through charity games and fundraisers. Michigan State hosts Tennessee on Oct. 29 in a charity exhibition, while Kansas and Illinois will do the same in Champaign, Illinois. Saint Mary’s will visit Honolulu on Oct. 20 to play an exhibition game against Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center.  

Meanwhile, the Maui Invitational launched its Hoops for ‘Ohana online auction last week in partnership with Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund. All the proceeds will go directly to wildfire relief and recovery efforts. Fans can bid on unique items donated by past Maui Jim Invitational basketball programs and Tournament partners.  

“Although this year’s Invitational will be held on O‘ahu, Maui will forever remain in the hearts and minds of the teams who participate in it,” Babington says. “We feel a heightened responsibility to support our Maui neighbors, and we look forward to returning home to Lahaina in 2024.”