Bridges to the Future Campaign Nears $100 Million Goal
With a shiny, newly renovated campus and more building blessings and dedications on the way, Chaminade’s $100 million “Bridges to the Future” comprehensive campaign has gathered serious momentum — some $95 million, in fact.
With just eight months left to reach the total, the University is reaching out to alumni, friends and the community at large to join forces and propel the campaign successfully past its finish mark.
Bro. Bernard J. Ploeger, S.M., will complete his tenure as president in June. However, that has not slowed down the pace of fundraising in the least. “Meeting with the generous Chaminade donors who, one by one, have agreed to help us achieve our goals has been gratifying and rewarding for me personally,” he said.
After the initial launch in July of 2008, tremendous early campaign support came from the Clarence T. C. Ching Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and the US Department of Education’s Title III (for Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions).
In recent years, however, alumni and board members have quietly stepped up, as have local organizations. In the past year alone, a $5.4 million grant from the Kamehameha Schools for the Ho’oulu STEM scholarships and another $1 million from the Alaka`ina Foundation through Chaminade University Board of Regents chair Vaughn G. A. Vasconcellos have moved the university into striking range of its goal.
“Chaminade’s story is an unparalleled ‘Little College That Could’ story,” said Vasconcellos, recalling the famous basketball upset when Chaminade defeated top-ranked Virginia in 1982. In the mid-1990s, newly appointed President Mary Civille “Sue” Wesselkamper, D. S.W. brought on Ploeger and, with the help of the Marianists and the Catholic religious community which sponsor Chaminade, ushered in an era of growth and transformation.
Last year, Chaminade celebrated six decades of educating students for “life, service and successful careers” and looks forward to welcoming a new president in August. Dr. Lynn Babington will be the third woman to head a university in the state.
On hand for the campus salute to the outgoing president, Babington congratulated Ploeger and the team for their efforts related to the Bridges to the Future campaign. “Chaminade represents a beacon in the higher education realm due to its remarkable achievements with the under-served, particularly the Native Hawaiian community. I congratulate Bro. Bernie on the tremendous success of the campaign to date and look forward to joining efforts to surpass our overall goal.”
The campaign focuses on four critical areas: (1) ensuring student access and support (via new scholarships, for example); (2) advancing academic programs (such as recent grants to renew Chaminade’s pedagogy); (3) building a richer campus life (through the renovation of the Clarence T.C. Ching Hall and other facilities); and (4) renewing Chaminade’s athletics tradition. Gifts and grants in this latter area have enabled the renovation of the campus tennis courts as well as the construction of new coaches’ offices dedicated this year and a locker room and training facility to open in fall 2018.
For more information or to contribute to Chaminade’s Bridges to the Future campaign, interested individuals should contact Diane Peters-Nguyen, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at [email protected] or 808.735-4772.
Dr. Charissa Kahue BS Biology ’07 returned recently to her Chaminade University alma mater to meet with students of the HP 390–Advanced Topics in Health Professions Preparation class. The 
“Her decision to leave for medical school to grow and explore her options for her medical career pathway was one of the things that stood out because this is a decision that I will need to consider when it comes to applying and deciding whether or not I would want to leave home to attend medical school,” said Bacani.
Thursday evening’s Mocktails and Masterpieces event kindled the fire with bursts of creativity. With artist Jenny B. facilitating, alumni painted canvas masterpieces that they could take home. The alumni mingled and caught up with old friends. The familiar warmth of campus ‘ohana surged feelings of nostalgia and fanned their anticipation for Saturday.
Outside of the Sullivan Family Library, a photo booth captured the memories of friendships and newly made friends. There was a ceramic pot sale setup by Fine Arts professor Yukio Ozaki, and the Campus Store offered Chaminade logo items for sale. Alumni like Teresa Fujino, MBA ’16 guided activities such as “DIY – Salty Scrubs,” where participants made bath scrubs. Kacie Cohen, MSCP ’13 and Darren Iwamoto, MSCP ’98 with Dale Fryxell, grant director of the E Ho‘opili No Na Haumana Project and interim dean of Education, manned the 110-AOK (Acts of Kindness) beading table.
The Reunion Street Festival – Food Truck Rally had many memorable highlights, thanks to the collaboration of the Office of Alumni Relations and Residence Hall Association. Tasty smells from the food trucks permeated the air as people lined up in front of Hawaii’s favorite food trucks on Second Road. Chardonnay Pao, BA ’13, MBA ’15 and Cherie Ann Park, MSCP ’13 served various ono plates from Kapakahi Grindz. The Nalo Made Lemonade booth was a hit. Shawn Niwa Kadooka, BBA ’91 mentioned how happy she was to be a part of the event, and said it required two resupply runs. Also, depending on your appetite, you could also choose dishes from Prime Sandwiches or Chamorro Grindz or something refreshing from Tats Shaved Ice.
“Featuring alum or alum related vendors is the best! It brings a sense of pride to the event knowing that Chaminade is investing and supporting alum businesses. I saw alum, current students, and employees coming to buy our product. The positive vibes were just on a whole other level of awesome,” Pao said. “Good music, ono food, and the use of Chaminade Dollars brought another sense of school spirit to the event.”
During a more structured part of the evening, Aunty Susan Frank Kama, BS ’61 in her melodic voice started a Lei Aloha ‘oli that cued alums to form a line as Chaminade president Bro. Bernard Ploeger, SM was escorted to the lawn. The chant continued as alums showered Bro. Ploeger with lei, warm hugs, and bid him a fond farewell as he concludes his 23 years of service at Chaminade University.
Then Micah G hit the stage and got the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and Marianists to get out of their seats and dance. The lawn in front of the library turned into a huge dance floor.
Mahalo to all, especially the Alumni Reunion Committee Volunteers: Alice Kaahanui BA ’86, Bernard Lum Hoy, BA ’59, Lolita Lum Hoy, BS ’61, Christy Aiwohi, BBA ’87, David Dinh, MBA ’15, Heather Nakao, BS ’12, BA ’15, Jeannie Pinpin, BA ’05, BA ’07, Lois Nakamura, BA ’85, Linda Tavares, BS ’63 Michael “Pika” Ahakuelo, BA ’02, MBA ’11, Scott Kishimori, BBA ’87, Shayne Iwamoto, AA ’12, BS ’13, Susan Frank Kama, BS ’61, Sweetie Pacarro, BA ’89, Terrence Kong, BS ’89, MSCP ’03.
George Gilmore, Jr. ’04, after earning junior college all-America honors in men’s basketball at Santé Fe Community College in Florida in 1990, followed his coach to Chaminade University. In his first game in the 1991 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, he scored 23 points against Iowa State. He followed that with 28 points against Toledo then 33 against Loyola Marymount. He finished the 1991-92 season second in the nation in scoring with a 28.3 scoring average while earning Division II All-America honors. The following year proved to be his landmark season when he set the Maui Invitational scoring record by pouring in 93 points in the three-game tournament, earning him the tournament’s Most Valuable Player honors, one of only two Chaminade players to hold that distinction. He graduated from Chaminade in 2004. Today, the Kailua resident, in alignment with Chaminade’s mission and values, works at the Kapolei Detention Home helping to mentor at-risk youths turn their lives around.
Bro. Bernard Ploeger, S.M., Ph.D., who concludes his service as Chaminade University president on June 30, 2017, will have served Chaminade for 23 years: eight years as its president, plus the prior 15 years in other leadership capacities. He is considered the chief architect in developing and carrying out the University’s strategic plans since 2008. One of the major key levers of success in those strategic plans has been to renew Chaminade’s participation in intercollegiate athletics as a point of pride for alumni and for campus and community supporters. Ploeger has been instrumental in encouraging Chaminade’s competitive success in regional and conference sports, has helped ensure an increase in outreach in Hawaii, and has pressed for financial support in securing program facilities.