10 May COE CRDG Staff Member Receives 2011 Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Service
Virginia Hinshaw & Morris Lai
Morris Lai of the UH Mānoa College of Education Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG) is the recipient of the 2011 Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Service by an administrative, professional, technical (APT) employee. Lai was honored by Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw on May 3, 2011 at a Mānoa Executive Team meeting where she awarded him $1,000 and a koa pen. He was also recognized at the College of Education’s Bi-Annual Congress Meeting on May 5, 2011.
The award honors staff members who demonstrate outstanding work performance, service, and leadership. Criteria include record of competence and efficiency, exceptional contribution in the attainment of program objectives, creative solutions to difficult problems, integrity, and dedication to the mission of a program. As the recipient of this award, Lai will be a candidate for a Governor’s Award.
Nominated by CRDG Director Don Young, Educational Psychology Chair Lois Yamauchi, and Gloria Kishi from the Hawai‘i DOE, Lai’s career with the college spans more than 36 years. His roles include director of evaluation at CRDG, principal investigator of externally funded grants, and graduate faculty in the educational psychology department.
“Dr. Lai brings distinction and recognition to the college,” Young said. “His performance addresses the initiation of new and unprecedented service, and his development of highly visible and recognized evaluation criteria demonstrates initiative and leadership of the highest and rare category. Add to this his impressive record of productivity (e.g., external funding) and you have the very definition of ‘outstanding.’”
Lai has served on the doctoral and master’s committees of some 68 students who have earned their doctorate and master’s degrees. Over the years, he has brought in more than $28 million in contracts and grants to the college. Currently, he is the principal investigator of two Native Hawaiian Education Program grants from the U.S. Department of Education and is developing a College of Education Library focused on Hawai‘i history and culture. He also works with graduate students in Ho’okula‘wi on matters such as APA style, editing, research literature reviews, and indigenous methods of research. He will be further recognized at the September 27, 2011 UHM Convocation.
May 9, 2011
Jennifer Parks
(808) 956-0416