$500K UH TIM school distinguished professorship established by Singapore alumnus

Wee Loke Tang and Shidler Dean Vance Roley

Wee Loke Tang at the 2018 Shidler Hall of Honor awards

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler College of Business alumnus Wee Loke Tang has established the Tang Wee Loke Distinguished Professorship at the School of Travel Industry Management (TIM school) with a gift of $250,000 and matching funds from alumnus Jay H. Shidler.

The gifts allow the college to advance research and academic activities, and increase the total number of faculty fellowships and chairs to six since the TIM school merged with Shidler college in 2019.

Tang was inducted into the Shidler College of Business Hall of Honor in 2018. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Shidler College of Business in 1973.

“As a student coming from abroad from Singapore, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa TIM school was an immediate draw for me,” Tang said. “My first few college jobs were working in Waikīkī, thinking I’d eventually move into hospitality management. The college holds much nostalgia and fond memories, and it’s an honor and privilege to bolster the TIM school’s long-standing reputation.”

“Tang joins several successful alumni from Asia who have pledged their support to the TIM school,” Shidler Dean Vance Roley said. “We are incredibly grateful for his decision to support the college. This gift will help us attract world-class faculty. Investment in faculty resources is instrumental in raising the profile of the school and contributes to the success of our state’s leading economic driver, tourism and hospitality, by providing a pipeline of management talent and valuable industry research.”

About Wee Loke Tang

After graduating, Tang began his career as an investment analyst at the Kay Hian company, a small family-owned firm in Singapore. He was promoted to director within four years and became deputy managing director of Kay Hian in 1981. Following the merger with United Overseas Bank (UOB) Securities in 2001, he served as deputy managing director of UOB Kay Hian. He helped engineer a series of acquisitions that turned UOB Kay Hian into Singapore’s largest brokerage with capabilities in securities broking, margin financing, underwriting and corporate finance.

He retired from active management in 2007, while remaining on the board of UOB Kay Hian as an executive director. By the time of his retirement, the company had grown from a 20-member sales staff to a sales team of 1,100 across regional markets, as well as in New York and London.

Tang also served as independent director of the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) from 2002 to 2007. He led the formation of the Securities Association of Singapore, which represents the interests of SGX securities trading members in Singapore, and also served as its founding chairman. In a personal capacity, he funds bursaries and scholarships for students of his high school alma mater, as well as the National University of Singapore.

About Shidler College of Business

The Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa was established in 1949 as the College of Business Administration and named in 2006 after alumnus Jay H. Shidler, founder and managing partner of The Shidler Group. The Shidler College of Business is renowned for its expertise in international management education and is consistently ranked among the nation's top business schools for international business by U.S. News & World Report. Long recognized for its Asia Pacific focus, the college offers a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs. The college offers the only graduate program in the state of Hawai‘i and Vietnam accredited by AACSB International. http://www.shidler.hawaii.edu/.

About UH Mānoa

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa serves approximately 20,000 students pursuing more than 225 different degrees. Coming from every Hawaiian island, every state in the nation, and more than 100 countries, UH Mānoa students thrive in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit manoa.hawaii.edu. Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/uhmanoa and Twitter www.twitter.com/UHManoaNews.

About UH Foundation

The University of Hawai‘i Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawai‘i System. The mission of the University of Hawai‘i Foundation is to unite donors’ passions with the University of Hawai‘i’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawai‘i and our future generations. Visit us at uhfoundation.org.