UH Professors Recognized by Board of Regents for Excellence in Teaching

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents have selected 14 professors from campuses across the university system as the recipients of the 2004 Regents‘ Medal for Excellence in Teaching. The award recognizes their extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, teaching effectiveness, creativity and personal values beneficial to students.

This year‘s recipients include:
· Ronald Amundson is a professor of philosophy and chair of UH Hilo‘s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Colleagues praised Amundson as "a committed scholar who loves his field of study" and a "people person who enjoys getting to know his students as people."

· Richard Brislin is a professor of management and industrial relations at UH Mānoa. Brislin is a distinguished scholar and a world-class teacher. His primary work is in the area of inter-cultural training and cross-cultural psychology and communication. Brislin writes a local newspaper column, "Enjoying Your Work," which provides the business community with information about dealing with communication misunderstandings.

· Danielle Conway-Jones is an associate professor of law at UH Mānoa. Conway-Jones teaches mainly in the fields of intellectual property and government contracts. She continually presses for program growth at the law school, particularly in the field of intellectual property law, especially recognizing the medical school‘s commitment to biotechnology research and innovation and the business school‘s endeavors in promoting joint ventures and start-up companies.

· Kauka de Silva is a professor of art at Kapiʻolani CC. He combines his talent, knowledge and patience to create a truly exceptional learning environment. According to his students, de Silva is a unique teacher who creates a dynamic, warm, fun atmosphere for learning and experimentation. They add, "His ability to communicate inspires us to achieve our goals and some to pursue our studies in art."

· Larry H. Fujinaka is a professor of psychology at Leeward CC. He has taught at Leeward for nearly 30 years and strives to help students learn and succeed. Fujinaka‘s teaching strategies are flexible and innovative. For introductory courses, he not only covers the discipline itself, but important college survival, learning and life skills.

· William Haning, III is an associate professor of psychiatry and associate dean in the John A. Burns School of Medicine at UH Mānoa. He is certified in three disciplines—general psychiatry, addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine—and is active in the community and participates in lectures, television interviews and panel discussions. In addition to his academic career, he is a captain in the Naval Reserves and served in the Middle East.

· David A. Krupp is an associate professor of biology at Windward CC. His passion for teaching, positive influence and mentoring makes him popular with students. Krupp is an enthusiastic and dynamic teacher who uses the scientific method to instill in his students a quest for knowledge. Students feel inspired because they experience more than basic coursework

· Meta Tjan Lee is an assistant professor of pediatrics at UH Mānoa. Lee challenges herself to contribute to the field of pediatric education by developing new and innovative ways of teaching. She has also pursued advanced educational training and received a master‘s degree from the University of Southern California‘s faculty development program.

· Lena Y.P. Low is an associate professor of economics at Honolulu CC. Low is an exceptional teacher who shares with students her keen knowledge of and passion for her discipline. She engages and inspires them in their academic and career pursuits. Colleagues describe her as "embodying everything a teacher should be," and also emphasize her commitment to campus and community service.

· Paul Lyons is an associate professor of English at UH Mānoa. Lyons fosters in students an appreciation and respect for the power of worlds to create change, whether in the form of awakening critical consciousness about culture, politics and ecology, or finding languages with which to better describe their own experiences. His primary passion is American literature and he finds Hawaiʻi‘s literature a valuable vantage point for reflecting on regional and national literatures.

· Joni Onishi is a professor of accounting at Hawaiʻi CC. She challenges students to understand accounting concepts and to learn to think independently by giving them the hands-on experience of setting up a mini-business in the classroom. Always willing to share her enthusiasm for education, she routinely visits high school classes to make students aware of the college‘s programs and is one of Hawaiʻi CC‘s best ambassadors of higher education.

· Mary C. Summers is an assistant professor of French and Hawaiian at Kauaʻi CC. Summers strives to give her students the tools, skills and values necessary to fufill the promise of life. Her enthusiasm for teaching and great personality draws out even the most reluctant student and makes them want to learn more about the subject. Summers understands that an investment in students‘ education benefits our society.

· Robert Wehrman is an instructor of music at Maui CC. Developing a good rapport with his class is important to Wherman and he takes the time to develop a personal relationship with his students. From the quality of his instruction and his enthusiasm, it‘s obvious he loves music and loves to teach. He promotes creative thinking, personal growth and open-mindedness.

· David Yang is a professor of accounting at UH Mānoa. Yang believes that discovering, creating and acquiring new knowledge is important in quality teaching. He specializes in financial accounting and reporting, financial analysis and in international accounting, with a particular emphasis on Chinese and Asian-Pacific accounting systems. Yang has also been honored with the Dennis Ching/First Interstate Memorial Teaching Award and the College of Business Administration Teaching Excellence Award.

Recipients of the 2004 Regents‘ Medal for Excellence in Teaching will be recognized for their contributions to the university along with other UH award winners at a system-wide ceremony in September.

For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/about/awards/teaching.php