Established in 1936 under the leadership of Charles A. Moore and Wing-tsit Chan, the Department of Philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa dedicated itself to an ambitious but historically necessary project: the bringing together of Western and Eastern philosophers in a community of critical discourse.

Celebrating Excellence

2025-2026 Graduates and Award Honorees

Your dedication and accomplishments shine brightly. All of us in Philosophy — faculty, graduate students, and staff — are proud of your success!

★ Bachelor of Arts: Emma Davidson, Habibah Eldakrouri, Marc Gamboa, Jackson Giannasio, Isabella Krouse, Brandon Leong, Ernest Troy Mercado, John Olubiyi, Natalie Perez, Paul Pladera, Leilani Teso, and Anahizza Ulloa

★ Master of Arts: John Vander Wyst and Blake Varner

★ PhD Proposal Defense: Seo Young (Sera) Kong, Aaron Ortner, and Huayanni Yang

★ PhD Defense: Ian Nicolay and Kevin Rickman

★ GSO Merit Based Award in Research: Quint Hubbard

★ Graduate Student Essay Prize Competition: David M. Simone

★ Ashok Kumar Malhotra “Seva” Award: Kimberly Serratos (GR)

★ David Hall Prize: Jackson Giannasio