Dr. Denise Eby Konan is the Interim Provost of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She moves into this key leadership role after serving as Dean of the College of Social Sciences (CSS) for nearly 15 years. As Dean, she provided leadership to 11 academic departments that delivered nearly a fifth of the degrees offered on campus.
A noted international trade economist, Dr. Konan has worked extensively in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. The U.S. Department of the Interior has appointed her as an Economic Advisor to the Republic of Palau. She is a Research Fellow at UHERO (UH Economic Research Organization) and founding Director of the Center for Sustainable Coastal Tourism at the UH Sea Grant College Program.
While at CSS, Dr. Konan encouraged academic innovation including the launch of UH Mānoa’s first fully-online degree completion programs and the first accelerated BA to MA pathway (BAM program). She guided the formation of the new School of Communication and Information, which includes degree programs from three different colleges. She established research support and incubator initiatives to significantly strengthen sponsored research from ~$11M in 2017 to more than $35M in 2026.
Dr. Konan was a driving force behind the launch of a workforce development program in the fast-growing field of national intelligence, and expansion of the Mānoa Political Internship Program. Under her guidance, the College established the office of civic & community engagement and established a unified hub for CSS advising and student services.
Dr. Konan served for two years as the Interim Chancellor and for three years as the Assistant Vice Chancellor of UH Mānoa. As Interim Chancellor (2005-2007), Dr. Konan declared it the Year of the Student and initiated the Kaʻieʻie transfer and dual enrollment program with Kapiʻolani Community College. This program has since expanded to all UH community colleges. She facilitated a faculty-led initiative to form the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge.
She received her undergraduate degree from Goshen College and doctorate from the University of Colorado.