UROP Assistant Director Receives Presidential Award for Outstanding Service

From left to right: UH Mānoa Vice Provost for Academic Excellence Laura Lyons, UH President Wendy Hensel, UROP Assistant Seung Yang, and UH Board of Regents Vice Chair Laurie Tochiki at the 2025 Presidential Awards Ceremony.

UROP is proud to share that Assistant Director Seung Yang has been named the recipient of the 2025 Presidential Award for Outstanding Service by Administrative, Professional and Technical (APT) staff, which honors UH Mānoa staff members who demonstrate outstanding work performance, service, and leadership.

Yang was nominated by UROP Director Creighton Litton, who stated, “The primary reason that I nominated Seung for this award stems from the consistent and sustained growth of UROP’s offerings and impact since he began in the office. Simply put, more students are participating in and benefiting from UROP since Seung’s tenure with UROP began.”

Yang joined UROP in 2018 as the Program Coordinator after receiving his master’s degree from the Department of Asian Studies at UH Mānoa, where he researched English-language education policy as a form of Korean nationalism. Over his seven years at UROP, he has been instrumental in the development and implementation of—among many other things—initiatives such as the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE Program); the Entering Research & Creative Work (ERC) funding opportunity; and ForagerOne, the online networking platform for connecting mentors and students. He was promoted to Assistant Director in 2023 and, in addition to his role at UROP, is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Public Administration.

“I feel that receiving this award is a recognition of the collective efforts of past and present UROP and OVPRS staff; the many campus departments and offices we’ve partnered with; and, very importantly, our dedicated mentors,” shared Yang. “We’re excited to continue this meaningful work and collaboration to best support our undergraduate students and, by extension, our broader community.”

Yang was honored on April 28 at the annual UH Mānoa Awards Ceremony, which took place at Kennedy Theatre. UH President Wendy Hensel, UH Mānoa Vice Provost for Academic Excellence Laura Lyons, and Board of Regents Vice Chair Laurie Tochiki recognized this year’s honorees for their outstanding accomplishments. All awardees were selected following careful review by the various awards committees, based on nominations and supporting materials across teaching, research, mentoring, and service.