- Press Release 08/13/2007

Campaign News

Press Releases

Frank Boas Selected National Jefferson Award Recipient for Public Service

UH Foundation Board Trustee to be Honored at National Award Ceremonies in Washington, DC

(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) - Frank Boas, retired international attorney and a board trustee for the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation (UHF), has been selected as a national recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards were founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft Jr. and Sam Beard to establish nationally recognized awards for outstanding community and public service. As a national award recipient, Boas has been invited to participate in the Jefferson Awards National Ceremony, hosted June 21-23, 2004 in Washington, D.C., with a formal award presentation on June 22 at the U.S. Senate.

"Frank Boas is a valued member of the UH Foundation's board of trustees who brings a level of passion and commitment to his volunteer work with the Foundation that is truly admirable," commented Donna Vuchinich, the Foundation's acting president. "His public service inspires others to become involved with their community, making him a well-deserving recipient of this prestigious national award." The UH Foundation nominated Boas as one of Hawaiʻi's recipients of the Jefferson Award.

Born in the Netherlands in 1930, Boas migrated to the U.S. with his parents 10 years later. After graduating with a BA degree, cum laude, 1951, and a JD, 1954, from Harvard, Boas established a private legal practice in Belgium. He was also a legal advisor to the U.S. State Department. In 1996 he received the Harvard Alumni Association Award in recognition of his endowment of a national scholarship program for undergraduates in his parents' name. In addition, he was honored for supporting the Paul-Henry Spaak lecture series, which brings distinguished European leaders to Harvard annually. In 1980, he established the Maurits C. Boas Professorship of International Economics in honor of his father. Boas created his own foundation specifically to support international activities at Harvard.

Boas moved to Honolulu in the late 1980s and has been a strong supporter of the University of Hawaiʻi. In addition to his monetary gifts to UH, he shares his experience in international law. Over the years, he has been a strong supporter of the William S. Richardson School of Law and was its lead donor for the university's first comprehensive campaign. A current UH Foundation trustee, he is chair of the gift planning committee. A member of the UH law school Dean's Pacific-Asian Legal Studies advisory committee, Boas also served on the school's Special Review Committee. He is president of the Pacific Asian Affairs Council and in 2002 was honored by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature for fostering U.S.-Asia relations.

Boas was one of 6 recipients of the local Jefferson Awards presented at the 2004 National Philanthropy Day, sponsored by the Aloha Chapter of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals. The Honolulu Advertiser sponsors the Jefferson Awards and the national winner from each of the nation's 210 media markets is chosen from local award recipients. In addition to Boas, this year's local winners were: