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Roy and Hilda Takeyama Donate $100,000 to UH Academy for Creative Media

Gift to Fund Post-Production Editing Suite and Student Internships and Awards

(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) - The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation has received a $100,000 gift from Roy and Hilda Takeyama, former UH Board of Regent and alumna, respectively, for the UH Academy for Creative Media (ACM). The gift will establish a post-production editing suite at ACM and support internships and awards for its students.

We are extremely grateful for Roy and Hilda Takeyama’s continued support of the Academy for Creative Media and its students, said ACM Chairman Chris Lee. Their generosity will establish an editing suite which will give our students the opportunity to work on highly sophisticated post-production equipment they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. This will extend the technical reach of their films to qualify them for important film festivals nationally and internationally. With this gift we can also provide the all-important internships that connect student learning from the classroom to the film set and animation shop.”

Commented Roy Takeyama, Our gift to the academy really is small compared with the benefits that Hilda and I have received from the UH. Hopefully, it will provide further impetus to bring to fruition this innovative program that will provide new employment opportunities for our graduates.

I’m surprised at the tremendous progress made by the ACM since its inception which is largely due to the dynamic leadership of Chris Lee and his supporting staff including Associate Chair Tom Brislin, Instructor Anne Misawa and Chief Technologist Kaveh Kardan.

Takeyama has been a noted business and community leader in Hawaiʻi for more than 50 years. He worked as a special assistant to former UH President Hiatt and was secretary to the UH Board of Regents for 10 years. At one time, he served as deputy state attorney general, assigned to the University of Hawaiʻi and the State Land Use Commission. He also served as a UH Regent, serving as its vice chair of the board from 1991 to 1994 and chairman from 1994 to 1995. Hilda Takeyama received her BA from UH Mānoa in 1952. She also earned her BS degree from the University of Minnesota in 1953. The Takeyama’s son, David, earned his master’s in Urban Planning from UH in 1995 and daughter, Jan Sullivan, earned her JD from UH in 1983.

This is the second $100,000 gift to ACM that has been made by the Takeyamas. Their first gift helped establish ACM in 2002 by providing direct support for its students through the provision of computer and digital video equipment, and internships.

The internships supported by the Takeyamas include four ACM students as exclusive production interns on the set of Superman Returns, a feature film being shot this summer in Australia. The students Ronson Akina, Chrystal Jameson, Matthew Ortiz, and Nelson Quan will earn college credit while having the opportunity to work on a major film production. Chris Lee is on leave from ACM to serve as executive producer of this new feature film at Fox Studios in Sydney. Lee, who prior to starting ACM at the university, served as president of Production for TriStar Pictures and Columbia Pictures, is responsible for conceptualizing such ACM innovations as the 24/7 Educational Environment, the ACM Digital Toolbelt and the Immersive Web Environment.

Commented Tom Brislin, ACM’s associate chair, With the support of community leaders like Roy and Hilda Takeyama, our students, the university and the State of Hawaiʻi have the opportunity to take their rightful place in today’s knowledge-based economy.

The ACM is a system-wide initiative to create a world-class school of media creation at UH focusing on Hawaiʻi, Asia and Pacific themes. Programs offered at ACM are taught with industry-based software applications with faculty continually updating courses to reflect the rapid changes in the multimedia industry. Prior to graduation, students have internship opportunities or on-campus classes where they develop multimedia pieces to showcase their work.

About the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation
The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is an independent, university-related, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise private funds according to priorities determined by the academic leadership of the University of Hawaiʻi and approved by the Board of Regents. Founded in 1955, the Foundation provides a full range of fund raising and alumni relations services for all 10 UH campuses. For more information on the Foundation, visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu.