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$1.625 Million Committed to Establishing The Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals at UH Mānoa

Most Successful Volunteer Campaign for an Endowed Chair at UH

(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) - Volunteer leadership in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation has launched the most successful campaign initiative ever undertaken at the Foundation to raise funds to establish an endowed chair The Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals. To date, $1.625 million has been raised from members of the volunteer committee comprised of business leaders and representatives of prominent Hawaiʻi companies. Led by Walter A. Dods, Jr., Chairman of First Hawaiʻian Bank, Jeffrey Watanabe with Watanabe Ing Kawashima & Komeiji LLP, and UH Interim President David McClain, the volunteer team successfully raised the leadership gifts to fund the chair within a month of the launch of this initiative.

The generous and quick response from our volunteer leadership committee has been tremendous. We are so grateful to those individuals and companies who have stepped forward with their gifts in support of The Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals, said Dods. This distinguished chair will underscore the crucial elements of Senator Inouye’s unrivalled role in Hawaiʻi and the nation. His career and life have served as a catalyst for Democratic ideals, as will the Inouye Chair. We are honored to lead this tribute to a man whose long and distinguished career in the U.S. Congress has helped shape the contemporary conscience of America.

Companies and individuals who have already contributed to the Inouye Chair include:

Bank of Hawaiʻi Corporation	$200,000
First Hawaiʻian Bank	$200,000
Alexander & Baldwin Foundation	$100,000
Central Pacific Bank	$100,000
Estate of James Campbell	$100,000
Hawaiʻian Electric Industries, Inc., American Savings Bank and Hawaiʻian Electric Company, Inc	$100,000
Hawaiʻian Telcom	$100,000
Norwegian Cruise Line Limited	$100,000
ABC Stores	$75,000
David and Maggie Cole	$50,000
Deloitte & Touche LLP	$50,000
Walter and Diane Dods	$50,000
Island Insurance Foundation	$50,000
The A.C. Kobayashi Family Foundation Inc./Bert & Susan Kobayashi	$50,000
Pacific Marine & Supply Co., Ltd.	$50,000
Servco Foundation	$50,000
In Memory of Koichi & Taniyo Taniguchi Founders of KTA Super Stores	$50,000
Watanabe Ing Kawashima & Komeiji LLP	$50,000
AIG Hawaiʻi	$25,000
First Insurance Company of Hawaiʻi Charitable Foundation	$25,000
David and Wendie McClain	$25,000
Kenneth P. Mortimer	$25,000

The Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals will be jointly housed at the William S. Richardson School of Law and the Department of American Studies in the College of Arts and Humanities. With emphasis on democratic processes and the importance of public life, the chair will have the reciprocal benefit of improving understanding of the unique context of Hawaiʻi, Asia and the Pacific within the traditional positions of power and influence in the U.S. Envisioned as a visiting academic position, chairholders will engage scholars and public figures dedicated to sharing their knowledge and experiences. They will reside at UH Mānoa for a year, offering courses and seminars for the benefit of students, faculty, alumni and the community.

Commented Watanabe, It’s appropriate that the chair resides in both the William S. Richardson School of Law and the Department of American Studies. Senator Inouye has a long and distinguished career as a lawmaker at both the state and national levels. He has also played a major role in key events and issues that have shaped the course of our nation. And he has fought hard for America’s native peoples and campaigned tirelessly for justice for all members of our society.

The Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals will fulfill the university’s commitment to educational excellence and will rightly honor in perpetuity an American war hero, a champion of progressive change and one of our nation’s outstanding citizens,” added McClain.

For more information about the chair or to make a gift in support of the chair, contact:
Donna Vuchinich
President & CEO
UH Foundation
(808) 956-3711 or 1-866-UH OHANA
donna.vuchinich@uhf.hawaii.edu