Twenty two academic subjects at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� earned high marks in the 2025 , released on March 12.

Leading the way was linguistics, which earned a No. 11 ranking in the U.S. and No. 40 ranking in the world. Library and information management (No. 17 U.S., No. 51–100 world) and Earth and marine sciences (No. 20 U.S., No. 51–100 world) also placed within the top 100 in the world.

Eleven additional subjects placed in the world’s top 1% (within top 250 in the world out of ):

• Geophysics: No. 30 U.S., No. 101–150 world
• Geology: No. 31 U.S., No. 101–150 world
• Anthropology: No. 35 U.S., No. 101–170 world
• Agriculture and forestry: No. 34 U.S., No. 151–200 world
• English language and literature: No. 40 U.S., No. 151–200 world
• Philosophy: No. 42 U.S., No. 201–225 world
• Geography: No. 34 U.S., No. 201–250 world
• History: No. 42 U.S., No. 201–250 world
• Politics: No. 43 U.S., No. 201–250 world
• Physics and astronomy: No. 45 U.S., No. 201–250 world
• Communication and media studies: No. 57 U.S., No. 201–250 world

“These rankings reflect the outstanding scholarship and dedication of our faculty, staff and students,” ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Provost Michael Bruno said. “They reaffirm our university’s reputation for excellence and innovation, not just in Hawaiʻi, but on a global scale. For the communities we serve and the students considering ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�, these rankings are a powerful endorsement of the exceptional education and opportunities we provide.”

������Ƶ ����ԴDz� was ranked in four broad subject areas and 22 narrow subject areas. The QS World University Rankings by Subject are calculated using five criteria: academic reputation (survey responses from academics), employer reputation (survey responses from graduate employers worldwide), research citations per paper (citations data sourced from Elsevier Scopus), H-index (measures most cited papers and the number of citations) and international research network (reflects ability to diversify the geography of their international research network).

The 2025 edition of the rankings by global higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds analyzed the performance of more than 18,300 university programs, taken by students at more than 1,700 universities in 100 locations around the world.

Other rankings

������Ƶ ����ԴDz� also received these notable rankings:

• ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� earns highest national research designation, February 20, 2025
• 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject, January 23, 2025
• U.S. News and World Report 2025 Best Colleges rankings, September 24, 2024

Five University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� faculty members earned Fulbright U.S. Scholar fellowships for the 2024–25 academic year. scholars are expected to engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for future partnerships between institutions.

“These Fulbright fellowships awarded to our ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� faculty members are a testament to their exceptional scholarship and dedication to global collaboration,” ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Provost Michael Bruno said. “Their groundbreaking research will not only advance their fields but also strengthen international academic partnerships.”

Fulbright U.S. Scholars from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� in 2024–25

• Jan Brunson, an associate professor of in the , will study cesarean sections in Nepal. Collaborating with Suman Raj Tamrakar, head of obstetrics and gynecology at Dhulikhel Hospital, Brunson aims to understand the social, economic and systemic factors influencing c-sections. Her research focuses on balancing the life-saving potential and risks of c-sections by examining the experiences of women and healthcare practitioners. Brunson hopes to enhance reproductive knowledge and agency among women, ultimately improving maternal health outcomes.
• Peter Fuleky, a professor of economics and research economist with the in the College of Social Sciences, will head to Budapest, Hungary to develop forecasting infrastructure for large-scale econometric models in the R statistical computing environment. In a user guide, he will describe best practices for time series data manipulation. He also plans to quantify the economic impacts of extreme weather events and use simulations to predict the impacts of climate change on economic conditions in the future. Fuleky hopes that his research will inform decision makers about the cost of taking no action, a baseline against which planned interventions can be evaluated.
• Bruce Howe, a professor in the in the , will head to Portugal to advance the SMART seafloor cable system linking Portugal with the Madeira and Azores archipelagoes. SMART systems integrate sensors into telecommunications cables to monitor climate change, earthquakes and tsunamis. In addition to the Portuguese Atlantic CAM, he will work on the New-Caledonia-Vanuatu Tamtam SMART cable system, and collaborate with UN agencies and global partners to develop similar systems. His efforts aim to enhance disaster risk reduction and support sustainable coastal infrastructure, ultimately saving lives.
• Monica Smith, an associate professor in the , will work as a visiting scholar at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, supporting faculty in primary and secondary education. Smith will collaborate with Chilean scholar Malba Barahona Durán on a study examining pedagogies and lesson feedback in multilingual classrooms. She will also co-teach courses on teaching English to primary students and guiding doctoral research. This opportunity will enhance her understanding of promoting multilingualism and allow her to build a professional network between Hawaiʻi and Chile.
• Joseph Tanke, a professor of in the , will travel to Budapest, Hungary to work on his fellowship “The American Scholar in the Age of AI,” which studies artificial intelligence from the vantage point of critical social philosophy and involves teaching American philosophy and art at Károli Gáspár University. Inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “The American Scholar,” the project aims to explore how technologies like ChatGPT impact human thought and action, emphasizing the significance of philosophical inquiry for understanding AI‘s role in today’s world.

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. Notable Fulbrighters include 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 80 MacArthur Fellows, 41 heads of state or government, and thousands of leaders across the private, public and non-profit sectors. Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government.

The Fulbright Scholar Program is supported at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� through Fulbright program advisors William Chapman, interim dean of the ; Kristen Connors, fellowships, scholarships and professional development coordinator; and Betsy Gilliland, Department of Second Language Studies associate professor. For more information about the Fulbright Program at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�, visit the .

student Dave Ian Domingo Sebastian will earn a bachelor of arts in humanities with a concentration in philosophy on May 4, the day after his birthday. He will also be one of two student speakers at the .

“I hope that the graduates will remember all those who shared their light with them and be empowered to use their degrees to be a light in the world,” he said.

Sebastian, who graduated from Waipahu High School, earned an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Leeward Community College in spring 2020. He enrolled in ������Ƶ West Oʻahu in fall 2020, and began working as a peer writing tutor in summer 2021 at the Noʻeau Center, where he still works today.

After graduation, Sebastian’s goal is to become a Catholic priest.

“It was evident to me then (when he was a first-year student), as it is to me now, that Dave is a person of great compassion and conviction,” said Professor Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee. “I am confident that Dave’s spiritual calling…will not only help uplift the community of faith, but also provide much needed compassionate care to our west-side community at large.”

Sebastian said ������Ƶ West Oʻahu has prepared him for his next chapter in life by allowing him to learn from many different world views and perspectives—through his philosophy studies and tutoring a diverse student body.

Check out more stories of our ������Ƶ spring graduates

“So I feel like since I have been able to meet and learn from so many people who think or understand the world differently from me, I can use that knowledge to connect with others,” he said. “The hope is that a connection can be made from a place of understanding and that we can bridge the gaps between different communities and foster a sense of reconciliation.”

• Read more about Jahnna-Marie Kehaulani Kahele-Madali, who was also selected to be a student commencement speaker.

—By Zenaida Serrano Arvman

The traumatic effects of colonization, particularly the forced disconnection from Hawaiʻi’s abundant ʻāina, which has led to complex, interconnected, health disparities seen today in Native Hawaiian communities and especially in the ʻōpio (youth), is the focus of new research from the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� .

was published in a special October issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health called Mental Health of Indigenous Peoples.

Led by Lorinda M.N.M. Riley, associate professor of public health, the study builds upon prior work where Native Hawaiians articulated a collective feeling of kaumaha (heavy, oppressive sadness) resulting from mass land dispossession, overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, cultural loss and early loss of loved ones.

Historical trauma research is critical to improving the wellbeing and future success of the next generation of Native Hawaiians.
—Lorinda M.N.M. Riley

“Historical trauma research is critical to improving the wellbeing and future success of the next generation of Native Hawaiians. Unfortunately, little work has been done exploring this issue among Native Hawaiians. I am very proud of our partnerships with the community as well as with other Indigenous scholars who were able to breathe life into our themes using ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language),” said Riley.

Using Indigenous methods in the design and implementation of this study allowed the researchers to better understand how Native Hawaiian ʻōpio experience and understand historical trauma. The researchers utilized community partners as co-collectors of ʻōpio perspectives and stories through 34 talk-story sessions that were conducted virtually.

The key findings indicate that Native Hawaiian ʻōpio experience historical trauma in a variety of ways, including through strong emotions that are difficult for ʻōpio to control; engaging in escapism; feeling ʻāina related harms; being caught up in messy systems; experiencing internal family, and community conflict; and feeling like certain things are not meant for them.

Participants included 19 Native Hawaiian ʻōpio between the ages of 15 to 24, all of whom either interacted with the juvenile justice system or experienced symptoms of poverty, periodic sadness, anger, anxiety, distrust of the intentions of those in power, used controlled substances or had family members with substance dependency. Participants also included lawelawe (service providers), such as school psychologists and counselors, correctional facility staff, child welfare service investigators, judiciary and juvenile probation staff and social workers who work directly with Native Hawaiian ʻōpio, as well as two Hawaiʻi state legislators.

“Understanding historical trauma is the first step to healing this trauma and improving wellbeing for our Native Hawaiian youth,” said Riley.

Exploring future studies

Despite the significant impacts that historical trauma has on Native Hawaiian Hawaiʻi, many expressed pride in their identity and provided multiple hopeful statements about their future. Suggestions for future studies include exploring Native Hawaiian experiences with historical trauma across the lifespan, creating a scale to measure Native Hawaiian historical trauma and curriculum that incorporates Hawaiian cultural practices, healing to build pride and fluency for all Hawaiʻi, including non-Hawaiians.

Additional findings include providing ʻōpio with support through their communities and trauma-informed policies that incorporate healing historical trauma can help them grow over time into sustainable, productive and nurturing beings. This research adds to the growing literature and “calls on the Legislature to support efforts to mitigate the effects of historical trauma.”

Co-authors on the paper included other faculty from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�: Anamalia Suʻesuʻe from the , Kristina Hulama from the , Scott Kaua Neumann from the and Jane Chung-Do from the .

A pair of students will receive professional development, mentoring, networking and research support opportunities after being selected to a national leadership program in the field of humanities. Nominated by faculty in the , Azlynn Brandenburg and MacAlasdair Uchimura are among 17 students from eight states to serve on the inaugural .

Hosted by the National Humanities Center, members will participate in various interactive experiences in the 2021–22 academic year that explore the importance of humanistic perspectives to address the concerns of contemporary society. Activities may also include a focus on specific projects and engagement at their home institutions.

According to the center, by bringing together a diverse group of students with shared passions and professional goals, “the council aims to facilitate creative and ambitious inter-institutional collaborations that help students prepare for a wide range of careers.”

Brandenburg, a senior triple majoring in , , and , hopes to attend graduate school and looks forward to the experience to grow as a researcher and academic.

“In participating in this council, we have all been encouraged to think about any research or community outreach projects that we would like to explore and seek collaboration on,” Brandenburg said. “As of right now, I am leaning towards a digital humanities project that would center around education reform and combating the spread of misinformation.”

Uchimura, a junior major, hopes to engage with experts in the humanities field and mentors who will assist in the transition from undergraduate to graduate level courses.

“I engage with literature (specifically classical literature) in ways that aren’t the average double-spaced paper, and I’m hoping that I can work with the resources from the council as well as my peers in order to figure out how I can make a significant contribution to the field of Classics through my work,” Uchimura said.

This program is an example of ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s goals of (PDF) and (PDF), two of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

Following the death of University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� Professor Emerita Haunani-Kay Trask in July 2021, the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� issued condolences and a public apology for an incident in 1990 widely covered in the media.

Members of the department called for Trask’s termination in a very public dispute over the use of the word “haole” (loosely translated to foreigner), It started after a student editorial in school’s Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi newspaper said “haole” was equivalent to the N-word. In response, Trask authored an editorial defending the use of the word while highlighting Hawaiʻi‘s colonial history and suggested the student could leave Hawaiʻi if they did not like it.

At the time, there was push from some ������Ƶ faculty to remove Trask, but a formal decision was made to retain her.

“The Department began to revisit the 1990/91 events in fall 2020 when a Native Hawaiian with a PhD from the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� College of Education asked to submit a proposal for a course on Hawaiian Philosophy,” explained Tamara Albertini, ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Philosophy chair and professor. “In that context we found out that the clash from 30 years ago had left lasting wounds among Native Hawaiian faculty and students. We instantly knew that we had a moral obligation to reach out. The passing of Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask did not prompt the apology. It was already in the making. However, we understood that we could not postpone making it public.”

The posthumous apology stated:

• “Professor Trask’s work has been crucial in foregrounding the systemic injustices that have plagued the practice of our discipline. We should have listened to her when she tried to teach us that these injustices had their roots in the history and power dynamics of colonial oppression both within the University of Hawaiʻi and outside of it.”

The full apology is below. Jon Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, the dean of the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ���Գܾ����� School of Hawaiian Knowledge said the gesture was appreciated.

“The acknowledgement of Professor Trask’s immense legacy and the apology from the Department of Philosophy was poignant and graceful and delivered as much to the spirit of our departed sister as well as to the Hawaiian people,” said Osorio. “�Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ���Գܾ����� commits to working with Philosophy and with all departments and colleges to help the university articulate ‘Hawaiian values and ways of inquiry.’”

Department of Philosophy’s apology

“The Department of Philosophy at ����ԴDz� is saddened by the news of the passing of Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask, Professor Emerita and co-founder of the �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ���Գܾ����� School of Hawaiian Knowledge. The Department recognizes her trail-blazing scholarship and visionary leadership and apologizes sincerely for the attacks she suffered from philosophers at ����ԴDz� in the past.

Professor Trask’s work has been crucial in foregrounding the systemic injustices that have plagued the practice of our discipline. We should have listened to her when she tried to teach us that these injustices had their roots in the history and power dynamics of colonial oppression both within the University of Hawaiʻi and outside of it. That is a history the Department of Philosophy is prepared to study and confront. Also, it understands the need to bring down barriers preventing Indigenous research from receiving academic recognition.

We acknowledge that our apology is long overdue and regret we did not convey it to Professor Trask in person while there was time. We are aware that our shortcomings have also affected the wider community of Kānaka ʻŌiwi faculty and students. This apology is therefore also addressed to them.

Today, the Department of Philosophy is eager to pursue philosophy self-critically and explore the rich and complex sources of Hawaiian Knowledge in our classrooms and research in comparative philosophy. We are also committed to seeking partnerships with the School of Hawaiian Knowledge and supporting Native Hawaiian projects aiming at articulating Hawaiian values and ways of inquiry as philosophy. Finally, we are not forgetting that the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� was erected on Hawaiian land. We acknowledge the need to respect our host culture.”

He Mihi i Mua o Nā Kānaka a Pau

—Unuhi ʻia e Scott Kaua Neumann

“Luʻuluʻu kaumaha ka Māhele Kālaimanaʻo o Ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Mānoa i ka hele hoʻi ʻole ʻana mai o Ke Kauka Haunani Kay-Trask, Polopeka Welo, kekahi mea hoʻokahua hoʻi nāna i hoʻokumu iā Hawaiʻinuiākea, Ke Kula ʻIke Hawaiʻi. Ua ʻike ʻia a ua mahalo ʻia hoʻi i kāna waele mua ʻana i ke ala ʻimi naʻauao ma ke kulanui me kāna alakaʻi ʻana ma loko o ia māhele, a ke mihi minamina nei me ka ʻoiaʻiʻo a me ka ʻehaʻeha no ka hana ʻino ʻia ona e nā kumu kālaimanaʻo ma Mānoa i kona wā e noho polopeka ana ma Ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Mānoa.

Ua huʻe ʻia a maka ka hana hoʻokae pono ʻole a ka māhele kālaimanaʻo e ua Polopeka Trask nei ma o kāna hana koʻikoʻi. ʻO ka pololei a me ka pono, he lohe mai nō kā ka māhele kālaimanaʻo i ke aʻo āna no ia mau hana hoʻokae i hele a laha i loko o ka moʻolelo o kona lāhui Hawaiʻi ponoʻī a me ka hoʻomāhuahua ʻia o ia mau hana hoʻokae hoʻokolonaio ma loko a ma waho hoʻi o ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi. ʻO ia aku nei ke ʻano o ka hana a ka Māhele Kālaimanaʻo e hoʻoponopono ai. Eia hou, ua ʻike ʻia iho hoʻi ke kuleana e wāwahi i nā ālaina o ka ʻimi naʻauao ʻana ma ke ʻano e kūpono ai no ka poʻe ʻōiwi a e mahalo ʻia nō hoʻi e ke Kulanui.

Ua hala loa akula ka manawa i pono ai kēia mihi ʻana me ka minamina ʻana ʻaʻole i waiho ʻia nei mihi i mua pono ona nāna hoʻokahi wale nō e huikala mai i kona wā e noho honua ana. Ua ʻike nō hoʻi mākou i ka hoʻohemahema ʻia o nā kumu ʻōiwi kanaka a pēlā pū hoʻi nā haumāna ʻōiwi kanaka e mākou. Iā lākou hoʻi kēia mihi. E huikala mai.

I kēia au naʻe e holo nei, ke hoʻoikaika nei a ke hoʻoulu nei mākou, ka Māhele Kālaimanaʻo, i ke kālaimanaʻo ma ka hikaloi ʻana iho me ka ʻimi ʻana aku i loko o ka lehu a me ka mano o nā kumu ʻike Hawaiʻi, a pēlā hoʻi ke kālailai hoʻokūkū a me ka hoʻohālikelike ma loko o kā mākou aʻo ʻana a me kā mākou noiʻi ʻana. E hoʻopaʻa ana nō hoʻi mākou i ke kuʻikahi me ka hoʻolōkahi aku me Hawaiʻinuiākea—Ke Kula ʻIke Hawaiʻi—ma nā hana e ulu ai ka Hawaiʻi ma ke kālaimanaʻo. ʻAʻole nō hoʻi mākou e hoʻopoina i ke kūkulu ʻia o ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Mānoa ma luna o ka ʻāina o nā Hawaiʻi no lākou nō ke kuleana. Ke ʻike maopopo iho nei mākou i ko mākou kuleana e hōʻihiʻihi a e hoʻoponopono me nā Hawaiʻi.”

—The Department of Philosophy at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�
Tamara Albertini (Poʻo), Arindam Chakrabarti, Chung-ying Cheng, Vrinda Dalmiya, Jonathan Fine, Masato Ishida, Thomas Jackson, Steve Odin, Franklin Perkins, Sean Smith, Joseph Tanke, George Tsai

Affiliate Faculty and Lecturers
David Falgout
Sharon Rowe

������Ƶ West Oʻahu
Lisa Rosenlee

Kapiʻolani Community College
Kuang-Hung Chen
Kyle Takaki

Leeward Community College
Steven W. Laycock

Related Ka Wai Ola Article:

A University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� professor has been awarded China’s highest honor given to foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China’s drive toward modernization. Professor Emeritus Roger T. Ames was presented the Chinese Government Friendship Award in Beijing on September 30, by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as part of China’s National Day celebration.

Ames is an expert on Chinese and Western comparative philosophy. He is currently humanities chair professor at Peking University, president of the World Consortium for Research in Confucian Cultures and vice president of the International Federation of Confucian Studies.

“In China, as in our host Hawaiian culture, good friends become part of the family. I have always felt this way at Peking University in my classroom and among my colleagues,” Ames said.

Ames has won several other international awards, including the John Dewey Society Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, Huilin Culture Award from Beijing Normal University in 2016 and Confucius Culture Prize in 2013.

He retired from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� in 2016 after serving as a faculty member since 1978. His campus awards include a 2012 Regent’s Medal for Excellence in Research, a 2010 College of Arts and Humanities Excellence in Scholarship Award and a 1990 Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching. Ames earned his BA from the University of British Columbia, master’s degrees from National Taiwan University and the University of British Columbia, and PhD from the University of London.

This work is an example of ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

Artists with ties to the are participating in an exhibition exploring “Art and Anarchy.” The show is being held in conjunction with the 2021 Pacific Association for the Continental Tradition philosophy conference, which was hosted by ������Ƶ Hilo at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park in early September.

The art exhibit, sponsored by the ������Ƶ Hilo and departments, in collaboration with the Volcano Art Center where the show is being held, will run through October 1, both online and in person.

Faculty showing their work at the exhibit include Professor of Art Michael Marshall; Associate Professor of Art Jon Goebel, ������Ƶ Hilo art department chair; and art lecturer Kevin Diminyatz.

The show will also feature work by Monica Mann, a ceramics instructor at Hawaiʻi Community College and former visiting artist at ������Ƶ Hilo.

Also participating is current ������Ƶ Hilo student Jennifer Ko, and alumni, Hawaiʻi CC lecturer Tobias Brill (1994) and Ezra Rose (2020).

Tim Freeman, an assistant professor of philosophy at ������Ƶ Hilo who creates pit-fired clay vessels, helped organize the Art and Anarchy show.

“Although anarchism is still popularly associated with a descent into chaos and violence, as a political philosophy it was never about bringing about disorder and chaos, but rather the liberation of humanity from oppressive order,” Freeman explained. “What the anarchist philosophers were advocating was a new kind of order, different from the authoritarian order that enforced such great inequities in society. The main goal of anarchism as a political philosophy was the maximation of both liberty and equality,” he adds.

The show may be viewed in person Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus. .

For more information, go to .

—By Susan Enright

“The task of ethics within the context of civil disobedience is to open up the realm of thinking about one’s values and viewpoints,” said Associate Professor of Philosophy Celia Bardwell-Jones.

������Ƶ Hilo philosophy and business faculty held a public symposium in September titled, “Do We Have an Obligation to Obey the Law?: Civil Disobedience in a Global Context.”

Brief talks were presented by philosophy professors Bardwell-Jones, Chris Lauer and Tim Freeman, as well as Benjamin Zenk, instructor of business management and ethics. The catalyst for the discussion was the ongoing protests of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Maunakea. Speakers addressed the history and ethical dimensions of civil disobedience and other nonviolent practices.

“The ethical question we are going to attempt to answer today is, ‘Do we have a moral obligation to obey the law?’” said Bardwell-Jones. “If we don’t get an answer, we hope that we leave you with more questions that we hope that you can then reflect on later. The task of ethics within the context of civil disobedience is to open up the realm of thinking about one’s values and viewpoints. Civil disobedience encourages us to reflect on standards of justice that we may take for granted. Just because it is the law, is it moral?”

She added, “I would like to first acknowledge and recognize the efforts of civil disobedience that are occurring on the mauna currently. We believe that this is the perfect practice and expression of civil disobedience that is happening right now so close to home. As a department we have little epistemic authority or credibility to speak about the ethics of civil disobedience compared to the rich knowledge that is happening on the mauna. We would like to recognize that knowledge production.”

History of civil disobedience

Freeman, who has visited the mauna several times during the protest, spoke on the history of civil disobedience and on the Hawaiian concept of kapu aloha, a code of conduct demanding restraint, empathy and respect. He contrasted his experiences at the tumultuous 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle with his time at Maunakea. “I am impressed by what is going on up at the mauna,” he said. “Whatever you think of the issue, I think we all have to say their commitment to kapu aloha and nonviolence training sessions are impressive.”

Freeman explained that the point of nonviolent civil disobedience is to draw the public’s attention to an issue. He cited Henry David Thoreau’s 1848 essay on civil disobedience, which argues that an individual has the duty to disobey unjust laws. Martin Luther King Jr., in his letter from a Birmingham jail, argued that civil disobedience should be nonviolent, and those who engage in it should be willing to pay the penalty of disobeying the law and going to jail. Doing this shows respect for the law without agreeing with the law.

“The whole point of civil disobedience is not to overthrow the state but to raise awareness about the issue to the public so the issue can be addressed,” said Freeman. “What has been going on up at the mauna has made people really think more deeply and reexamine the issue, which I think is broader or bigger than just science versus religion. It is about our whole way of being now that we are facing the crisis of our time with climate change and our relationship to the earth.”

Jimmy Naniʻole, one of the 38 kūpuna who were arrested for blocking the road at the initial protests, spoke during the question and answer period and thanked the speakers for participating. “I want to thank all of you for sharing the philosophical basis for why the mauna is so important not only to Hawaiʻi it is important to every Indigenous and native people of the world,“ says Naniʻole. “I don’t think there is a person in this room who doesn’t have an indigenous or native connection. Whether you are from Ireland or Africa. We are all one and the same.”

The symposium was co-sponsored by the Mokaulele Program, the chancellor’s offices and at , the Hawaiʻi Island Philosophy Club, the and the .

—By Leah Sherwood, a ������Ƶ Hilo tropical conservation biology and environmental science graduate student

When Associate Professor Chris Lauer brings up St. Augustine’s “crisis of the soul” in his philosophy class, some of his students at the have difficulty relating it to their own lives. On the other hand, his students at the Kulani Correctional Facility, an all-male prison located about 20 miles south of Hilo, can instantly relate to Augustine’s lamentations.

This is the second time Lauer has taught the three-credit Introduction to Philosophy course at the correctional facility. The class meets twice a week and is two hours long, focusing on student discussion.

Lauer understands why St. Augustine generates so much excitement among the inmates.

“The crisis of the soul causes us to ask who we are, what matters to us, and how we build ourselves back up again,” he explains. “When I taught Augustine at the prison last semester, the discussions got so loud and intense that the correctional officers came to check on us.”

The course is part of the Kulani Correctional workforce educational programs, which offers a range of courses from forklift training to graphic design, and whose purpose is to provide inmates with vocational development and reentry skills training. The programs are supported by the state Department of Public Safety Education Division and offered through the Office of Continuing Education and Training (OCET).

Developing skills

Lauer says that philosophy courses develop essential, transferable skills vital to the workforce.

“A person with a philosophy major tends to have among the highest mid-career incomes of any major,” explains Lauer. “This is for some of the reasons that you would expect: critical thinking skills, writing skills, but some of it is job flexibility; going in not expecting a career track, but being willing to look for opportunities. Philosophy majors don’t expect to get a job in the philosophy factory. They pursue lots of different interests until they find what sticks.”

Richard Cowan, the apprenticeship training program coordinator at Hawaiʻi CC OCET, has managed the Kulani educational programs for the past four years. He was instrumental in growing the program’s initial course offerings from three to 15 courses, which includes Lauer’s philosophy course. Cowan notes that the class improves the inmates’ ability to engage in discussions and debate substantive topics.

Brilliant discussions

Lauer says the discussions have been brilliant since the first day of class.

“They tell me that the class was helpful for them understanding ideas, and they are articulating new thoughts that they haven’t thought of before,” says Lauer. “This class also builds advanced literacy. We are reading difficult books, which is one of the skills the students pick up the fastest—becoming a better reader.”

Since students don’t have access to computers and printers, they handwrite their assignments, which are usually four to six pages in length. The reading list includes heavyweight texts from the Western canon such as Plato’s Republic and Symposium, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Descartes’s Meditations, Nietzche’s Genealogy of Morals, Augustine’s Confessions, and Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir, as well as some ancient Buddhist and Daoist texts.

Cowan says that these types of programs are instrumental to reducing recidivism rates.

“Today the national recidivism rate is around 67 percent. By participating and completing vocational training, that rate is typically reduced to 30 percent,” he says. “If an individual obtains an associate’s degree, the rate is reduced to 13.7 percent. With a bachelor’s degree it falls to 5.6 percent, and with a master’s degree they do not go back to prison.”

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—By Leah Sherwood, a ������Ƶ Hilo graduate student in the tropical conservation biology and environmental science program. Photos by Raiatea Arcuri, a professional photographer majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance at ������Ƶ Hilo.

University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� Professor Emeritus of Roger T. Ames received the 2019 (JDS) Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished career as a scholar-practitioner, working and living in both the Deweyan and Confucian traditions.

The award recognizes a scholar-practitioner who, in the Deweyan tradition, connects the worlds of theory and practice in promoting the development of democratic citizens; or an exceptional explicator and interpreter of Dewey’s philosophy and educational theory.

According to the JDS executive committee, over the course of his career, Ames has inspired many students and colleagues, and it is his gracious spirit, as well as his tireless commitment to fostering intercultural understanding and creative democratic communities beyond cultural and national boundaries that renders him an exemplary role model and interpreter of Dewey’s philosophy.

Ames has also won several international awards, including the 2013 Confucius Culture Prize at the Sixth Annual World Confucian Conference in Shandong, China. He retired from ������Ƶ in 2016 and is currently the humanities chair professor in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University in Beijing, China.

The is one of 12 institutions included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2018–2019 Fulbright U.S. Scholars. Each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top-producing institutions for the , the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. The . ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� last received this recognition in 2010–2011.

Six scholars from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� were awarded Fulbright awards for 2018–2019—“more than any other university in the state of Hawaiʻi.” ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� has produced a total of 43 Fulbright recipients since 2010.

“Fulbright programs have long enabled our faculty to gain valuable experience overseas, developing and nurturing important international ties, with lasting benefit for faculty and students at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� and in the many countries where they conduct research or teach,” said Vice Chancellor for Research and Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Michael Bruno. “We are proud that ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� continues to field so many successful applicants; this kind of international engagement is a key component of who we are as Hawaiʻi’s flagship university.”

“We thank the colleges and universities across the United States that we are recognizing as Fulbright top-producing institutions for their role in increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce. “We are proud of all the Fulbright students and scholars from these institutions who represent America abroad, increasing and sharing their skills and knowledge on a global stage.”

The Fulbright Scholars from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� in 2018–2019 are:

• Betsy Gilliland, associate professor, (Chile)
• Phillip Ooi, professor, (Japan)
• Georganne Nordstrom, associate professor, (Ireland)
• Adam Smith, PhD candidate, (Iceland)
• Anna Stirr, associate professor, (Nepal)
• Tamara von Albertini Vassileff, professor, (Bulgaria)

An information session for faculty and graduate students will take place on Tuesday, February 26, from noon to 1:15 p.m. in Kuykendall 106.

An information session for undergraduate students will take place on Tuesday, February 26, from 3 to 4 p.m. in QLC 411, including Luce, Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships.

The Fulbright Scholar Program is supported at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� through Fulbright program advisors R. Anderson Sutton, assistant vice chancellor of International and Exchange Programs and dean of the ; William Chapman, interim dean of the ; Julienne K. Maeda, associate dean of the ; and Christina Gerhardt, associate professor in the .

Learn more information about the .

More on the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 800 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators, professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, and independent scholars are awarded Fulbright grants to teach and/or conduct research annually. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program operates in over 125 countries throughout the world.

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The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State, funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education.

The Fulbright Program also awards grants to U.S. students and teachers to conduct research and teach overseas. In addition, some 4,000 foreign Fulbright students and scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research and teach foreign languages.

Learn more about the .

Ron Amundson, emeritus professor of philosophy at the , has been named a Fellow of the (AAAS). The award was formally announced in the November 24 issue of the journal .

Each year, the AAAS Council elects members for their distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Amundson was honored for his contributions to the philosophy of science and bioethics, particularly the study of evolution and social studies of disability. Amundson’s book, The Changing Role of the Embryo in Evolutionary Thought (2005), is a respected analysis of the changes in evolutionary biology that are taking place under the influence of molecular genetics. Several of his articles about disability have argued that the concept of “normality” was not inferred from biology, but was socially invented.

Amundson came to ������Ƶ Hilo in 1978. He taught philosophy courses in theory of knowledge, as well as several courses in the philosophical understandings of various scientific disciplines (anthropology, psychology, linguistics and astronomy).

Amundson served as chair of the philosophy department and was a member of the Chancellor’s Committee on Disability Access. At the ������Ƶ System level, he served on the ������Ƶ Research Council and the Systemwide Disability Access Committee. Amundson retired from teaching in 2012.

More about AAAS

AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of Science and other scientific journals. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes nearly 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals.

The AAAS Fellows of 2017 will be presented with official certificates and rosette pins on February 17, 2018 during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.

—By Alyson Kakugawa-Leong

The Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education has pledged $1.35 million to support the . This builds on their 2012 gift of $1.25 million which established the academy.

Located in the , the academy is the home of philosophy for children Hawaiʻi (p4c Hawaiʻi). is an innovative approach to education that is transforming the schooling experience by engaging people in the activity of philosophy. The p4c Hawaiʻi approach helps students and teachers convert traditional classrooms into intellectually safe communities of inquiry. Together, they develop their ability to think for themselves in responsible ways by exploring “big questions” that arise from their interests, experiences, and learning contexts.

“As a foundation committed to the happiness and well-being of children around the world, we are grateful to the University of Hawaiʻi for its ongoing work promoting philosophy and ethics in classrooms,” said Goro Takaguchi, Uehiro Foundation managing director. “We are inspired by the impact the Uehiro Academy has made so far, and excited about our continued partnership.”

Since 2012, funding from the Uehiro Foundation has helped to support interdisciplinary collaboration between the College of Arts and Humanities and .

Collaboration results include:

• Hundreds of College of Education teacher candidates have successfully completed an introduction to p4c Hawai‘i course (PHIL 492) and are now using the approach in their professional teaching practice.
• Four p4cHI model schools and additional partner schools have developed as sites for College of Education teacher education programs, including p4c Hawaiʻi teacher professional development and research. The model schools are: Waikīkī Elementary, Ka‘elepulu Elementary, Waimānalo Elementary and Intermediate and Kailua High School.
• The creation of a p4c Hawaiʻi College of Education endorsed certificate, which is helping to meet the growing demand for local, national, and international p4cHI practitioners by creating an institutional pathway for developing, verifying and officially recognizing the quality of those practitioners.
• For more collaboration information, go the the .

“The master teachers and researchers in the Uehiro Academy have established innovative and exciting programs in Hawaiʻi schools that have become models for both U.S. and international educational leaders,” said College of Arts and Humanities Dean Peter Arnade. “Through the generosity of the Uehiro Foundation, the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� has become the gold standard of philosophy for children in the schools.”

College of Education Dean Donald Young added, “Through our partnership and collaboration with Uehiro Academy, the College of Education has incorporated p4c in all our teacher preparation programs. The p4c philosophy and strategies prepare our teacher candidates with highly effective insights and abilities to reach all children in their classrooms and communities. Thanks to Uehiro Academy we are able to improve practice and graduate highly capable teachers.”

For the full story, read the .

On Tuesday, September 27, the community will celebrate with a full day of classes, discussions and a movie screening.

Discussions will include “Andalusian Mystical Philosopher Ibn Masarra” by and a roundtable discussion, “What are the most pressing questions facing Muslims today?” with University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty and students. There will also be a movie screening The Mirror by Jafar Panahi. All events take place at Kuykendall 101.

Islam Day 2016 is sponsored by , , , and ������Ƶ Mānoa , , , and departments.

Islam Day (September 24) is a day of recognition for Islam and Muslims in Hawaiʻi. It was established by a symbolic resolution of the State Legislature in 2009. Since September 24 falls on a Saturday this year, the ������Ƶ Islamic Studies Program moved the celebration to the 27.

All events are free and open to the public.

Professor of Philosophy Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee recently published the book chapter “Multiculturalism and Feminism Revisited: A Hybridized Confucian Care Ethics” in the anthology Chinese Philosophy and Gender edited by Ann A. Pang-White.

In the book chapter, Rosenlee examines the concepts of hybridity and interculturality where complex theoretical transactions between feminism and Confucianism are not conceptualized unilaterally in an impact-response model, but instead are seen as mutually enriching. In “Multiculturalism and Feminism Revisited: A Hybridized Confucian Care Ethic,” Rosenlee seeks to reconstitute a bidirectional theoretical exchange in the feminist space where both feminist care ethics and Confucianism are mutually hybridized, expanded and ultimately enriched.

More research by Rosenlee

Rosenlee’s research areas of interest are Chinese philosophy, ethics and feminism. She is the author of Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation (State University of New York Press, 2006), and has published numerous book chapters and journal articles, including “Why Care? A Feminist Re-appropriation of Confucian Xiao,” in Dao Companion to the Analects (Springer 2014); “Review of Femininity and Feminism: Chinese and Contemporary [A Special Issue of the Journal of Chinese Philosophy] Vol. 36, No.2, June 2009,” Hypatia (2012); “How Do We Beat the Bitch?” in Beyond Burning Bras: Feminist Activism for Everyone (Praeger Press, 2010); “Neiwai, Civility, and Gender Distinctions,” in Asian Philosophy (2004) and “Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics of the Self and Its Aporia,” in International Studies in Philosophy (1998).

—By Julie Funasaki Yuen

Five University of Hawaiʻi teachers have been recognized with the Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching—Katherine “Sam” Geiling, Will Jonen, Joel A. LeBel, Barbara Meguro and Jamie Simpson Steele.

This award recognizes dedication and demonstrated excellence of teachers of undergraduate students. It was established as a memorial to the late Frances Davis, who taught mathematics at Leeward Community College and ������Ƶ Mānoa for 19 years.

Frances Davis Award honorees

Instructor, ,

Sam Geiling is the heartbeat of the veterinary technology program at Windward Community College, the only program of its kind in the state. She has taught more than a dozen animal science classes and specializes in teaching clinical laboratory techniques with a passion.

She motivates and helps her students grasp the rigorous material, acquire skills and excel from the certificate of achievement in veterinary assisting to the associate in science in veterinary technology degree. Her impact on students goes beyond the classroom. While challenged at work in a veterinary clinic one student remarked, “I asked myself, ‘What would Sam do?’ and it helped!”

Geiling is committed to preparing students to pass the vet tech national examination for careers in veterinary clinics or labs. To this end, she has forged relationships with more than 30 vet clinics and shelters, designed new courses and helped make the AS degree in veterinary technology a reality at Windward
CC.

Will Jonen
Assistant professor, math and sciences,

Through innovative teaching methods in the field of anatomy and physiology and dedication to his students, Will Jonen has proven himself to be an outstanding educator. He feels that playing even a small role in the positive growth of people gives his work substance and has enhanced his sense of fulfillment in life. While maintaining belief in Kapiʻolani Community College’s motto, “Strive for the highest,” Jonen is constantly searching for ways to best support students in their learning.

One of his students said, “Dr. Jonen stands alone as the single most inspirational teacher I have had. He consistently demonstrates a high level of expectations for students in combination with an equally high level of support and concern for our learning. Dr. Jonen’s mastery of anatomy and physiology, his ability to impart information in a clear and insightful way, his enthusiasm and his high expectations are preparing me for success in the future.”

A colleague said, “In his relatively short tenure at KCC, he has transformed the zoology curriculum to make it more current, dynamic and engaging for students. After finding the previous materials to be outdated and uninspiring, he rewrote the entire course packet single-handedly and made it available to other faculty.”

Joel A. LeBel
Graduate assistant, , College of Arts and Humanities,

Joel LeBel is described as one of the strongest and scholastically knowledgeable PhD candidates in the Department of Philosophy. His mastery of the relevant subject matter is matched only by his creativity in clearly conveying some of the more esoteric concepts and traditions in the discipline.

Wrote one nominator, “Anyone familiar with philosophy knows it is fundamentally driven by questions, and the novel, fun and relevant way LeBel was able to pose these millennia year-old questions was nothing short of imaginative and perceptive.”

He established a learning community, in which he seats his students in a circle, with him in the middle of it, because of his belief that “all are teachers, and all are students.” He has cultivated an academically safe environment that unshackles students from intellectual restraints.

Instructor, ,

Barbara Meguro has been teaching service courses for non-majors at ������Ƶ Hilo since 2001 and has been teaching the introductory course for majors since 2012. She is a major contributor to most of the course notes used in the computer science service classes, particularly microcomputer applications software, web technology, web server management and graphics and game programming.

She recently participated in an National Science Foundation study about the effect of studio-based learning in computer science courses on learning and students’ confidence in their ability to master the material.

Prior to ������Ƶ Hilo, she taught computer application and industry network certification courses for 17 years at Coastline Community College in Fountain Valley, CA. She also supervised the college’s computer laboratories there. Her primary industry experience was programming in basic for the budget department of ITT Cannon Electric. In 1987, she self-published WordStar Explained and DOS for Beginners, both of which were used by several community colleges in California. As technology changed, her textbooks switched to WordPerfect and dBASE.

Assistant professor, , ,

Jamie Simpson Steele has a passion for teaching that is expressed through dynamic instruction, dedicated responsiveness to students, collaboration and co-teaching and a commitment to universal design and culturally relevant pedagogy.

A uniquely potent characteristic of her engaged and creative teaching derives from her background in the performing arts, which generates high-energy student learning through movement and action, thinking and talking. She sees the arts as a “rehearsal for life” and that “an engagement in aesthetic realms provides entries into how the world works in ways that traditional learning does not.”

She has assumed leadership in developing, implementing and assessing a co-teaching program to engage future teachers in blended content involving general elementary and special education through redesigning courses to better meet the needs of diverse learners.

Karuna Joshi-Peters, 71, will receive a doctorate in philosophy—her second doctorate—at the ������Ƶ Mānoa Advanced Degree Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 14. She shares some advice for non-traditional students wishing to return to school.

Joshi-Peters is married to ������Ƶ Mānoa Physics Professor Emeritus Michael Peters. They are longtime Kāneʻohe residents. Her sponsor is Ron Bontekoe, philosophy chair and professor.

Two doctorates? Nobody even needs one. Why would you want a second? And at your age? The questions were many and the answers elusive. Even to myself, I couldn’t answer these as I prepare to walk at the on Saturday, May 14.

India is the land of my birth many decades ago. My father was passionate about education at a time when World War II made warriors out of many a young man. Even as a daughter born in British India, growing up in independent India, I received an excellent education, culminating in a master of arts in philosophy from Banaras Hindu University. A scholarship from the East-West Center at ������Ƶ Mānoa brought me to Hawaiʻi in 1971—some 45 years ago.

The first PhD from ������Ƶ Mānoa trained me as a clinical psychologist. It gave me a profession that I love and a flexibility that was critical while raising a family. The second PhD has trained me as a philosopher. It gives me boundless beginnings—to become anything I wish to become. To achieve the degrees, I balanced the demands of career, family, health and academia. Things were not always perfect, or even good, sometimes. I worked hard, but more significantly, I had the unwavering support and encouragement of a large circle of loving people, at the center of which is my best friend and husband, Michael. (Old professors never retire; they just make graduate students out of their family members.)

What did I write about for my second dissertation? What advice do I have for non-traditional students, be they the “young-old” or single mothers wishing to return to school for educational enhancement? The answer to the two questions is a combination of what I focused on in my two doctorates. In psychology I studied “self-reinforcement.” In philosophy I thought about “trust” and “self-trust.” I tried to outline an epistemology of trust, which is a fancy way of asking how do I know trust. I also reflected on what do I value in trust. Putting them together led to the idea of an ecology of trust. Thus the title of my philosophy dissertation: Knowing Trust: Towards an Ecology of Trust.

Giving advice is not what that I believe in; giving encouragement is. So I end by sharing this: If you can imagine something you’d like to explore, or wish there was something you had accomplished—wait no longer. Now is the time and here is the place. Trust in yourself and start. Support from others will begin to flow to help you realize your dreams, even the ones yet undreamt.

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Professor of Philosophy has been honored with the Huilin Culture Award from in China. He accepted the award, which includes approximately $50,000, at the Beijing campus on February 27, 2016.

The award committee cited Professor Ames’ extensive work in comparative philosophy, research on Chinese philosophy and his publications on Confucianism, including , and a philosophical translation of the . Many of his titles have become classics in the study of Chinese philosophy.

Ames has won several international awards, including the 2013 Confucius Culture Prize at the Sixth Annual World Confucian Conference in Shandong, China.

Also honored was Chinese writer and comparative literature scholar Yue Daiyun, a professor at Peking University.

More on the Huilin Culture Award

The award is named after Professor Huilin Huang, director of the international communication of the Chinese Culture Research Center of Beijing Normal University.

The annual award recognizes both Chinese and international scholars for their outstanding contributions in disseminating Chinese culture within China and abroad. There were 68 total nominations for the 2016 awards.