Chaminade University Of Honolulu And Kamehameha Schools Formalize Partnership To Increase Post-High Success Of Native Hawaiians Majoring In Stem Fields

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Chaminade University Of Honolulu And Kamehameha Schools Formalize Partnership To Increase Post-High Success Of Native Hawaiians Majoring In Stem Fields
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Chaminade University of Honolulu and Kamehameha Schools formalize partnership to increase post-high success of Native Hawaiians majoring in STEM fields

By 2020, 65 percent of all jobs in the economy will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school. To prepare Native Hawaiian students pursuing degrees specifically in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines, Chaminade University of Honolulu (CUH) and Kamehameha Schools (KS) will formalize a partnership of agreement supporting students' aspirations to enter the industry upon graduation.

"Chaminade University as a Catholic Marianist university is committed to providing access to education for Native Hawaiians and others of Pacific Island descent. Among the programs and curricula offered, supported by dedicated faculty and staff, are those designed to support a strong Hawaiian STEM nation, said Chaminade University's president, Brother Bernard Ploeger, SM, PhD. "Marianist characteristics clearly align with Native Hawaiian cultural values around faith, family, education, justice, service and change. It is a privilege to work in partnership with Kamehameha Schools to achieve this vision."

Kamehameha Schools' CEO Jack Wong says "this landmark partnership will ensure Native Hawaiian students who are interested in pursuing STEM-related careers have a solid foundation."

"Collaborating with a Native Hawaiian serving institution like Chaminade aligns with our strategic direction to improve post-high outcomes for Hawaiian students. Together, we see a workforce, prepared and poised to contribute to and lead their communities -- locally and globally," Wong added.

The partnership is rooted in five key areas - scholarship support, curriculum initiatives, research, outreach and wraparound services and support.

KS Vice President of Strategy and Innovation, Lauren Nahme, sees Chaminade University as a vital post-high incubator toward 4-year completion and readiness for career or further studies. "Both academic and non-academic support such as tutoring, mentoring, financial support, internships, and research opportunities will be integral to ensure programmatic strength and student success."

The agreement between the two educational institutions marks the beginning of a formal partnership to create unprecedented leadership in industry opportunities for Native Hawaiian students attending CUH.

"This exciting partnership between Chaminade University and Kamehameha Schools proposes to laser-focus its efforts in the development of a cohort of Hawaiian STEM leaders and professionals," said Chaminade University's director for the Office of Native Hawaiian Partnerships, RaeDeen Keahiolalo-Karasuda, PhD. "Together we envision a Hawaiian STEM renaissance with the production of a new leadership cadre composed of MDs, PhDs, DPH, PharmDs, RNs and other highly qualified STEM professionals from the Hawaiian community for the Hawaiian community. A Hawaiian sense of place steeped in Hawaiian cultural practices will be the foundation on which the cadre of 21st century STEM professionals will be built."

Helen Turner, PhD, Chaminade University's dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics added, "The partnership with Kamehameha Schools has the potential to be truly transformative in Hawai'i's STEM landscape. Our science students and research faculty at Chaminade are focused on Hawaii's (and humanity's) big questions: How do we stay healthy? How are we sustainable? How do we use science to achieve justice and equity? Kamehameha Schools shares our vision of a new generation of scientists, health practitioners and policymakers who are grounded in Hawaii and who are ready for the era of ‘big data'."

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About Kamehameha Schools

Kamehameha Schools is a private, educational, charitable trust founded and endowed by the legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Kamehameha Schools operates a statewide educational system enrolling over 6,900 students of Hawaiian ancestry at K-12 campuses on O'ahu, Maui and Hawai'i and 30 preschool sites statewide. Over 41,000 additional Hawaiian learners and their caregivers are served each year through a range of other Kamehameha Schools' outreach programs, community collaborations and financial aid opportunities. Income generated from its Hawai'i real estate and diversified investment portfolio fund the Schools' educational mission almost entirely. For more information, visit www.ksbe.edu

About Chaminade University of Honolulu

Celebrating 60 years of educating students for life, service and successful careers, Chaminade University is a Catholic/ Marianist university offering programs of study grounded in the liberal arts with day, evening, online and accelerated courses. A Native Hawaiian serving institution, Chaminade is located at 3140 Wai'alae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816. For more information, visit the Chaminade Web site at www.chaminade.edu or call (808) 735-4711.

About Chaminade University

INTRODUCTION
Celebrating 50 years of educating students for life, service and successful careers, Chaminade University offers programs of study grounded in the liberal arts with day, evening, online and accelerated courses.

The main campus is located in Kaimuki at 3140 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816, with 11 satellite locations around Oahu military bases and Catholic parishes and schools.

For more information, visit the Chaminade University website (link above) or call (808) 735-4711.

CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY'S MISSION
Chaminade University offers its students an education in a collaborative learning environment that prepares them for life, work and service. Guided by its Catholic, Marianist and liberal arts educational traditions, Chaminade encourages the development of moral character and personal competencies, and the commitment to build a just and peaceful society. The University offers the civic and church communities of the Pacific region its academic and intellectual resources in the pursuit of common aims.

CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY OVERVIEW

INSTITUTION: Chaminade University of Honolulu
PRESIDENT: Dr. Mary C. Wesselkamper
YEAR FOUNDED: 1955
SPONSORSHIP: Independent with Catholic, Marianist affiliation
DEGREE LEVELS OFFERED: Associates, Bachelors, Masters
CALENDAR PLAN: Semester, two summer sessions/four, ten-week evening sessions

FTE Student/FTE Faculty ratio: 10.97: 1
Students receiving financial aid -93.71%
Native Hawaiian ethnicity breakdown: 13.91 %

CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY -- DESCRIPTIVE OVERVIEW

Chaminade University of Honolulu is a small, Catholic, comprehensive university sponsored by the Province of the United States of America of the Society of Mary (Marianists). It is located on a hillside in suburban Honolulu, two miles from Waikiki beach. Chaminade's fall 2005 enrollment is more than 3,000 -- 1112 traditional day students, and approximately 2,000 students enrolled in graduate studies and the accelerated evening program offered at 11 sites on Oahu and via distance education. Chaminade currently offers three bachelors degrees in 21 undergraduate majors, six graduate degree programs, and several professional certificate programs.

Celebrating 50 years of educating students for life, service and successful careers, Chaminade University offers programs of study grounded in the liberal arts with day, evening, online and accelerated courses. The main campus is located in Kaimuki at 3140 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816, with 11 satellite locations around Oahu military bases and Catholic parishes and schools. For more information, visit the Chaminade University website at www.chaminade.edu or call (808) 735-4711.

CHAMINADE AT A GLANCE

Students and faculty at Chaminade have a very wide range of backgrounds and beliefs. The values-centered education at Chaminade is universal and ecumenical.
Students and faculty at Chaminade have a very wide range of backgrounds and beliefs. The values-centered education at Chaminade is universal and ecumenical. Chaminade is ranked nationally among the top colleges in its category for diversity by U.S. News & World Report.
Chaminade offers significant financial aid to assist underrepresented minority students.
Chaminade University of Honolulu (CUH) is the only Catholic University in Hawaii. Founded by the Society of Mary under the leadership of Father Robert Mackey in 1955, Chaminade has been educating students in the Catholic Marianist tradition for nearly 50 years.
Chaminade is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Intimate in size with an excellent student teacher-ratio (11:01), CUH students and faculty enjoy a spirit of ohana supporting each other ensuring their future success.
Chaminade has been producing teachers who serve in the state for nearly 50 years; the state's first online Masters in Education was offered in 2004. The University also offers degrees in early childhood development and elementary education. It is also the only Montessori teacher preparatory program in Hawaii.
The award-winning Interior Design program is the only one in Hawaii offering a four-year degree in interior design.
Business is one of the most popular areas of study, and the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program, led by a group of successful business advisors, prepares undergraduate students for entrepreneurial work in a wide range of organizations.
Chaminade's basketball team earned worldwide acclaim in 1982 with its 77-72 victory over the number-one ranked University of Virginia, still known as one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY - A BRIEF HISTORY
The University is named after the founder of the Society of Mary, Father William Joseph Chaminade, a French Catholic priest who survived the political turmoil and religious persecution of the French Revolution. Father Chaminade believed that the rebuilding of the Church in France in the aftermath of the French Revolution would best be accomplished by the engagement of the laity in small communities of faith, dedicated to prayer, education and acts of service to the larger community. After two decades of work with those communities, and the founding of the Daughters of Mary in 1816, the third part of his vision of the Marianist Family materialized when he founded the Society of Mary, a religious community of priests and lay brothers in 1817.

The Marianists realized that education provided the means for passing on their distinctive vision of the Christian life to future generations, and, central to their educational efforts, was an emphasis on liberal education. In this sense, they understood that education was not merely a means for imparting a religious vision, but also an intellectual formation valuable in itself. This educational tradition and spirituality of the Society of Mary also embodies the ideal of service and an abiding respect for the complementary nature of a liberal education, on the one hand, and professional and technical education on the other. As the only Catholic university in Hawaii, Chaminade affirms a commitment to the integration of intellectual skills, Marianist values, social responsibility and cultural awareness.

In 1849, members of the Society of Mary came to the United States to minister to immigrant populations. As an outgrowth of their ministry, they founded first what grew to the University of Dayton and, shortly thereafter, what became St. Mary's University of San Antonio. In September of 1883, eight Marianists arrived in Honolulu and assumed the leadership of what is now St. Louis School. After many years of encouragement by the alumni of St. Louis, the decision was made by the Marianists to establish a Catholic college in Honolulu and, as a consequence, St. Louis Junior College opened in 1955. In 1957, the college became a four-year coeducational institution and the name was changed to Chaminade College. Chaminade expanded its services to the community in l967 with the establishment of an evening session to serve adults with business, family and military responsibilities who desired to pursue a college degree. In l977 Chaminade added graduate programs, and the name was changed to Chaminade University of Honolulu.

Leadership
In 1996, Dr. Sue Wesselkamper became Chaminade's eighth president and the first woman to serve in such a post in Hawaii's history. The University is guided by a 40-member Board of Regents and 25-member Board of Governors representing a wide spectrum of business, government and education leaders from throughout Hawaii. Chaminade employs 291 full time faculty and staff and has approximately 300 adjunct professors on its active list.

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