Founded in 1966, the School of Travel Industry Management (TIM School) marks its 60th anniversary in 2026. The milestone offers both a celebration and an opportunity to reflect on the lasting impact the school, its students and its alumni have on Hawai‘i’s largest industry. Its earliest history dates to 1960 when Governor William Quinn, who was also the president of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), lobbied to have Hawai‘i selected as the site of the first hotel management degree program in the Asia-Pacific region. More recently, the TIM School rejoined Shidler College in 2019 after being separate since 1992, and in fall of 2025 there were 264 students enrolled. 

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler College of Business Alumni Association, a 501(c)(3)organization, hosted its 26th Annual Executive Vineyards fundraiser on March 5, 2026, at The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort. The signature event raised more than $70,000 in support of the association’s mission to strengthen alumni engagement, advance student programming, provide scholarships and elevate the Shidler College of Business locally and globally.

When Lyra Pascual, BBA ’17, a senior accountant at Nakupuna Companies, volunteered at the Ironman World Championship in 2024, an idea took root. Watching athletes cross the finish line, she wondered if she could do the same. There was a small problem –– she didn’t know how to swim. “Maybe some day,” she told herself.

While they were freshmen in Shidler College’s Direct Admit Program, alumnae Amber Abara, BBA ’12, MS ’21, and Morgan “Birdy” Cobb, BBA ’12, MS ’21, crossed paths and quickly became best friends. What they didn’t know then was that their friendship would later spark a business — one inspired by a vivid dream Abara had during their Master of Science in Marketing Management program. In the dream, she saw a soap bar shaped like a gua sha. When she shared it with Cobb, expecting a laugh, Cobb immediately responded, “Let’s do it.”

Shidler College of Business alumnus Alexis Buchholz, BBA ’04, has released a new book, title “Why You’re Still Poor: And What to Do About It.” The book offers a practical framework to help readers build financial stability and long-term wealth through disciplined decision-making and ownership thinking.