When information management technology associate professor Prasanna Karhade logs into Zoom to teach his two courses at Shidler College, the gallery of boxes on his screen always includes more than his current roster. Former students, colleagues and industry experts invited to class often round out the group. Much like his own journey through academia, Karhade values personal relationships and the connections they can forge. 

A world-class innovation and entrepreneurship center being built on the site of the former Atherton YMCA will receive $500,000 in support. Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) and American Savings Bank(ASB) have each committed a $250,000 gift to the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation for the live-learn-work community at RISE—Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs, which will be operated by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at UH Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business.

Former bank president Rich Wacker and his wife, Eileen, have committed a $250,000 gift to the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation in support of the UH Mānoa’s Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs (RISE) project, a world-class innovation and entrepreneurship facility coupled with student housing on the site of the former Atherton YMCA across from the flagship campus.

Led by a team of Hawai‘i business leaders serving as mentors in the Next Gen Leaders Program, ten students, including three from Shidler College, spent this summer tackling some of Hawai‘i’s most complex topics – homelessness, environmental sustainability and systemic racism in an eight-week mentorship program hosted by the Jordan & Cara Odo Scholarship Foundation.

Teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired many faculty members to get even more creative. For one University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler College of Business instructor, overcoming challenges was paramount to provide marketing graduate students with a valuable global education and enhanced student learning experience.

Did you know that UH Mānoa will be getting a new live, learn, work studio in summer 2023?

Shidler College alumni, friends and donors joined a virtual discussion on June 18 about this new project, as well as current Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) initiatives. Guest speakers Monica Umeda, co-founder of Akabotics and Susan Yamada, BBA ’82, director of UH Ventures, provided exciting updates to attendees.