Scholarship honors Hawai‘i hotel executive and leader Barry Wallace

picture of barry wallace
Barry L. Wallace

A $50,000 scholarship endowment has been established in honor of Hawai‘i hotel and hospitality industry leader, Barry Wallace. The scholarship was established by Wallace’s wife, Nancy, to support undergraduate students at the School of Travel Industry Management at the UH Mānoa Shidler College of Business. Wallace, who was the former executive vice president at Outrigger Enterprises Group, passed away last year in May.

“Barry was passionate about educating and mentoring young people in the travel and hospitality industry and would often share his experience with students at the TIM School,” Shidler College Dean Vance Roley said. “With the establishment of an endowed scholarship in his name, students will have the opportunity to build their own successful career in the hotel industry.”

Nancy Wallace said her husband developed a strong love for the culture and people of Hawai‘i and called Hawai‘i his home. Through the establishment of the Barry L. Wallace Scholarship Endowment, she hopes to continue his legacy and to spread aloha through the next generation of Hawai‘i hotel leaders.

Wallace and his family moved to Honolulu more than 25 years ago to join the Outrigger and OHANA Hotels & Resorts. Described by his coworkers as smart, humble, supportive and inspirational, Wallace had a cooperative management style that empowered his staff. According to his family, employees worked “with him” and not “for him,” which earned him respect at the corporate level as well as from his colleagues throughout the industry. Most recently, Wallace served on the boards of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the Hawai‘i Hotel and Lodging Association and the Honolulu Zoo Society. He also served as chairperson for the 2006 Visitor Industry Charity Walk, which raised over $1 million for Hawai‘i charities.

Wallace received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University.