Newsmakers

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Linda Furuto

John Duncan Cambell of Kapolei and Jessi K. Messier of Pearl City are candidates on the summer 2008 list for master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma Norman. They join students from 39 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands eligible for participation in commencement ceremonies in May 2009.

State Department of Transportation deputy director of Airports Brian Sekiguchi, who is a resident of Aiea, recently returned from a stint at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he was invited to be an instructor for the school’s executive education program, “Airport Development for the Next 50 Years: Planning and Design of World-Class Airports and Passenger Terminals.”

Sekiguchi shared his experience and knowledge in the planning, budgeting, design, development and implementation of Hawaii’s Airports Modernization Plan with program participants,including airport administrators, operators, airlines, architects, engineers, planners, concessionaires, airport developers and investors involved in aviation in North America. He also gained knowledge from fellow instructors from around the nation to improve Hawaii’s airport facilities and enhance passenger service.

Ralynn Kobashigawa

The three-day program in Cambridge, Mass., was designed to help participants assess the tasks required to guide airport development over the next 50 years in order to meet world standards and travel demands.

University of Hawaii West Oahu’s Linda Furuto was recently elected as four-year college director of the 2008-2009 Board of Directors for the Hawaii Council of Teachers of Mathematics (HCTM). Furuto, who is a assistant professor of mathematics at UHWO, previously served as treasurer for HCTM during the 2007-2008 academic year.

Furuto has a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, a master’s from Harvard University and a doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles. She also plays an active role at UH, where she is a volunteer with the Faculty Ambassadors Program; she also has played an instrumental role in opening the new UHWO Math Center.

Helen Longao

Ralynn Kobashigawa and Helen Longao have been welcomed to the student services department of UH West Oahu in response to the school’s growing student enrollment.

Kobashigawa, a resident of Aiea who earned bachelor’s degree in finance from UH Manoa, will serve as an admissions assistant, where she will be responsible for processing admission applications and assisting with transfer credits. She previously worked at Kapiolani Community College and at the Registrar’s Office at Hawaii Pacific University.

Longao’s new position as financial aid officer will entail processing and reviewing financial aid applications, packaging financial aid awards and counseling students regarding financial aid options. The Ewa Beach resident and Hawaii Pacific University graduate previously worked as a financial aid counselor at HPU and in the Financial Aid Services office at UH Manoa.

Wayne Tanna

UH West Oahu lecturer and alumnus Wayne Tanna one of eight finalists for Campus Compact’s 2008 Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning. For a description of his service work, go to the Campus Compact web-site,www.compact.org.He has been invited to participate in a concurrent session during the Association of American Colleges and Universities conference in Seattle.

“I am honored to have been selected as a finalist for this very prestigious award,“said Tanna.“The recognition serves to reinforce the idea that service is integral to teaching and research.”

Tanna previously received the UHWO Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching by a lecturer as well as the Niu Award from Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii. He has a degree from UHWO, a J.D. from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College and a master’s degree in taxation from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.