BYU–Hawaii News

On June 23, about 225 residents attended a community meeting as a follow-up to the surveys and workshops conducted in April, and to provide additional public input. On June 30, nine members of the City of Honolulu's Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) submitted changes to the City's land use plan in support of Envision Laie proposals. These proposed changes include expansion options for BYU–Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center, the relocation of housing designations to Malaekahana with sufficient unit numbers to address pent-up demand and growth, and village centers in Laie and Malaekahana. Read Full Story

The BYU–Hawaii distance learning program that began in Spring Term 2008 has since gone international. This program was designed to help prospective students that are denied admission to BYU–Hawaii due to low English scores or to students that are offered admission but lack the funds to enter school during that semester. The program also enables participating students to have some credit before coming to BYU–Hawaii, and encourages students to learn American academic style prior to arriving on American shores. Read Full Story

Richard D. McBride, faculty member in BYU–Hawaii's the History Department (pictured at right with student), is one of a few in the Unites States who can read both ancient Chinese and ancient Korean. McBride came to BYU–Hawaii last year, and he specializes in Asian, Chinese, and early Korean history. Read Full Story

"We have been going through a process of recruitment,” said BYU–Hawaii’s Social Work Department Chair John Reeves, citing a newly produced brochure as well as marketing attempts toward local high schools. “A large number of students are undecided when they arrive on campus,” he said. “We want to offer social work as a viable option.” (Pictured top: students engrossed in a lecture) Read Full Story

International Cultural Studies-Anthropology and Pacific Island Studies Professor, Doctor Tevita Ka’ili (pictured top) was one of thirty anthropologists from all over the world invited to attend a conference on Indigenous Anthropology at Oxford-Brooks University in Oxford, England, from June 14 through 18. Ka’ili presented a paper that he wrote, titled, ‘Anthropologizing Indigeneity and Indigenizing Anthropology.’ His theory was, “People in the Pacific are engaged in rearranging time and space to create harmony, symmetry and beauty.” Read Full Story

Two Taiwanese families and graduates from BYU–Hawaii, Ben and Shirley Tsai (pictured right with their daughter Kelani), along with Eric and Kate Weng, were featured in the Church News along with other couples in the Church in Taiwan who had served missions and were married in the temple. Read Full Story

During the June 23 devotional, speaker, Martin McDonell (pictured right), Assistant Professor in the Social Work department, shared the three basic principles that "will help each of us 'do' something, to 'act', to enable us to achieve our righteous desire of eternal life with our Father in Heaven." Read Full Story

BYU–Hawaii’s International Business Management (IBM) and Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) majors recently underwent revision that has changed the structure and curriculum of both degrees. This refinement has given the International Business Management major a new face and shortened name—Business Management. The newly dubbed Business Management has six ‘tracks’ or areas of focus within the major. And the Hospitality and Tourism Management major also faced changes—two classes have been deleted from the curriculum; also, some of the basic business classes have been combined with the Business Management degree. (Pictured above: international business students of BYU–Hawaii) Read Full Story

There will be a Community Open House on Tuesday, June 23, at 6:00 p.m. in the Cannon Activities Center. The open house will cover discussion of important themes that emerged at recent community workshops and surveys administered by Envision Lā'ie. These themes include Housing, Jobs, Public Education, Sustainability, Community Design, Transportation, and others. Read Full Story