Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller | University Advancement | 8 March 2005 BYU-Hawaii's "Shaka Steel" drum ensemble returned Sunday, March 6, from an energetic and successful four-day, six-concert tour to Kauai.

"The audience response at all six performances was amazing," said Darren Duerden, director of the ensemble. "Audiences were literally moved to get up and dance to the Calypso and Samba music."

Of the six performances, three were for public schools: Waimea High School, Waimea Canyon Intermediate School Kapaa High School.

"The school performances were some of the best and most fulfilling parts of the tour," said Leilani Miller, a member of the band. "I loved entertaining the students, getting them excited about music and hearing about their progress and interest in music. They were so excited to have us come and hear us play!"

Andrew Miller | University Advancement | 1 March 2005 President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder David A. Bednar, newest member of the same, visited BYU-Hawaii for a special devotional on their way home from touring Guam and Indonesia on church assignment.

Elder Bednar spoke first to the full house of faculty, staff and students. He began with a reference to the invocation, which included the petition for a greater "desire for obedience." He then gave an account of a private conversation he had with the late Elder Neal A. Maxwell, who said that what distinguishes this generation today is a greater capacity for obedience.

"And unto him to whom much is given much is required; not expected but required," Elder Bednar added, quoting passages of scripture. "That greater capacity for obedience is a necessary prerequisite for the work that we are to do in this latter day.

Andrew Miller | University Advancement | 28 February 2005 BYU-Hawaii hosted over 200 teachers and students from Hawaii's public and private schools in a conference for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

The conference consisted of seminars and workshops on new methods for improving English instruction. It also featured guest lecturer Paul Nation, professor of linguistics and applied language studies at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.

Dr. Nation's research shows that non-native speakers are not learning enough conversational or reading vocabulary. They should be learning high frequency vocabulary. Students in higher level education should also focus on academic vocabulary.

In conjunction with BYU-Hawaii's Golden Jubilee Anniversary, the City and County of Honolulu, Mayor Mufi Hannemann and the Hawaii State Senate and House of Representatives all honored BYU-Hawaii with ceremonial certificates and proclamations of recognition and congratulations.

Andrew Miller | University Advancement | 22 February 2005 Sione Tuione Pulotu, master carver at the Polynesian Cultural Center, has been honored as a "living treasure of Hawaii" for his contributions in perpetuating the traditions, spirit and values of Hawaii.

Pulotu and five other Hawaii residents were recognized at a state banquet on February 4 at the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel.

"These living treasures have demonstrated excellence and have met very high standards of achievement in their particular field of endeavor and, thus, have made a significant difference toward the betterment of our community," said Chikai Yosemori, Bishop of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission that sponsors the program.

Andrew Miller | University Advancement | 18 February 2005 Beth Haynes, professor of economics and chair of the International Business Department, spoke on the challenge of poverty and explored three methods of alleviation in the 2005 David O. McKay Lecture.

First, Haynes established the problem of poverty with a series of data documenting the endemic human suffering of the poor. She also illustrated the problem with pictures she had taken while conducting research in poverty-stricken countries around the world.

Not dwelling too long on the problem, Haynes proceeded by exploring three solutions to bring people out of poverty and eventually into prosperity: increasing output, redistributing goods and self-reliance.

BYU-Hawaii alumnus and well-known underwater photographer Jonathan Mozo died yesterday while working at Banzai Pipeline taking pictures of surfers.

Anderw Miller | University Advancement | 2 February 2005 Thomas Lee Boam, 26-year veteran and senior diplomat for the United States Foreign Service, visited BYU-Hawaii as part of a short-term "diplomat in residence" program.

The program, co-sponsored by the David O. McKay Center for Intercultural Understanding and Career Services, included a general forum, guest lectures in the classroom and small question and answer sessions.

The topic of the forum was our responsibilities as global citizens. Boam began with a story of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, which he personally witnessed while on duty in Germany. Those Cold War divisions are gone, he said, but there are modern divisions that challenge us even more today.

Andrew Miller | University Advancement | 28 January 2005 In a special devotional sponsored by the Mormon Pacific Historical Society, Paul Alf Pratte recounted the institutional saga of BYU-Hawaii and the personal triumphs of its administrators, faculty and students.

Pratte is a service missionary commissioned to write a commemorative history of BYU-Hawaii as part of its Jubilee celebration. In his address, he reviewed the academic success of the university, but he focused on the spiritual side of the history by sharing personal stories of individuals that are representative of all those who associated with Church College of Hawaii and BYU-Hawaii.