Alumni News

Tina Lau has been an advocate for plants and Hawaiian ecosystems since graduating from UH Mānoa with a BA and MS in Botanical Sciences, an organic gardener since 2000, and a serious gardener of a 1/3-acre garden in Eastern Oregon, where the abundance of food grown led her to learn home canning and creative cooking. She’s also worked as an Invasive Species Specialist for The Nature Conservancy, as a secondary school teacher, and most recently, teaching an undergraduate resource management course for the UHM Nutrition Programs.

CTAHR Faculty: send the word, because your students may want to join a research team that will design, measure, analyze, and interpret data through a hand-on research experience this summer. Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates, an Education and Workforce Development program of the USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, is seeking undergraduate applicants for this 8-week, in-person program to be held June 6-July 29. 

Imagine working in a 200-acre public botanical garden, university arboretum, and conservation research site. Now, you can!  Lyon Arboretum is accepting applications for the Lyon Arboretum Summer Internship Program, and we are looking for excited and motivated persons to make up our 2022 intern cohort. Lyon is located in back of beautiful Mānoa Valley, and is part of the University of Hawaiʻi ʻohana.

Minoru Tamashiro, a long-serving CTAHR entomologist, World War II combat veteran, and devoted husband, passed on October 23 at the age of 97, joining his beloved wife Polly (Elaine), who passed in 2020. The following tribute is by his friend and colleague J. Kenneth Grace, PhD, Researcher Emeritus of the Dept. of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences:

The first Asian-American woman to serve in the U.S. Congress, Patsy Mink was a trailblazing advocate for the rights of students, teachers, Asian Americans, and women. Despite only a handful of women lawmakers in the early ‘70s, she built enough support to pass Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which barred sexual discrimination in institutions receiving federal funds and opened opportunities for women in athletics. She also helped pass the Women’s Educational Equity Act of 1974, and numerous other bills supporting families and children, including Head Start.

UH Mānoa is coordinating a series of monthly programs this Spring 2022 semester to honor and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. These will include film screenings, panel discussions, and conversations with leading experts and advocates.

The celebrations begin with a tribute to Patsy Mink via the documentary Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority (free until February 10), followed by a virtual discussion with the director and special guests.

If you are interested in putting together a panel or program relevant to CTAHR, Professor Troy Andrade at the William S. Richardson School of Law would be glad to include that program in their calendar of programs.