honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 10, 2002

Ahuna to assist HPU athletic director

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i Pacific University volleyball coach Reydan "Tita" Ahuna was named the school's first senior woman administrator yesterday. The appointment will be effective Aug. 1.

Ahuna will be the highest-ranking female administrator at HPU, assisting newly appointed athletic director Russell Dung, while continuing to serve as head coach of the women's volleyball team.

"I'm excited," Ahuna said. "It's a great career move and I'm glad Hawai'i Pacific has the confidence in me to offer me this opportunity."

HPU had been looking into adding the position of senior woman administrator for a year. Ahuna, highly recommended by Dung, signed the contract last week. The appointment was made official yesterday.

"Tita is a proven winner as indicated by her volleyball program," Dung said. "Having her is a win-win situation for both her and for us. She will definitely strengthen our athletics department. We're happy to have her."

In addition to assisting Dung in the day-to-day operations of the athletic department, Ahuna will also oversee Title IX compliance and gender equity at school. She will be responsible for the well-being of the school's women student-athletes, but she plans on a broader focus.

"In my position I want to help all athletes, to be a voice for every single athlete at HPU," Ahuna said. "I don't want to limit myself to just the female athletes, although that's the main reason this position was created."

In her six years as head women's volleyball coach, Ahuna has turned the program into a national power with a 130-34 overall record and two NCAA II national championships.

For the past 11 years, she has also worked at Kalakaua Middle School. She was a special education teacher for 10 years and is completing her first year as the school's vice principal. She will resign her position at the end of the school year.

"I'm so sad that I have to leave Kalakaua," Ahuna said. "I've made a lot of friendships and I'm going to miss the students a lot. It was a tough decision. I wasn't like, 'OK, I'm doing it.' I was really torn. I never thought I would be like that."

Before taking the job at HPU, she consulted her family, in particular her brothers, about making the career move. And having Dung and former athletic director Tony Sellitto around to ease the transition solidified her decision.

"I think I've finally found my niche in education (as an administrator)," Ahuna said. "And I'm going to move on as an administrator in a different capacity, working with athletes. I love athletics ... this is right in line with what I needed to do in my life."