Awards

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Award honors UH faculty

The following University of Hawai'i faculty have received the 2002 Francis Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching:

• Colette Higgins, an instructor of Hawaiian history at Kapi'olani Community College. She allows students to experience history through her detailed and stimulating stories.
• Gordon Scott Lee, an associate professor of ceramics at Hawai'i Community College. He broadens his students' exposure to the arts by inviting local artists to speak to his classes.
• Leslie Lyum, an assistant professor at the Employment Training Center. She uses hands-on exercises to teach mathematics to at-risk adults who have been unsuccessful in traditional academic settings.
• Drue Narkon, an instructor in the UH-Manoa College of Education's department of special education. She coordinates dual preparation cohorts in undergraduate certificate programs in elementary and special education. She is also faculty adviser for the Student Council for Exceptional Children and facilitates student service activities for the Special Olympics and Ronald McDonald House.
• Yoshiko Okuyama, assistant professor of Japanese at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo. Her enthusiasm and her ability to simplify complicated concepts motivate her students
• Mark Panek, a graduate assistant in the UH-Manoa College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature's department of English. He brings a fresh approach to undergraduate instruction. He taught his students how to respond to one another's written work through directed reading circles.

The award is a memorial to Davis, who taught mathematics at UH-Manoa and Leeward Community College. He also established the math and science division at LCC.

Other UH faculty members received awards.

• Robin Takahashi, an instructor of health and physical education at UH-Hilo, received the UH-Hilo Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence. He is known for the degree to which he motivates students.
• Takako Desaki, a personnel officer at Leeward Community College, received the UH Community Colleges Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Service. She has provided continuity and leadership in human resources.
• Mary Goya, an assistant professor in early childhood education at Hawai'i Community College, received the Masaki and Momoe Kunimoto Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to Vocational Education. She has initiated, expanded and maintained a high-quality early childhood education program.