The University of Hawai'i's Shidler College of Business will hold a blessing today for the newly renovated Lum Yip Kee reading room.

The room is named after local businessman and entrepreneur Lum Yip Kee, who passed away in 1943. For more than 30 years, the company he founded, Lum Yip Kee Ltd., has funded several renovations of the graduate student reading room.

The investment and real estate company is headed by his grandsons Tan Tek Lum and Wing Tek Lum.

Born in 1866, Lum Yip Kee was considered a pioneer in Hawai'i agriculture, land development, business and finance.