FIVE NATIVE HAWAIIAN SCHOLARS recently came to Ka`u to launch a year of academic study and writing through the Kohala Center’s Mellon-Hawai`i Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. The year began with a weekend of presentations and discussions at Pahala Plantation House. The fellows receive scholarly, peer, and financial support for 2013-2014 to produce original research and to advance their academic careers. The research focuses on Hawaiian literary, language, pedagogical, and political topics. Doctoral fellows receive $40,000 each, and postdoctoral fellows receive $50,000 each. Each fellow works with a mentor, who is a leader in the fellow’s field of research. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Kohala Center established the fellowship program with support from Kamehameha Schools. Since 2008, the Mellon-Hawai‘i Fellowship Program has assisted 25 doctoral and postdoctoral scholars early in their academic careers. “We are delighted and honored to support the work of Hawai‘i’s finest thinkers and writers,” said Dr. Matthews Hamabata, executive director of The Kohala Center and senior support staff to the Mellon-Hawai‘i Fellowship Program. “The Mellon-Hawai‘i Fellows have successfully established themselves as intellectual and educational leaders from Hawai‘i—for Hawai‘i and the world.” Eomailani Kukahiko’s dissertation examines the experiences of mathematics teachers working in Hawaiian educational settings who successfully integrate Hawaiian language and culture into their curricula. She is being mentored by Joseph Zilliox, Ph.D., Professor at the Institute for Teacher Education in the College of Education at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Bryan Kuwada’s research focuses on the impact that translations had on Hawaiian history and the conveyance of that history today, as well as contemporary translation standards. His mentor is Craig Howes, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Biographical Research and a Professor in the Department of English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Kaiwipuni Lipe’s dissertation examines how the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa can achieve its strategic goal of becoming a Hawaiian place of learning. Her mentor is Maenette Ah Nee-Benham, Ed.D., Dean of the Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Iokepa Casumbal-Salazar’s research analyzes the politics of astronomy-related development on Mauna Kea, the debates surrounding the planned eight-acre, eighteen-story Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT), and the legal opposition to continued development on the mountain. His mentor is Noenoe K. Silva, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Postdoctoral Fellow Brandy Nālani McDougall’s monograph examines the continuity of the practice of kaona, a term often translated as “hidden meaning,” within contemporary Native Hawaiian Literature. She is being mentored by Cristina Bacchilega, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa . The panel of senior scholars and kūpuna who assisted The Kohala Center in selecting this year’s cohort are: Panel Chair, Robert Lindsey, Jr., member, Board of Directors, The Kohala Center, and Trustee, Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Panel Executive Advisor, Dr. Shawn Kana‘iaupuni, director, Public Education Support Division, Kamehameha Schools; Dr. Dennis Gonsalves, former executive director, Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center and Professor Emeritus, Cornell University; Dr. Pualani Kanahele, distinguished professor, Hawai‘i Community College and member, Board of Directors, the Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation; and Dr. James Kauahikaua, scientist-in-charge, U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian. The Kohala Center’s Circle of Friends is welcome to attend a public presentation of the fellows’ work on Saturday, November 9, 2013 at the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay. To RSVP or to learn about membership in The Kohala Center’s Circle of Friends, please contact Cortney Okumura at [email protected] or 808-887-6411. See more on The Kohala Center at kohalacenter.org.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 02:00:38 +0000
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