Dr. Summer Maunakea, of the College of Education (COE) Department of Curriculum Studies, has been awarded a Provost’s Strategic Investment Initiative Award for the third time in two years. Her proposed project, Native Hawaiian and Pasifika Doctoral Student Leadership ‘Auwai, was among the strongest in this year’s highly-competitive round of proposals.
An associate professor of Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Education and Leadership, Maunakea was awarded $311,138 to work toward the academic and holistic success of Native Hawaiian and Pasifika doctoral students and their advancement into leadership roles.
“The purpose of the ʻauwai is to support Kanaka and Pasifika doctoral students through their programming and to contribute to the skills and dispositions needed for them to succeed in leadership roles within their communities, professions, and governments,” said Maunakea. “Consistent, intentional, rigorous, and loving mentorship is key to successfully completing a doctoral degree and contributing meaningfully to one’s community post-graduation.”
Funding from the initiative will go toward supporting current Native Hawaiian and Pasifika students in the education and health fields to advance in their doctoral studies through mentorships from renowned scholars, international exchanges, writing retreats, and a campus-wide symposium. Funding will also support the launch of a PACDOC/Pasifika PhD cohort in Curriculum Studies and an Emancipatory and Transformative PhD cohort in Educational Foundations, both scheduled to begin in the Fall 2025 semester.
The project will include a series of professional development projects, writing retreats, leadership workshops with local community leaders, conference opportunities, an inaugural campus-wide doctoral student leadership symposium, and mentorship from senior faculty and renowned Indigenous scholars.
“This initiative endeavors to carry ʻŌiwi knowledge into the next century by restoring old paths and breaking new ground for knowledge to flow like an ʻauwai that generates transformative growth in higher education,” said Mauankea.
In 2022, Maunakea received a Provost’s Strategic Investment Initiative Award for Finding Why: Bringing Life Design to UH Mānoa and Hawai’i High Schools, which was awarded $38,055 to identify problems and opportunities brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic. She was also awarded $220,200 for the Mauli Ola Initiative (MOI), which addressed health disparities among groups most devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Native Hawaiian and Pasifika Doctoral Student Leadership ‘Auwai Partners:
Margie Maaka, PhD – Curriculum Studies Professor
Kekailoa Perry, JD – Educational Foundations Associate Professor
Paul Tauiliili, PhD – Curriculum Studies Assistant Professor
Deborah Zuercher, PhD – Curriculum Studies Professor and PACMED Director
Laiana Wong, PhD – Professor at HSHK, Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language
Alika K. Maunakea, PhD – Professor at JABSOM Dept. of Anatomy, Biochemistry & Physiology
Kimberly B. Yamauchi, MPA – Junior Specialist at JABSOM Dept. of Native Hawaiian Health
