Yoshitsugi Hokama Endowment

Yoshitsugi Hokama Endowment: 2012 Status Report

Presented by Sandra Chang

Introductory Remarks

Thank you to Glenn and Lucille Kimura for being our sponsors at WCC and for overall coordination of the event.

Thanks to Dean Hedges for representing JABSOM here.

Thank you to Jon Hokama for traveling to Hawaii to accompany his dad to this event, allowing us to spend this time with Dr. Hokama

For those who may not know me, I’m Sandra Chang and was one of Dr. Hokama’s students in the 1970-80s.  I started as an undergraduate in his lab and finished both my Honors thesis and Master’s thesis under his mentorship. He played a key role in my selection of a career path in research and academics, and my selection of immunology as my specialization is no coincidence. I will always be grateful for his encouragement and support in those critical early years of my career.  It is for this reason that I and others with similar experiences felt it would be appropriate to establish an endowment in honor of his positive impact on the lives of so many of his students.

Purpose of the endowment:

         To support research and training activities in the biomedical field at the University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine.  The endowment will honor, in perpetuity, Dr. Yoshitsugi Hokama, who has provided outstanding service to the health professionals of this community as a mentor, teacher and researcher in the Department of Pathology.

  •          Established in July 2004, following the celebration of Dr. Hokama’s career at JABSOM

Financial Summary:

  • Market Value of the Endowment: $38,780 on  3/31/2012, currently estimated at over $40K (including several donations made by his former students in the last few months leading to this event)
  • Cash Available: $10,913
  • Annualized Payout: $1,617.94 for FY2012

Current Plans for Endowment Income:

Current intention is to support student research, keeping with the mentoring tradition of Dr. Hokama for undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers in medicine or research

  • Would like to use it to support undergraduate research experience, preferably at JABSOM, either to take place during school year (1 semester) or during the summer.
    • Plan to partner with existing program, either MARC program (disadvantaged students) or Honor’s undergraduate research program (all students eligible).
    • One student per year; ~$5000 per award as student stipend.
    • Had planned to make first award in 2012, but details could not be completed in time.

Goal: to reach $50K, allowing us to sponsor one student annually or every two years

  • Will keep everyone informed of progress and of students selected to participate.

Link for online donations to Yoshitsugi Hokama Endowment Fund:

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