Maya Soetoro, distinguished educator and peacebuilder in the at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa, has been selected as a recipient of the LLAP Tribute Award from the Nimoy Knight Foundation. The honor recognizes her lifetime commitment to conflict transformation, intellectual humility, dialogue across cultural and ideological divides, and advancing peace and human dignity.

As a faculty member in the , Soetoro has dedicated her career to advancing peacebuilding and conflict transformation education. Her scholarly work focuses on reconciling differences within oneself and across communities—exploring how individuals and societies navigate dual identities and connect with each other in an increasingly divided world. Her research and teaching emphasize the role of disciplined inquiry and collaborative problem solving in transforming conflict.

“Spock’s commitment to logic was never cold detachment; it was a disciplined devotion to reason over reaction, to dialogue over violence and to collective survival over ego,” Soetoro said. “Leonard Nimoy himself carried that ethos beyond the screen through his art, photography, writing, and advocacy—uplifting marginalized voices, celebrating human dignity and building bridges across difference.”

Soetoro draws inspiration from Spock’s navigation of dual identity, noting that the character’s journey mirrors the lived experience of many who inhabit multiple cultures, nations and world views.

“Our foundation committee unanimously agreed that Dr. Soetoro’s dedication to peace and her commitment to reconciling difference make her a worthy honoree of this award,” said David Knight, co-director of the Nimoy Knight Foundation, alongside Leonard’s daughter Julie Nimoy. “Her work reflects the very ethos that Leonard championed throughout his life-bridging divides and building a more compassionate world.”

‘Live long and prosper’

The LLAP Tribute Award, named after Leonard Nimoy’s famous benediction “Live Long and Prosper,” celebrates individuals whose work embodies the values and ideals the late actor and artist lived and championed.

Previous recipients include Mayim Bialik, Bill Nye, LeVar Burton, Whoopi Goldberg, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Billie Jean King, as well as actor George Takei.

The Nimoy Knight Foundation is dedicated to honoring the life and legacy of Leonard Nimoy through grants, awards and initiatives that promote peace, diversity and human dignity.

Two University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa doctoral students are advancing their dissertation work in peace studies as 2025 Nobumoto Tanahashi Peace Fellows.

Wiwik Dharmiasih, a PhD student in , is researching efforts to protect Bali’s subak—thousand-year-old, cooperative rice terraces that utilize an ecologically sustainable irrigation system. Her work examines how local farmers view the sustainability of UNESCO protections and how community driven decision making can help preserve the cultural landscape.

Fellow recipient Emi Obana, a PhD student in music composition and graduate certificate candidate in conflict resolution, is exploring peace through musical composition. Her dissertation centers on how personal transformation can inspire community peace, and she plans to use the fellowship to support a live performance of her final piece.

“I was deeply inspired by Nobumoto Tanahashi and his vision,” Obana said. “He made world peace his personal mission. Going through the application process helped me reflect on what peace truly means for me, and it strengthened my resolve to make world peace my own personal mission.”

The fellowship honors the legacy of Reverend Nobumoto Tanahashi, a Japanese businessman and spiritual leader, and founder of the Heiwa Kyokai (Order of Peace Congregation).

His 1986 gift to UH, the Â鶹´«Ã½ Peace Memorial outside Kennedy Theatre, reflects his vision for global harmony and recognizes the contributions of Japanese immigrants to peace in Â鶹´«Ã½.

The awards the fellowship each spring. For the entire story and more information on the fellowship, .

Blending local knowledge with ecological conservation efforts by engaging young adults aged 18–25 in oral history documentation is the focus of a University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa project that was awarded $114,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, International Program Office and U.S. Agency for International Development.

The project “Enlivening Forest Landscapes in Â鶹´«Ã½ and Indonesia,” will be led by Thao Le, principal investigator, professor and chair in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, alongside Micah Fisher, co-principal investigator and assistant professor at the , which is housed in the .The Project also partners with Ming Li Yong at the East-West Center Research Program.

“We hope that this grant helps a group of students from Â鶹´«Ã½ and Indonesia learn and experience humility by honoring and respecting the wisdom of our elders, kupuna, who really knew what it means and what it takes to care for the land, and by land, we mean all the elements that sustain a community,” said Le.

Learning from elders, community leaders

Students will interview elders and community leaders in both Â鶹´«Ã½ and Indonesia, deepening their understanding of the cultural significance of landscapes. The initiative is a collaboration with Hasanuddin University in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, providing students from both institutions with hands-on experience in place-based oral history documentation.

“I’ve always believed in the power of field-based learning and its transformative opportunities,” said Fisher. ”It allows us to learn in different ways, from different people, different places, and through the sharing of experiences across cultures, environments, and backgrounds. Having this sort of grounded context also helps to deepen learning opportunities in the classroom after students return.“

The project will take UH students to the Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park in Sulawesi. Participants will gain insights into climate change, environmental governance, and social justice histories. The experience will culminate with an exhibition and video documentation of the oral histories collected at UH Mānoa.

In spring 2025, students will delve into environmental ethics and governance, with Indonesian students invited to UH Mānoa to facilitate an exchange of ideas and knowledge.

This spring, the welcomed three revered Buddhist monks who have dedicated their lives to teaching peace, love and compassion. Venerable Kou Sopheap and Venerable Hak Sienghai traveled from Cambodia, joined by Venerable Sok Theavy, a resident monk on Â鶹´«Ã½ Island toured the Mānoa campus and delivered a webinar for both in-person and virtual audiences.

Hosted by the UH Mānoa (CSEAS), the hybrid webinar at explored Buddhism’s role in Cambodia’s recovery from conflict, reflecting on its absence during the Khmer Rouge regime and the subsequent peace efforts since 1992. They shared the importance of non-violence, and problem-solving in an effort to demonstrate how ancient wisdom can address modern challenges.

“I believe these conversations about mindfulness and peace need to be more prevalent on campus,” said Sothy Eng, a UH Mānoa associate professor in . “Raising awareness through such discussions is important for our campus community.”

The monks also met with leaders from the (EWC). They learned about the center’s various programs that engage Cambodian students, scholars, researchers. EWC also offers graduate fellowships for study at UH Mānoa and leadership programs such as the .

CSEAS, and EWC collaborated to host this event, which aligns with UH’s commitment to fostering cultural understanding and global dialogue.

What happens when the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ (SCI) throws its first open house? The results are more than 160 RSVPs to lively mini workshops attended by (CSS) students and alumni; an all-encompassing presentation about the within SCI; and a networking reception honoring the first five SCI distinguished alumni for their exceptional leadership and significant contributions to the community.

It all happened on April 5, at George Hall and the Architecture Building at the SCI event spotlighting the programs of , , , , and the . Now one of the largest academic units at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹, SCI has 24 faculty members, 305 undergraduate majors and 76 graduate students, with a total of more than 4,000 UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ students taking 220-plus SCI classes over the course of an academic year.

Communication competence, information literacy and communication technology literacy are foundational skills that our students need to succeed in today’s world.—Hye-ryeon Lee

“The open house aimed to showcase the new school’s core values of communication, connection and community, and to foster relationships with alumni and community partners for collaborative growth and development,” said Hye-ryeon Lee, SCI chair and communicology professor. “Communication and information are at the core of our existence. Communication competence, information literacy and communication technology literacy are foundational skills that our students need to succeed in today’s world. The SCI is the core unit that provides this important education at the university.”

Announced at the presentation were the five inaugural recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award. They are Ruth Horie, retired catalog librarian at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹; Nyle Sky Kauweloa, director of UH Esports and faculty specialist in interdisciplinary studies; Anne Marie Smoke, administrator of the Â鶹´«Ã½ State Judiciary’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution; Jennifer Sur Matayoshi, lead deputy Title IX coordinator and senior investigator at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹; and Suzanne Puanani Vares-Lum, president of the East-West Center.

In October, undergraduate and graduate students from around Oʻahu gathered at the for a three-day workshop to engage on nuclear policy issues. The workshop featured lectures from leading experts, group discussions and a crisis scenario exercise. In addition to discussing policy issues at the global level, students also thought critically about the ways nuclear policies impact Â鶹´«Ã½ and the Asia-Pacific region.

“This workshop may very well be the first time deterrence, nonproliferation and disarmament have been discussed on the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ campus since the Reagan administration,” said Brien Hallett, professor in the at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹.

The Honolulu Nuclear Policy Workshop was organized by the in partnership with UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s and and the at the East-West Center. It was the latest in a series of workshops the Truman Center has convened in cities such as Chicago and Atlanta with the goal of diversifying the pipeline of people working in U.S. nuclear security. This diversity ensures a more comprehensive representation of communities affected by those policies and fosters a more inclusive policy making process.

Encouraging diverse perspectives

No prior expertise with nuclear issues was required to apply for the workshop, and the organizers actively encouraged applications from women, people of color, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ students. Thirteen undergraduate and graduate students from UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹, Â鶹´«Ã½ Pacific University, Chaminade University of Honolulu and University of the South Pacific were selected to participate.

“I came away with a new perspective and more confidence in my ability to discuss nuclear policy issues,” said Monica Orillo, a graduate student in at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹.

The first day of the workshop kicked off with sessions addressing the dawn of the nuclear age and nuclear deterrence led by Lily Wijtowicz from the Truman Center. The second day included a breakout session on proliferation in East Asia and a lecture on deterrence in East Asia by David Santoro from Pacific Forum, a Honolulu-based non-profit foreign policy research institute. The third day began with a session on nuclear disarmament led by Jana Wattenburg from Aberystwyth University, followed by a lecture on why nuclear testing matters for Â鶹´«Ã½ by Lilly Adams from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Nuclear weapons, public health, environmental preservation

Throughout the workshop, discussions highlighted the links between nuclear weapons, public health and environmental preservation. Participants explored the continued risks that nuclear weapons pose to people around the world, especially those in historically underserved communities. Students were encouraged to think critically about the policy making process and to consider how the inclusion of new voices could impact their communities and the world.

“Prior to the workshop, I had never thought about viewing nuclear politics through a gender lens, or using feminism as a tool for world peace, or that increased gender representation at nuclear arms control and disarmament discussions could potentially shape a different kind of foreign nuclear policy,” said Elizabeth Yen Tzu Liew, a student in the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Master’s in Asian International Affairs program.

The workshop concluded with a panel discussion on careers in nuclear policy featuring speakers working in a variety of fields. Liew said, “This experience was instrumental in inspiring me to see the myriad of career opportunities where nuclear politics could merge with soft power, my area of interest, and that one need not be a nuclear scientist to pursue a career related to nuclear policy.”

In these modern times, the question may not be whether democracy is under threat in the U.S., but why—in this era of critical contemporary social, political and economic upheaval in North America, the Asia Pacific and beyond—is democratic backsliding occurring and what can be done about it?

The public is invited to an open town hall meeting, “,” on Friday, October 27, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. The 2023 Fulbright Canada Colloquium Town Hall is the culmination of several days of meetings and related events, including an authors’ workshop designed to produce an edited volume.

Town hall panel participants will include:

• Davianna McGregor, retired UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ professor and founding member of the ’ (CSS) , and former director of the .
• Jane Kabubo-Mariara, executive director of the Partnership for Economic Policy based in Nairobi, Kenya.
• Rana Sarkar, Consul General of Canada in San Francisco/Silicon Valley.
• Moderator Colin Moore, director of the at CSS and a political analyst.

The town hall will focus on the critical and increasingly complex challenges to democracy and democratic institutions in the U.S., Canada and the broader international community. It will examine whether creative institutional reforms can help address the following issues:

• Heightened political and cultural polarization.
• Widening gaps between people and power.
• Threats to multi-ethnic democracies.
• Economic instability.
• Growing maldistribution of wealth and income.
• Discontent with democracy.
• The rise of populism.

Past colloquiums have addressed:

• In 2018—The exploration of significant, complex issues surrounding sovereignty, sustainability and rights of and reconciliation for Indigenous peoples.
• In 2017—The future of trade and international economic cooperation between Canada and the U.S.
• In 2016—The examination and evaluation of North America’s response to domestic and international challenges posed by increasing incidences of violent extremism.

The 2023 Fulbright Canada Colloquium Town Hall is a partnership of CSS; Fulbright Canada; the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Plattsburgh; and the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco.

Coordinating the colloquium are Michael Hawes, president and CEO of the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the U.S. (aka Fulbright Canada); Denise Eby Konan, CSS dean; and Christopher Kirkey, director of the Center for the Study of Canada at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Light refreshments will be served.

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To share knowledge and explore new approaches to corrections, diversion and re-entry, the (UHCDC) hosted “Breaking Cycles Symposium: Re-envisioning a Health, Housing, and Corrections Continuum” in partnership with the Department of Public Safety, Â鶹´«Ã½ Correctional System Oversight Commission, Correctional Reform Working Group, YWCA Oʻahu and the Governor’s office on October 10–11.

“This was a true collaboration that demonstrates how the university can create new space for government and community members to come together to work towards real systems change,” said Cathi Ho Schar, an associate professor at the , director of UHCDC and a co-organizer for the event.

Throughout the last year, the UHCDC team, including faculty, staff and students from the School of Architecture, , , , and the , engaged the community around alternative models to a new jail facility and a more robust community-based continuum of care.

Talking to incarcerated individuals, their families, cultural and spiritual leaders, community organizations, public agencies and elected officials led the UH team to plan the event, in response to a call for more collaboration across public and private entities.

Important messages from Gov. Josh Green, Public Safety Director Tommy Johnson and others highlighted the need to address the mental health, substance abuse, housing and justice needs in Â鶹´«Ã½ through stronger partnerships with the community.

“We genuinely appreciate this opportunity to look at our many challenges as a collective of agencies and organizations,” said Johnson.

The event ended with a workshop soliciting action items related to whole systems change.

Find more information on the . For more information on the project go to the .

Boosting voter turnout, increasing public trust in government and reducing corruption are some of the benefits of using public funds to finance political campaigns, according to public campaign financing advocates. Â鶹´«Ã½ has had a system of partial public financing for more than 40 years, but the amount of candidates who have participated and the amounts disbursed have both diminished since the mid 1990s.

According to data from the Â鶹´«Ã½ Campaign Spending Commission, in 1994 the program disbursed $1.7 million in inflation adjusted dollars. In 2022, just $71,000 in funds were given to 15 candidates.

A new (UHERO) brief by Colin Moore explores possible solutions to create a more robust public campaign financing system. Moore is associate professor of UHERO and the , and the chair of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s .

Concerns about the corrupting influence of money in politics, including in Â鶹´«Ã½, have led to renewed interest in public campaign financing. According to Moore, Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s current program has extremely low rates of participation because the level of public funding is too low and the rules are complex and confusing.

Advocates argue that public campaign financing can: encourage electoral competition; reduce overall spending; boost voter turnout and participation in the electoral process; equalize resources available to candidates; encourage more direct engagement with voters; increase public trust in government; reduce corruption; and foster public policies that more closely reflect the needs of average citizens.

After reviewing decades of political science research and current public funding programs across the country, Moore provides three possible options:

• Transform the current system into a supermatch program. This option would follow the recommendations of the House Commission to improve standards of conduct, but with a much more generous match than the $2 proposed by the commission. Following New York City, Â鶹´«Ã½ could adopt an $8 match for contributions up to $100, while increasing the maximum amount of public funds available to a far greater percentage of the total expenditure limit for each office. In New York City, candidates are eligible to receive up to 89% of the total expenditure limit in government campaign funds. If Â鶹´«Ã½ adopted a similar policy, these public funds, when combined with the money raised through qualifying donations, could provide sufficient resources to run a competitive campaign.
• Create a block grant program. State Sen. Karl Rhoads has introduced a bill to provide qualifying candidates with grants that approximate the spending of a typical incumbent. Under his proposal, candidates could qualify for public funds that range from $20,000 for Office of Hawaiian Affairs candidates, $50,000 for House candidates, $100,000 for Senate candidates, and $2.5 million for gubernatorial candidates. A greater percentage of the money would be given to candidates in the primary than in the general to recognize that many of the most closely-fought contests in Â鶹´«Ã½ occur during primary elections. Advocates of this proposal estimate that it could cost as much as $25 million per year. Ultimately, it is difficult to estimate how many candidates would qualify for this program, but the experience of other block grant states suggests that the costs would be manageable. Connecticut’s program, for example, offers generous levels of funding and has a high participation rate, but cost only $13.5 million during the 2020 election year.
• Distribute campaign vouchers. Â鶹´«Ã½ could create a voucher program similar to the one currently in place in Seattle by providing four vouchers worth $25 each to every registered voter in the state. Although this system demonstrated the most impressive results in increasing electoral competition, it is also the most difficult to administer. Seattle uses paper vouchers, which must be gathered by campaigns and redeemed for public funds. Providing administrative oversight and security for such a system would likely require more resources and personnel for the Campaign Spending Commission. Although the cost of this program could be extremely high if all registered voters redeemed their vouchers, the relatively low rates of participation in Seattle suggest that it would be manageable. Assuming a similar rate of participation in Â鶹´«Ã½, the price of this program would be approximately $4.3 million per election.

“Any one of these policy options would likely create more political competition by leveling the playing field and could be supported by a relatively modest appropriation from general funds,” according to the brief. “Public campaign financing programs may not deliver all of the benefits promised by advocates, but they can be an effective investment in local democracy.”

. UHERO, the School of Communication and Information and the Matsunaga Institute for Peace are housed in UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s .

Five academic units from three different colleges at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ are combining this fall to establish the (SCI) within the (CSS). The units, which have related yet distinct approaches to communication and information, are:

• The (COM) program, formerly in the School of Communications in CSS.
• The (COMG) program, formerly in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters.
• The (JOUR) program, formerly in the School of Communications in CSS.
• The Library and Information Science (LIS) program, formerly in the Department of Information and Computer Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences.
• The , formerly in the in CSS.

“This faculty-driven reorganization effort brings together units from across campus to leverage synergies and interdisciplinary opportunities for students interested in these fields,” said CSS Dean Denise Eby Konan. “It will allow them to explore the complexities of communication in one school to meet personal, relational, professional and community needs.”

Consultation of individuals and groups impacted by the proposed reorganization occurred from fall 2020 to fall 2021. The faculty-led working group reorganization team shared information and met with various units and constituencies across campus, set up a website for announcements and feedback, and held a series of town hall meetings. Faculty, staff and students have expressed enthusiastic support for the new school.

SCI is fundamentally concerned with the study of communication, including the creation and flow of information among people and communities, through media and technologies, and across time and cultures. The new school will help students to acquire the knowledge, skills and ethical perspectives to create, gather, analyze and share information. SCI graduates will have the tools and perspectives to solve problems by combining multiple approaches within the realm of communication and information.

“UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ students will now learn about communication from several distinct disciplinary perspectives,” said Colin Moore, inaugural SCI chair. “Students interested in all aspects of communication—from speech and persuasion, to technologies that facilitate communication, to how information is organized, to how it is reported by journalists—can take classes across disciplines without having to search through different colleges.”

With the support of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Provost Michael Bruno, UH President David Lassner signed the reorganization proposal this past summer, making it effective July 2022. SCI will be in a transition phase for the next academic year.

For more, see the .