 "Photo: UH")
EMERITUS PROFESSOR PASSES AWAY John DeFrancis, an emeritus professor of Chinese studies at UH Mānoa , passed away on Jan. 2 at the age of 97.
During the Great Depression, DeFrancis traveled to Beijing, where he studied Chinese, traced the route of Genghis Khan and met his wife, Kay. Upon his return to the United States, DeFrancis enrolled at Yale University as the college's first doctoral student in Chinese studies.
Though McCarthyism cost DeFrancis his job as assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, he returned to academia to produce the widely used "DeFrancis series" of Chinese language textbooks, joining the UH Mānoa faculty in 1966.
He worked 10 years without compensation to produce the Alphabetically Based Computerized Chinese-English Dictionary, published by the UH Press. His philanthropy also supported UH Mānoa 's Center for Chinese Studies and human rights organizations.
A celebration of his life will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the UH Mānoa Center for Korean Studies.
UH HOSTS BLACK STUDIES CONFERENCE President-elect Barack Obama's campaign and election will be among the topics discussed at the University of Hawai'i Faculty of African Descent's third biennial Winter Institute for Black Studies.
The gathering, held at the East-West Center from Jan. 15 to 16, is themed, "The 'Alternative' African Diaspora: Interdisciplinary Roundtables on Emergent, Oppositional and New Discourses in the Field." The conference's roundtable discussions are free and open to the public.
The opening reception and dinner will be held on Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Hibiscus Ballroom of the Ala Moana Hotel. The keynote address, "Why Diaspora: Rethinking African Peoples and Power in the 21st Century," will be presented by Dr. Kim D. Butler, associate professor of history and Africana studies of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.
Conference roundtables will take place on Friday, Jan. 16, at the Imin Conference Center on the UH Mānoa campus. Distinguished scholars in the field will discuss a range of topics, including "Black European Studies: A New Field Emerges," "By Land, Sea and Cyber: Alternative Spaces of Black Culture, Identity and Diaspora" and "Changing and Challenging Socio-Political Discourses: Multiculturalism, Transnational Politics and Black Political Arenas."
There will also be a screening of the film, "Holding Fast the Dream: Hawai'i's African-American Experience."
Sponsors are the UH Office of the President, UH Mānoa College of Arts and Humanities, UH Mānoa College of Social Sciences, UH Mānoa department of ethnic studies, UH Mānoa Office of the Chancellor and Kapi'olani Community College.
SHIDLER COLLEGE INSTALLS SOLAR PANELS The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business has begun installing a 4.5-kilowatt solar photovoltaic panel system on one of its towers. The solar panel system is expected to generate approximately 24 kilowatts of power each day, enough to operate courtyard lights for an entire night.
"We are committed to alternative energy solutions to meet the University of Hawai'i's overall goal of generating 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020," said V. Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business.
The new system includes a web-based monitoring system that will allow students, faculty and the general public to monitor solar power, reduced emissions and environmental statistics on a daily basis. The system has the environmental impact of preventing 9,323 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere for a year, equivalent to reducing 11,188 miles of auto emissions.
"This installation marks a significant change in advancing our sustainability in the future," Roley said. "It's not only about being a good corporate citizen; it also makes good business sense. All of the little things we do to reduce energy cost and waste can really add up and save us money in the future."
The $50,000 system, donated by Hawai'i real estate investor and entrepreneur Jay Shidler, is the first to be installed at UH Mānoa .
"Jay Shidler and the Shidler College of Business should be commended for advancing UH Mānoa toward energy sustainability through the installation of a photovoltaic system," said UH Mānoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw.
The photovoltaic system comports with the college's mission of becoming a leader in sustainability, according to the chancellor.
"As a research university, UH Mānoa must lead in generating and testing advances in sustainability, as well as contributing to the overall UH initiative to reduce waste, recycle materials and use alternative energy technology to lessen the impact on our environment," Hinshaw said. "There is much we must do in this area for the benefit of current and future generations."
In Hawai'i, a daily average of 5.5 hours of quality sunlight is enough to power the system. The low-maintenance system should be completed early this semester.
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