American Studies professor awarded the 2007 Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Jun 19, 2007


HONOLULU - The UH Mānoa Graduate Division has announced its 2007 Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award will go to Mari Yoshihara, associate professor and graduate chair of the American Studies Department. Established by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Graduate Division in 2005, the award allows graduate students to nominate faculty for excellent mentoring, one of the foundations of outstanding graduate education.

Yoshihara is recognized for her achievements in providing guidance to new students, holding workshops to help in the students‘ career development process, assisting students in practicing their presentations for professional meetings and assisting in their job search.

Yoshihara earned her BA from the University of Tokyo and her PhD in American Civilization from Brown University. In addition to teaching and serving as Graduate Chair in American Studies, from 2005-2008, she is also serving as the Director of the East-West Center‘s International Cultural Studies Graduate Certificate Program.

She is author of a number of books, including "Embracing the East: White Women and American Orientalism," Japan‘s best-selling, "Amerika no Daigukuin de Seiko suro Hoho" (How to Succeed in Graduate School in America), and "Gendai Amerika no Kiiwaado (Keywords of Contemporary America). Her next book, tentatively titled "The Race for the Sound: Asians and Asian Americans in Western Classical Music," draws from her experience as a classically trained amateur pianist, and will explore how Asians came to form a presence in the classical music scene and its cultural connections.

A colleague described Yoshihara, "As an individual, she embodies what most graduate deans would describe as an excellent graduate mentoring program."

Yoshihara will be recognized along with other award winners at a systemwide ceremony in September.