Shidler College of Business Lum Yip Kee Graduate Reading Room receives a contemporary makeover

Established over 30 years ago, Lum Yip Kee Limited continues to fund renovations of the college's Graduate Reading Room

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Dolly Omiya, (808) 956-6902
Shidler College of Business
Posted: Mar 3, 2008

HONOLULU — On February 27, 2008, the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi unveiled its newly refurbished Lum Yip Kee Graduate Reading Room to students and faculty. The Lum Yip Kee Room was named after Honolulu entrepreneur, banker and land developer Lum Yip Kee (1866-1943).

Funded by Lum Yip Kee Limited, a local investment and real estate company, the room received a contemporary makeover with state-of-the-art furniture and art. The renovation included large glass panel dividers, two meeting rooms, reading area, individual workstations equipped with power, white boards and lockers by The System Center, Inc., and art from the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum.

Taken from the original speech delivered during the dedication of the Lum Yip Kee Graduate Reading Room in 1976, Lum Yip Kee‘s grandson Wing Tek Lum said, "In dedicating this room today in memory of Lum Yip Kee, our family wishes to remember the man by transmitting his ethic. And, what better way to further such a spirit than here, at the College of Business, located in the very valley where he lived and worked for much of his lifetime."

Lum Yip Kee was recognized as one of Hawaiʻi‘s pioneers in agriculture, merchandising, banking and land development.

He arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1884 from Kwantung Province, China when he was 19 years old and immediately went to work farming taro and in a Chinatown grocery store. In 1890, Lum established the merchandising firm of Wing Duck Chong with stores in Honolulu and Waipahu. With other Chinese immigrants, Lum developed taro plantations in Mānoa, Mōʻiliʻili, Pālolo Valley and Kahaluʻu, and established three poi factories in Honolulu. He also managed and developed the largest rice planting operation and wholesale distribution agency on the island.

In the late 1920s, Lum became active as a leader in the Chinese business community and was instrumental in founding the Chinese American Bank and the Liberty Bank of Honolulu. He served as president of Liberty Bank before retiring in 1930. He and his son, Yin Tai Lum established Lum Yip Kee Limited in 1932, a real estate investment company. Lum remained active in Hawaii‘s real estate community throughout his retirement until his death in 1943 at the age of 77.

Today, two of his grandsons, Tan Tek Lum and Wing Tek Lum, continue to manage Lum Yip Kee Limited. The eldest grandson Tan Tek Lum is president and director of Lum Yip Kee Limited. He
serves on the boards of Hawaii National Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Hawaii National Bank, Shidler College of Business Advisory Council, and is chairman and trustee of the Louise L. and Y.T. Lum Foundation. In addition, he is a director of the Hawaii chapter of the American Red Cross, and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Tan Tek graduated from Stanford
University and received his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Wing Tek is executive vice president of Lum Yip Kee Limited. A prolific poet, Wing Tek‘s first book, "Expounding the Doubtful Points," received an award in 1988 from the Association for
Asian American Studies. He earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his master‘s degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1973.

"We are extremely grateful to Lum Yip Kee Limited and the entire Lum family for their continuous investment in our graduate students. The Lum Yip Kee Room will always be a place where friendships are formed and dreams and aspirations are realized," said V. Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business. "I think Lum Yip Kee would be pleased that his legacy continues through the lives of our students."

Lum Yip Kee Limited established the room in 1976 and funded the initial renovation. Since then, the room has gone through numerous refurbishments all funded through the generosity of Lum
Yip Kee Limited. The company also funds the Lum Yip Kee annual award for the most outstanding Shidler student. It is the largest monetary award presented during the College‘s premier student event "Business Night."


About the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Established in 1949 as the College of Business Administration, the College was named in 2006 after alumnus Jay H. Shidler, founder and managing partner of The Shidler Group. The Shidler College of Business is renowned for its expertise in international management education and is consistently ranked among the nation's top 25 graduate schools for international business by U.S. News & World Report.

Long recognized for its Asia-Pacific focus, the College is a professional school, offering a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs. The College places a strong emphasis on the development of management skills, entrepreneurship and the management of business information
technology. The UH Shidler College of Business is the only graduate program in the State of Hawaiʻi accredited by AACSB International. For more information, visit www.shidler.hawaii.edu.

For more information, visit: http://www.shidler.hawaii.edu