UH West Oʻahu Lecturer Selected as Finalist for Prestigious National Service-Learning Award

University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu
Contact:
Julie Funasaki Yuen, (808) 454-4821
Public Relations and Marketing
Posted: Jun 2, 2008

UH West Oʻahu (UHWO) Lecturer and alumnus Wayne Tanna was recently selected as one of eight finalists for Campus Compact‘s 2008 Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning. As a finalist, Tanna will be featured as part of the Campus Compact website along with a description of his service work and invited to participate in a concurrent session during the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities in Seattle, Washington.

Campus Compact is a national coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents — representing six million students — dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education. Finalists for the Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award are selected based on the candidate‘s extensive experience in teaching service-learning and the development of innovative ways to connect community and public service experience with academic study.

"I am honored to have been selected as a finalist for this very prestigious award," said UH West Oʻahu Lecturer Wayne Tanna. "This recognition serves to reinforce the idea that service is integral to teaching and research."

Tanna received the UH West Oʻahu Chancellor‘s Award for Excellence in Teaching by a lecturer as well as the Niu Award from Volunteer Legal Services Hawaiʻi for outstanding contributions to the delivery of legal services in recognition of his student volunteer tax clinics performed at Oʻahu homeless shelters. Dedicated to community and public service, Tanna‘s many projects include volunteering as an income tax preparer, instructor and coordinator for the Internal Revenue Service‘s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, acting as a reading teacher for Project Literacy U.S., and a power lifting coach for the Hawaiʻi Special Olympics, and providing pro bono legal services for individuals and non-profit community organizations. He regularly involves UH West Oʻahu students in activities where service-learning projects may be incorporated into the course curriculum.

A Makiki resident, Tanna holds a bachelor‘s degree from UH West Oʻahu, a Juris Doctor from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, and a Master of Laws degree in taxation from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

About UH West Oʻahu

Last fall, UH West Oʻahu became a four-year, comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen. The university offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. A new campus in the City of Kapolei is scheduled to serve students in fall 2010. For more information about UH West Oʻahu, visit uhwo.hawaii.edu or call 454-4700 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.