The Queen’s Health Systems (QHS), one of Hawaiʻi’s largest clinical training sites, has donated $1 million to the University of Hawaiʻi to establish The Queen’s Health Systems Endowed Professorship. This professorship will be awarded to the next permanent dean of UH Mānoa’s nationally-ranked School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene (SONDH) and will provide enhanced resources to support emerging priorities for the nursing program.
“We are incredibly grateful to The Queen’s Health Systems for their remarkable generosity and the strategic impact we will see from this contribution,” said UH President David Lassner. “This gift will help us attract a worthy successor to retiring Dean Mary G. Boland and will empower future deans to build upon our current momentum as we embrace our responsibility to educate the next generations of Hawaiʻi nurses.”
The contribution, given as part of QHS’ strong commitment to education, research and innovation, is part of its longer-term strategy to ensure that Hawaiʻi’s next generation of healthcare leaders are educated in the state and then choose to practice in Hawaiʻi. The $1 million endowed professorship builds upon more than 10 years of a highly productive academic-practice collaboration that includes the UH Translational Health Science Simulation Center, of which The Queen’s Medical Center is a founding partner; The Queen’s Medical Center—UH Mānoa Nursing Research Partnership; and the ʻIKE AO PONO program that supports the enrollment and graduation of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island students and those from Indigenous and underrepresented populations through scholarships that Queen’s provides.
“We are proud of our longstanding collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi and are honored to support its exceptional health care programs,” said Jill Hoggard Green, president and chief executive officer of The Queen’s Health Systems. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration as we strive to educate and train the most highly-qualified health care workforce, engage the next generation of health care professionals, and improve the health and well-being of the people of Hawaiʻi.”
SONDH’s current dean, Mary G. Boland will be retiring in June 2021. The next permanent dean will hold the title of “Dean and The Queen’s Health Systems Professor.”
“UH Mānoa Nursing and The Queen’s Health Systems have collaborated together on education, service and scholarship for many years,” said Boland. “This public recognition of the deepening relationship between our organizations celebrates our shared commitment to nursing, quality health care and improving our state communities. We are most grateful!”
The Queen’s Health Systems Endowed Professorship an example of UH Mānoa’s goal of Enhancing Student Success (PDF), one of four goals identified in the 2015–5 Strategic Plan (PDF), updated in December 2020.
