Greg Chun has been appointed executive director of Maunakea stewardship at the University of Hawaiʻi. Chun will oversee relevant UH programs to ensure recognition of Maunakea’s natural, cultural, educational and scientific resources and will report directly to UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin. The appointment was effective July 19, 2019.
“I have great confidence that Greg will improve models of stewardship of Maunakea, especially our abiding commitment to the triad of encouraging scientific knowledge, pursuing appropriate land use and facilitating public discussion,” said Irwin. “He is uniquely qualified to lead the integration of cultural knowledge and practice into our management responsibilities and scientific endeavors.”
Chun will also continue to advise UH President David Lassner. He has served as senior advisor on Maunakea to Lassner and the UH Hilo chancellor’s office from February 2018. He has also been a member of the community-based, volunteer Maunakea Management Board since 2013, serving as its chair since 2018.
“I have seen firsthand the challenges facing Maunakea and UH’s stewardship of the mauna,” said Chun. “My top priority is serving the mountain itself and finding a way where its cultural and historic significance is uplifted by astronomy, not diminished by it.”
Chun has served at the senior executive level at both the Kamehameha Schools and Parker Ranch. He has experience with restoration of historic Hawaiian sites in West Hawaiʻi and Molokaʻi in the development of educational and cultural programming as well as Hawaiian culture and values training, and providing leadership and organizational development.
Chun, a resident of Hawaiʻi Island, is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and has formal training as a clinical psychologist.
