The SLS Graduate ʻOihana Maikaʻi Fund was established in 2002 by a generous gift from two SLS Department alumni, Susan Proctor and Jonathan Hull. Susan and Jonathan are coauthors with Jack C. Richards of the ESL textbook series, Interchange and New Interchange, published by Cambridge University Press in the 1990s. As graduate students in the Department, they received financial support in the form of tuition waivers and graduate assistantships, as well as funds to attend conferences. As noted in the memorandum of understanding establishing the ʻOihana Makaiʻi Fund, this support, together with the experience of teaching ESL writing and reading courses in the ELI, provided them with the professional development needed to pursue careers teaching at university level and writing ESL curricula in the U.S. and abroad. In establishing this award, their intention was to show their gratitude by helping graduate students in the Department reach their own career goals in second language studies. They encourage others, including faculty and alumni, to join them by contributing to the Fund, which is administered by the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation.
Awards may be made from the Fund to cover the costs of tuition, fees, books, supplies, conference fees, travel expenses, research costs, and financial support for other academic needs, as well as to acknowledge scholarly excellence in second language studies by offering awards for outstanding papers published in refereed journals. Recipients must be full-time graduate students in the Department, pursuing an MA, PhD, or Advanced Graduate Certificate, and must be doing pedagogically oriented academic work in second language studies. Preference is given to the following three areas: (1) writing, (2) reading, and (3) curriculum development and evaluation. Academic merit (minimum GPA of 3.5) and some degree of financial need (not necessarily as defined by federal guidelines) are additional criteria. If research is to be conducted, it will be important to mention approval of projects by the UH Committee on Human Subjects (IRB approval).
Donate to the ʻOihana Maikaʻi Fund for Professional Development
Click on Enter a Fund Account Number, then enter “20383203” in the Search for a fund by account number field.
SLS Graduate ʻOihana Maikaʻi Fund Policies and Guidelines [Please review carefully before applying.]
SLS Graduate ʻOihana Maikaʻi Fund Application Form (KualiBuild)