UH School of Travel Industry Management celebrates sixtieth anniversary with occasions : Kauai Now

In 1966, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa started a pioneering program that became the School of Travel Industry Management, an internationally revered chief in hospitality, tourism and transportation schooling.

The college will have a good time its 60th anniversary with a sequence of occasions and initiatives that can honor the scholars, school, alumni and business companions whose dedication has sustained the varsity.

The end result would be the Celebrate a Legacy in Tourism occasion on March 31 on the ʻAlohilani Resort Waikiki Beach. It would be the largest fundraiser of the 12 months in assist of pupil scholarships.

This 12 months’s occasion will have a good time Elliot Mills (BBA ’93), CEO & managing associate of Hawaiʻi Hospitality Group, because the 2026 Legacy in Tourism honoree.

Kylie Matsuda-Lum (BS ’01), managing director of Kahuku Farms, additionally will likely be inducted into the college’s Alumni Hall of Honor.

At the occasion, ClimbHI additionally will likely be offered with the Distinguished Service Award. ClimbHI is a nonprofit group that connects college students with profession pathways and workforce improvement alternatives to assist them end highschool and efficiently enter post-secondary schooling or employment.

Alumni and buddies are invited to hitch within the celebration.

Since its inception, the Travel Industry Management School has remained deeply rooted in Hawaiʻi’s distinctive sense of place, embracing its tradition, spirit of aloha and numerous communities whereas serving as a key gateway to the Asia-Pacific, a faculty press launch stated.

In 2019, the college rejoined the Shidler College of Business, a strategic integration that the press launch stated has:

• Introduced greater than $1.5 million in new pupil scholarships
• Nearly doubled the dimensions of the college
• Created six new school endowed fellowships and professorships
• Increased rankings: No. 15 nationally and No. 46 globally among the many 1,500 hospitality and tourism packages within the 2024 Quacquarelli Symonds rankings; and No. 12 nationally and No. 32 globally among the many 200 packages assessed by the 2025 Shanghai Ranking
• Increased undergraduate enrollment by 4.5% from 2024 to 2025
• Awarded greater than $560,000 in scholarships in the course of the 2025–26 tutorial 12 months
• Enabled greater than 90% of graduates to seek out employment or pursue graduate research inside three months of commencement
• Established the Travel Industry Management PhD program, which prepares college students for careers in analysis, instructing an d service, targeted on journey business administration in Asia and the Pacific.

“Future graduates have a deep understanding of the importance of Hawaiʻi’s culture and the environment,” stated the varsity’s Advisory Chair Keith Vieira (BBA ’79). “That awareness will be critical to shaping visitor experiences that positively impact our communities and sustain an industry we can proudly carry forward.”

A guiding drive behind the varsity’s world prominence was long-time chief Chuck Yim Gee, who was a co-founder of this system and served as dean from 1976 to 1999.

He died in 2019. But below his visionary management, the college cast deep partnerships with the customer business, expanded its world engagement — significantly within the Asia-Pacific area — and championed sustainable tourism lengthy earlier than it grew to become a worldwide precedence.

His legacy continues to affect the varsity’s dedication to cultural understanding, world collaboration and tutorial excellence, the press launch stated.

In recognition of the college’s 60 years of impression, supporters are invited to spend money on the subsequent era of hospitality, tourism and transportation leaders. Gifts of any dimension make a significant distinction and can be sure that the college will proceed to function a premier useful resource for Hawaiʻi’s customer business and the worldwide tourism group.

To discover giving alternatives or contribute, go to the TIM School Giving Page. Alumni may additionally submit their TIM School memories and update their information online.