UH Med Now

Dr. Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health received The Robert W. Clopton Award for Outstanding Service to the Community on May 5, 2015. The award recognizes a UH Mānoa faculty member for playing a socially significant role by applying intellectual leadership and academic expertise to the improvement of the community. The award was established as a memorial to longtime Mānoa College of Education Professor Robert Clopton and first awarded in 1977.

About Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula
The contributions of Dr. Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula, Chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health and director of the PILI ʻOhana Project at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), have distinguished him as an intellectual leader in Native Hawaiian health and the greater medical community. Described as kind, warm and humorous, his colleagues credit him with inspiring the next generation of Hawaiʻi scholars and clinicians and influencing how our island communities make health-based decisions. He generates the capacity to think about health in ways which are more innovative and expansive, and offers important frameworks for thinking about social and environmental health in more interconnected ways.

Dr. Kaholokula presents findings of a landmark study of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander health to a joint meeting of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s Health Committees in October, 2013.

Dr. Kaholokula is widely regarded and respected for his commitment to the ʻAha Kāne and Hale Mua initiatives that strive to nurture a healthier Native Hawaiian male population by eliminating psychosocial, health and educational disparities through practices based on traditional cultural practices that build sustainability in the community. Additionally, his insights into the needs of children outside of the classroom contribute to Kahoʻomiki, the Hawai’i Council on Physical Activity and Nutrition, and to the expansion of learning opportunities.

In announcing Dr. Kaholokulaʻs selection for the award, UH Mānoa Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman quoted colleagues of Dr. Kaholokula, writing, “You have extended beyond the campus to share and translate your academic findings in order to empower Hawaiʻi’s diverse communities and assist with real-world solutions to their health and well-being needs’”.

From the Dean, faculty, staff and students of JABSOM, congratulations, Dr. Kaholokula! You make us proud.

Pictured: Dr. Kaholokula with Chancellor Bley-Vroman and UH Board of Regents Chair Randy Moore. From UH System.