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News & Events

November 2006

Aloha, everyone!

We are pleased to announce that Ryoko Yamamoto was selected as the 2006 recipient of the Gary K. Sakihara Memorial Scholarship in the UH Department of Sociology.  Ryoko is a Ph.D. candidate who has been at UH-Mānoa since 2000 and is currently writing her dissertation. She has been a teaching assistant and research assistant at both UH-Mānoa and the University of Missouri where she received her M.A. in Sociology in 1998.

Ryoko used the scholarship to partially offset travel expenses to present her paper, "Foreigners as a Crime Problem: Transnational Migration and Policing in Japan,” in the Diversity, Democracy, and the Challenge of Protecting Liberties session of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) and to attend the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in Montreal, Canada this past August.

“Participation in SSSP and ASA was very beneficial to my
professional development.  In addition to being exposed to stimulating presentations and conversations with other scholars, I was able to be connected with a few notable scholars in my research field. SSSP provided a speed mentoring session this year, where I received helpful advice on my research by two senior scholars in the field of social problems.”

As a graduate assistant, Ryoko has supported other students in their assignments, seminar papers and larger projects.  She served as a teaching assistant in Social Statistics and Advanced Social Statistics courses.  Ryoko’s dissertation, entitled “The Construction of Foreign Criminality in Contemporary Japan,” examines how immigration and crime have become associated in contemporary Japan. It investigates how the discourses of criminality of foreigners have been created, institutionalized and challenged via an examination of government documents, print media and NGO newsletters.

In nominating Ryoko, Dr. Patricia Steinhoff wrote: “Ryoko has a strong reputation in the department for being helpful to other students. Graduate students come to her regularly for advice, and she has been the very capable manager of the Asia Group for the past several years, except for the one year when she was in Japan doing dissertation research. I think she is now considered the senior member of our contingent of Japanese students, and she carries out her ‘big sister’ responsibilities of support and guidance very well. She is a competent methodologist, so students come to her for methodological assistance as they once came to Gary. But beyond that, she has a wide range of other skills and often helps students (and me) with clever little computer tricks that solve stubborn problems in a host of computer programs. She is also a … member of the graduate students Friday afternoon writing group, a completely student-initiated project that has helped several students complete their MA theses, QR papers, and research papers by providing friendly critiques and peer encouragement.”

 Last year’s recipient of the Gary K. Sakihara Memorial Scholarship, Jin Young Choi (pictured here with Ryoko and Dr. D. William Wood, Chair of the Sociology Department) also attended the ASA and presented a paper at the SSSP.  We are proud to also announce that Jin Young graduated in May, and she is now an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Sam Houston University in Huntsville, TX. Dr. Choi is teaching Introduction to Ethnic Studies and Sociological Research Methods this semester.  Her dissertation research on “Social Capital and Access to Health Care Services among Immigrants: Filipinos, Koreans, and Marshallese in Hawai‘i” was defended successfully in April, 2006. She intends to continue her research on health services for immigrant populations.

In the past year, two Sociology professors -- Dr. Calvin Endo and Dr. Yean-Ju Lee, who received retirement and condolence monetary gifts from their colleagues, respectively -- contributed their gifts to the memorial scholarship fund.  We gratefully acknowledge their generosity and thoughtfulness.  We know that many of you -- Gary’s friends and colleagues -- have also been generous supporters of the scholarship fund.  To all of you, a big Mahalo!

Gary remains in our hearts.  It is wonderful to know that students in a department where he spent many of the best years of his life -- learning and making lifelong friends -- have benefited from your contributions in Gary’s memory.  With your kokua, we can continue to support students.  The scholarship fund needs your help in order to grow and provide additional scholarships.  We graciously ask for your continued support with a tax-deductible contribution in his name to the University of Hawaii Foundation, 2444 Dole St. Bachman Hall #101 Honolulu, HI  96822.  Please write “Gary Sakihara Memorial Scholarship – Expendable Account” on the bottom of your check.  The “expendable” designation is important since the expendable and the endowed portions need to be maintained separately.

Should you have any questions about your contribution, please contact Dr. D. William Wood (UHM-Sociology at 808-956-7693) or Malia Staggs (UH Foundation Office at 808-956-6311), respectively.

Sincerely,

Friends of Gary – Joyce Chinen, Nancy Marker, David Takeuchi and Amy Yamashita