HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	308
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII TO NAME THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK AFTER mR. MYRON "PINKY" THOMPSON.

     WHEREAS, Myron "Pinky" Thompson was a co-founder of Alu Like, Inc. and Papa Ola Lokahi, the native Hawaiian healthcare system that serves more than one hundred thousand native Hawaiians today; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Thompson earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Hawaii and served as chief of staff for Governor John A. Burns; and

     WHEREAS, he also served as the first director of the State's Land Use Commission and as the Director of Social Services and Housing earned a national reputation fighting for welfare funds and benefits for Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, as a trustee of the Bishop Estate from 1974 to 1994, he developed early childhood programs and worked to ensure the trust accurately represented the interests of the Native Hawaiian community and provided economic stability and a broad-based life-long learning orientation for its beneficiaries; and

     WHEREAS, from 1962 to 1967, Mr. Thompson served as Executive Director of the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children's Center, a private social service agency dedicated to the health, education, and welfare of destitute children in Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, his vision and dedication became the catalyst for the establishment of a generation of far-reaching federal legislation, including the Native Hawaiian Education Act, the Native Hawaiian Vocational Education and Employment Initiatives, the Native Hawaiian Health Care program, and the Native Hawaiian apology resolution, signed into law by President Clinton in 1993; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Thompson served as President of the Polynesian Voyaging Society from 1979 to 2001 and helped to launch the Hokulea, which became the catalyst for the native Hawaiian renaissance; and

     WHEREAS, his vision and passion has created a sense of identity and hope for future generations in Hawaii; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the University of Hawaii is requested to name the School of Social Work after Mr. Myron "Pinky" Thompson; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the President of the University of Hawaii, and the Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

UH to Name the School of Social Work after Myron "Pinky" Thompson