HONOLULU — Hawaii Pacific University and former Gov. Linda Lingle have established a scholarship, the “Honorable Linda Lingle Scholarship in Government and Public Policy,” for students who exhibit the potential to become “exceptional” leaders.

What You Need To Know

  • The Honorable Linda Lingle Scholarship in Government and Public Policy scholarship is to prepare the next generation of leaders and visionaries

  • Lingle was the only woman ever elected governor for the State of Hawaii

  • Her focus was on energy independence and delivering on the promise of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust

The scholarship is endowed by Lingle, her senior cabinet while she was governor, and by more than 20 Hawaii businesses and donors.

“Gov. Lingle is a true visionary and leader,” said HPU President John Y. Gotanda, in a news release. “Through her unwavering commitment to service over self, she has helped our communities and people in Hawaii and at HPU in transformative ways. It is certainly fitting that the ‘Honorable Linda Lingle Scholarship in Government and Public Policy’ at HPU will help prepare our next generation of leaders and visionaries in the name of a stellar role model in Gov. Lingle.”

HPU announced the new scholarship at a trustees’ dinner held in June.

Lingle was the state’s sixth governor, serving from 1991 to 1999, and the only woman ever elected governor for Hawaii. The focus during her eight years in office included energy independence, which was realized when Economic Development Director Ted Liu created a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy that continues today as the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.

Lingle also focused on delivering on the promise of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust. Under her administration, with Micah Kane’s leadership, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands awarded 2,450 homestead leases in eight years. In its first 80 years the department had awarded just 5,800 leases.

Prior to being elected governor, Lingle served two terms as mayor of the County of Maui and five terms as a member of the Maui County Council.

Lingle has also served as a member of the HPU Board of Trustees from 2017-2020. She is a founding member of the Women’s Prison Project, a coalition of former politicians, business leaders and prison reform advocates.

Sarah Yamanaka is a digital journalist for Spectrum News Hawaii. Read more of her stories here.