HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

35

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

CONGRATULATING JOHN Y. GOTANDA AS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY.

 

 

 


WHEREAS, hard work, determination, and talent describe JOHN Y. GOTANDA’s progression from Oahu-born son, born to Masae and Yukio (deceased) Gotanda, with high aspirations, big dreams, and a will to succeed, to his impressive and meteoric rise to fill one of the most prestigious professional positions in the State of Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, after attending Manoa Elementary School and Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School and graduating Roosevelt High School, he later enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (BBA, 1984) and then the William S. Richardson School of Law (J.D. 1987), becoming editor-in-chief of the Law Review; and

 

     WHEREAS, following law school, JOHN Y. GOTANDA became a staff attorney with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and then became an associate attorney with Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. and later with Goodwin, Procter & Hoar in Boston; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1994, JOHN Y. GOTANDA joined the faculty of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law as Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Associate Dean for Faculty Research, and Director of the J.D./M.B.A. Program; from 2011-2016 he served as the Dean of the Law School; and

 

WHEREAS, under JOHN Y. GOTANDA's leadership, the Villanova Law School developed and implemented a strategic plan that radically changed the school’s curriculum, reducing the time and cost of the program, eliminating barriers to entry, and establishing increased international opportunities for its students; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of Hawaii Pacific University selected JOHN Y. GOTANDA as the university's next president; he will be returning home to Hawaii to be the fifth president of Hawaii Pacific University under his leadership, HPU will build on its successes to date as it continues to prepare graduates to live, work, and learn as active members of a global society, and realize its vision to become the leader in innovative higher education; and

 

WHEREAS, President JOHN Y. GOTANDA is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on damages in international law, and has been cited by courts, tribunals, and commentators, including by the U.S. Supreme Court; he has spoken widely on the subjects of damages, international arbitration, and international sales law, including at the Hague Academy of International Law; he has also served as an expert on damages and an arbitrator in international investment disputes; now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, that this body hereby congratulates and commends JOHN Y. GOTANDA upon being selected President of Hawaii Pacific University and for serving as a fine role model for the youth of Hawaii, and extends to him its best wishes for continued success in all future endeavors.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Congratulating John Y. Gotanda as the new President of Hawaii Pacific University.