Communication Pacific
Communication Pacific

Three Hawaii Professors Selected To Participate in University of Oxford Program

HONOLULU – Three faculty members, one each from Chaminade University, Hawaii Pacific University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, have been awarded research fellowships to participate as Visiting Fellows at the Harris Manchester College Summer Research Institute at the University of Oxford.

Lilia Castle, Ph.D., of Chaminade University, Steven C. Combs, Ph.D., of Hawaii Pacific University, and Robert Perkinson, Ph.D., of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, were selected to take part in the week-long independent research program which is designed to allow visiting fellows the time and resources to complete an article, book or research paper in their field of study. The recipients were awarded the fellowships based on their exemplary contributions to research in their fields.

Every July, approximately 50 Visiting Fellows gather in Oxford at the Summer Research Institute. Over the years, these distinguished academics have come from 25 participating universities representing seven countries.

Corporate sponsor Hawaii Medical Assurance Association (HMAA) supports the Hawaii program that is coordinated locally by Oxford University’s Harris Manchester College Regents Dr. Lawrence K.W. Tseu, attorney William McCorriston and Dr. John Henry Felix.

“The Summer Research Institute allows us to acknowledge some of our best collegiate educators and researchers,” said Felix, President and CEO of HMAA. “Not only does the program bring an opportunity to the Visiting Fellows representing Hawaii, but their experiences are brought back to the classrooms, enriching the education of our students.”

Access to the libraries and other resources of the University of Oxford is made available to Visiting Fellows. This comes as a great benefit to Castle who is interested in major Russian artists at the turn of the 20th century and will conduct research on one of the most comprehensive collections of Russian avant-garde theater art at the Oxford library.

Combs will examine the critical reception of the Meyers-Briggs Type Inventory and Personality Theory, as articulated by Meyers and Briggs and others, and David Keirsey’s Temperament Theory. He is particularly interested in the psychological community’s reception of these theories.

Perkinson, the author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, will conduct research for an article on social reform techniques in early prisons. He will also research U.S. foreign relations and colonialism with comparative sections on the British Empire for his next book.

The Visiting Fellows from Hawaii will participate in the week long program at the University of Oxford that starts on July 4.

About HMAA

HMAA is the second-largest preferred provider organization (PPO) in Hawaii, covering more than 42,000 members. HMAA has always been known as Hawaii’s leading provider of health insurance benefits for small and medium-sized businesses, and it provides large employers with superior health benefits as well. HMAA’s comprehensive medical plans include alternative benefits such as acupuncture, chiropractic and naturopathic care, as well as life insurance, wellness programs, and dental, vision and prescription drug riders. It offers the best medical plan option for sole proprietors in the state. HMAA’s benefits and rates can be customized for any company. More information is available at www.hmaa.com.