American Savings Bank donates $100,000 to PACE.

By Staff Reports

(Oahu)– American Savings Bank (ASB), has committed $100,000 to the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), Shidler College of Business. As part of a five-year commitment, this gift will support entrepreneurial education and help UHM monetize research efforts. In recognition of this gift, one of the co-working spaces will be named in ASB’s honor.

ASB’s gift will go towards the five-year PACE initiative that was launched in February 2014. The goal of the initiative is to raise $2.5 million to create new programs and expand existing ones. Funds raised through the initiatives will also be used to renovate and expand the current location in the Shidler College of Business. The new center will enable PACE to create a vibrant co-working space for entrepreneurial activity at the University. Additionally the new center will double the number of entrepreneurial programs offered, introduce an entrepreneurial curriculum to other UHM colleges, train key faculty on current entrepreneurial instruction, support the commercialization of UHM technology and innovation, and establish UHM as a leader in entrepreneurial education.

“At American Savings Bank we have been investing in Hawai‘i’s future for over 85 years. Supporting the PACE initiative is an investment in the next generation of entrepreneurs who will lead our state and support growth in our community,” said Rich Wacker, president and CEO, American Savings Bank.

Under the leadership of dean Vance Roley and executive director Susan Yamada, PACE has become a training ground for future entrepreneurs and global leaders. PACE has expanded to include more than 15 programs to cultivate and support entrepreneurs, encourage entrepreneurial thinking, spawn new businesses, and rekindle ties with Hawai‘i’s business community.

“ASB’s generous investment in entrepreneurship at the University of Hawaiʻi’s PACE program will enable us to reach more students and faculty with our entrepreneurial programs,” said Yamada. “By creating more entrepreneurial thinkers, our graduates will be poised to accept the challenges of an ever-changing world.”

Since 1925, ASB has served Hawai‘i’s businesses and communities by providing a full range of financial products and services, including business and consumer banking, home loans, insurance and investments.  ASB is one of Hawai‘i’s leading financial institutions with online and mobile banking services and branch locations statewide offering evening, weekend and holiday hours. For five consecutive years, ASB has been named “Best Place to Work in Hawaii” from Hawaiʻi Business Magazine. For over 85 years, ASB has been helping build strong communities. Through their Seeds of Service program, ASB team members have contributed more than 16,000 hours of volunteer time and the bank has given millions of dollars to Hawai‘i schools, non-profits and community organizations.

Those wishing to learn more or contribute to PACE are invited to contact Unyong Nakata, director of development, at unyong.nakata@uhfoundation.org or (808) 956-3597. Donor recognition naming opportunities are still available.