University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu Chancellor Maenette K. P. Ah Nee-Benham was honored at an aloha and mahalo celebration Dec. 18 on campus as she will step down at the end of the year after nearly a decade of leading the Kapolei campus.
About 135 guests — including family, friends, faculty, staff, students, and former colleagues and mentees — wished Benham a fond farewell through beautiful lei, meaningful gifts, and heartfelt and emotional tributes.
The lunch program opened with a pule (prayer) offered by Aunty Lynette Paglinawan, beloved and retired resident kupuna at UH West O‘ahu.
“We are all gathered here to join our honoree who is retiring, but who doesn’t realize life begins now,” Paglinawan said. “You’re going to join the rest of us and be more active in the things that you want to do that come from your heart. … We offer mahalo nui loa to the powers that we each believe in and that bring us together in a unified way to celebrate together our love for you and to better times ahead for you and your family. We ask that this day be the beginnings of another journey for you.”
Throughout the celebration, guests were welcome to share personal remarks about Benham.
Dr. Matt Militello, a professor of educational administration at East Carolina University and one of three guests representing Benham’s time at Michigan State University, opened up about what he has learned from Benham, including work ethic and passion.
“Of course, the third one is compassion, especially for the silenced or marginalized voices,” Militello said, “to elevate the local voices to find solutions for their local concerns.”
Dr. Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu Punihei Lipe, director of UH System’s Hawai‘i Papa O Ke Ao and the director of the Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office at UH Mānoa, shared how Benham changed her life.
“You are amazing at so many things,” Lipe said. “For those of us who have been your mentees, we are so lucky to have, I think, experienced the best part of you.”
Myrna Kamae, wife of the late Hawaiian musician and film director Eddie Kamae, acknowledged Benham for her help with the mission of the Kamaes’ Hawaiian Legacy Foundation.
“It was very fortunate when my husband Eddie Kamae and I met Maenette, because Maenette has helped us with our work, helped us with our direction. … What Eddie always wanted was that his work would be in the schools, that it would be always living on through the young people,” Kamae said. … “We thank you and we say aloha.”
Ka‘iulani Akamine, assistant faculty specialist and former faculty senate chair at UH West O‘ahu (the first Native Hawaiian woman to serve in that position), noted how Benham created more equity on campus.
“You’ve left such a lasting impression and the work that you have done and the paths that you have courageously braved has set a foundation for all of us here,” Akamine said. … “Thank you for your grace, thank you for your leadership, thank you for your courage, and for maybe sometimes making that hard decision that isn’t always favored, but in your na‘au you knew that that’s what you had to do. So mahalo for standing strong, mahalo for being that person who always kūpono. So mahalo nui, Chancellor. Aloha.”
Toward the end of the program, Benham recognized and thanked all those who have been part of her journey.
“For everyone in here, we have together in all of these different places — we built, we dreamed, we’ve struggled, we’ve created magic — and always in the spirit and breath of aloha.”
She also offered a glimpse into what’s next.
“I want to say to all of you that this is not a goodbye,” Benham said. “It is a transition to a new season of writing, reflecting, and reimagining how I can continue to uplift ‘ike and kaiāulu.”
In closing, Benham shared, “I wish for all of you to continue to grow grounded in our shared values, reaching toward a future shaped by collective brilliance, mālama, and aloha. Kūlia i ka nu‘u — always, always reach for the summit. … It has been my joy, it has been a lifetime of service and stewardship that I will treasure forever. Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo.”
To see photos from the event, visit the Mahalo Chancellor Benham album on Flickr.
